Travel: What to Do on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

by Teresa Foskey on July 29th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I never realized how lucky I was to grow up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland until I was in my 20’s and no longer lived there. It is home to so many unique things that I took for granted growing up. Things I had assumed that every town or city had. Sadly, since moving away, I learned that this isn’t the case.

What to do in Maryland's Eastern Shore

One of the first unique things is the Free Salisbury Zoo. The zoo is celebrating its 58^th birthday this year. Growing up going to the zoo on a Sunday summer afternoon was second nature. It wasn’t until we moved away to Florida and I decided to take the kids to the local zoo that I saw admission cost $15. Having a free zoo to go to anytime I wanted growing up was priceless.

Another attraction unique to the Eastern Shore is hometown carnivals. Every summer, starting in June, two of Maryland's coastal towns have carnivals. Both of these carnivals are the main fundraising events for the fire departments in their town.

The Hebron carnival started over 86 years ago and has always been the unofficial start of summer on the Eastern Shore. It starts in June and runs till mid-July. Kids can’t wait for it to start and the adults can’t wait to get their hands on the famous oyster sandwiches. People come from all over and are willing to wait in line for more than an hour to get their hands on one. Most of the rides have been there for decades and it's always special getting a picture with your little ones on them. I love how I have pictures of my dad, myself, and my kids all riding the same rides.

The Sharptown Carnival just kicked off its 87^th season on Thursday, July 26 and will run until August 18. It, too, has famous oyster sandwiches and tasty soft-shelled crab sandwiches (yummy). In recent years, they even added a HUGE back building to house the awesome rides so you can still ride them when a summer shower rolls through. One of my all time favorite things to do at the Sharptown carnival is play bingo. You play with dried corn kernels on cards that are as old as I am. When I was little, I couldn’t wait to be 16 so I could play bingo with my Mom and Grandma. To this day it is something that my mom and I love to do when I visit.

These are just a few of the many unique attractions that make the Eastern Shore of Maryland so special. This area is also called The Delmarva Peninsula, as Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are all part of the area. There are many other unique attractions that can be found in Delaware and the parts of Virginia that are on the peninsula. If you get a chance to visit on your next family vacation, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

What are some special/unique attractions in your hometown that you never miss?

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.

My name is Teresa. I am a 35 yr old Wife and Mommy to 5. My husband Scott is the love of my life. We have been married for 13 years. Our Kids are Ty (aspiring rock star) 19, Mandi (figuring out a major for college) 18, Gabe (resident video game expert) 12, Abbie (Daddy’s princess) 9, and Emmaleigh (Mommy’s snuggle buddy & family court jester) 8. I am the proud owner/writer of Making It All Work. I blog about my family, recipes, reviews, travel, cupcakes and everything in between. With laundry ever multiplying, kids always needing one thing or another, extended family problem solving, bills that always need to be paid and not getting enough sleep somehow I seem to be…Making it All Work! Come follow my oh so imperfect life on Facebook and Twitter.