Family drive to Southern Maryland

I believe I have mentioned before that I grew up in a large family that was the result of a second marriage for my mother and a second marriage for my step father.

Dad’s father, Pap Pap Schuhart, was originally from Southern Maryland – the Chaptico area. That is about two hours south of Baltimore. A couple times a year we would drive down for the day to visit relatives that still lived in the area. We would all pile into the station wagon – all nine of us – playing games along the way – the alphabet game, the license plate game, I-see-something. Now of course, kids can’t get in a car without a DVD, an iPod, or a cell phone.

Along the way we would watch for familiar sights. One in particular was the Wigwam Bakery. This bakery had a glass teepee out front lined with neon tubes. We never stopped but we always watched for it along the way. And of course, there were all the old motor lodge motels slowly falling into disrepair over the years – some advertising air conditioning, some advertising TV. They always had interesting names and we would watch for them each time. I think there was a Martha Washington hotel and of course others just named after local cities.

Aunt Lena lived in an old farmhouse and was a cousin of Pap Pap’s. Cousin Lottie was her daughter and lived in a newer home built on the farm. Cousin Lottie still lives there. The farm is no longer active and she will be celebrating her 91st birthday this year. When the farm was active they grew tobacco, corn, and beans. It also had a chicken house. It was the chickens that fascinated us. We couldn’t wait to get there, get some of the feed corn for the chickens, rub those kernels off and throw them through the fence to those birds. Of course, after a while our hands were completely blistered. We never learned and did it every time.

Growing up in Baltimore city and then Baltimore county, this much land was a luxury. We would run around all day long, walking through the fields, swinging on the swing, playing tag and just enjoying all this fresh air.

Aunt Lena would cook huge country meals. Of course chicken was likely to be featured at each of them. And at the end of the day we would drive home exhausted but invigorated from a day in the country.