Oxford–Bellevue Ferry: Bellevue, MD
The nice thing about a ferry without any real utility is that it’s not likely to be crowded. On a recent summer evening, on the last run of the day, we were one of two cars on the nine-car capacity Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. For a mere $24, we’d traversed in 10 minutes what would have otherwise taken a whole 30 minutes of driving the long way. This doesn’t include the 15 minutes of waiting.
But time spent waiting is not all equal. We burned those 15 minutes on a sliver of sand beach next to the ferry pier in Bellevue, in air cooled by the Chesapeake Bay and in scenery that makes you feel guilty for not taking up painting. The maritime vibes were immaculate.
The ferry crosses the Tred Avon River, one of many fractal, marshy appendages on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. You might see a multimillion dollar sailboat or humble fishing boat out there with you, but the Tred Avon was quiet on our (weekday) journey. You’re on the boat pretty much just long enough to pay your fare to an attendant and to notice the AI slop flyer advertising merch taped to a gunwale before pinballing into berth on the Oxford side. This little boat would be a blast on a stormy day.
The town of Oxford, like a lot of prime Chesapeake real estate, not so much screams as politely points out “rich people live here.” It’s like a little fishing village in a movie. There’s a small grocery store that looks like it would sell you an extremely expensive cut of meat, as well as an ice cream shop, which is really good and has dog ice cream on the menu for dogs. Luna was pleased.
The Oxford-Bellevue Ferry has been doing its thing since 1683, which is pretty wild. Dunno how long it would take a horse to go the long way from Bellevue to Oxford in the Colonial-era, but probably a lot longer than 30 minutes. That actually seemed like a good question for the Bellevue-Oxford ferry AI chatbot (ferrychat), which is a prominent feature on the ferry’s website. But, as you can see, it was stumped.
Of course, if you’re really going anywhere on the Eastern Shore, the ferry is the long way around, adding around 45 minutes to a journey up or down US Route 50. Don’t worry though: You’ll be back on the highway just in time to hit Tammy’s Cool Things and still be in Chincoteague by dark.
-- michael byrne
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