Whenever people hear me say I live on an island they immediately picture palm trees and white beaches with beautiful blue ocean water. I can practically see the awe in their eyes, and then I crush it by explaining there are no palm trees on Kent Island, and though we do have beaches they are far from anything tropical. My little island sits on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. Emphasis on the Maryland part. We have roaring winters just like anywhere else in the northeast and hot summers, too. Going to a university in Pennsylvania meant that absolutely no one would know what I'm talking about when I mention my hometown. The initial conversation upon meeting someone where you chat about your hometowns is one that I usually see myself out of pretty quickly. When someone is trying to relate to you by knowing your hometown, it's almost pathetic to hear said person try to guess where on earth Kent Island is, "Oh, like near Allentown, no? OH! then definitely near Pittsburgh.... or Lancaster? Or wait is that one of the islands in the Caribbean?" After hearing this pitiful attempt to bond a few times I started answering the question 'where are you from?' with a quick, "Kent Island, it's two hours away in Maryland." This usually cut people off right as the wheels in their heads were starting to turn and their mouths were gaped open.
But, ANYWAY, coming home for the summer has reminded me of all the odd quirks of Kent Island that I haven't been seeing the past few months being away at school. There's an odd balance of suburbia and island living here that is quite unlike any other place I've been too, and it's pretty worth writing about.
Driving around Kent Island you'll see fast food places, grocery stores, Walgreens and Rite Aids, two (TWO!) McDonalds and thrift shops scattered about. The things you won't see though are arcades, bowling alleys, movie theaters, retro diners, or basically anything that is worth a teenagers time. I thought this was normal for the longest time (having the sheltered af childhood I had) but it really isn't. After going to West Chester and visiting friends houses I realized the island had nothing recreational to offer that was indoors! That being said, there are honorable mentions about our outdoor activities.
Being an island in its true definition, Kent Island was literally a body of land surrounded by water, so there was A LOT of water-related activities. There are two popular beaches and about a million docks scattered throughout. The beaches are beaches like you'd see in Ocean City, but they're great for a quick trip rather than an hour plus drive. They're on the bay so the waves aren't huge but you still get that soft crashing sound and warm sand to lay on. One catch is that sometimes they really f***ing stick.
With a million docks on the island, can you guess what that means? That's right! A million boats! When the weather is warm the boats are out and they're everywhere they can be. Some of the best days on the island are going out on a boat. You can go tubing, waterboarding, swimming, or just sit out there are relax. The atmosphere of a boat trip is like no other, and those types of days are the ones I wouldn't trade for the world.
Because of the lack of recreational activities, but the surplus of outdoors areas, Kent Island has a lot of parks and a long trail that spans the whole length or the island. You can literally walk from anywhere to anywhere basically, which is a pretty cool trait that most areas don't have. There are also amazing restaurants. Mostly family owned, the restaurants are one of the best parts of Kent Island, and actually bring in a lot of tourism. One of these island is the Jetty dock bar (cover photo) where you can ride up on your boat and dock it right there while you eat!
My small, unrecognizable, unknown, and unimaginable island holds a special place in my heart. With just four traffic lights on the whole body of land, Kent Island is an easy going place and I can truly say I'm blessed to get to vacation (live) here every summer for awhile. So, next time you find yourself traveling to D.C. and going over the Bay Bridge, take a second to look around on your way there and you'll get a little glimpse of my quirky hometown.
