Winding streets that lead to the water, occasional boat races, lovely parks and delicious crab cakes...who doesn't love Oxford?

This Talbot County town is like the quieter cousin of Easton and St. Michaels, which bustle with antiques and clothing shops as well as marinas, restaurants and well-heeled people.

Oxford is well-heeled in its own right, with landmarks like the Robert Morris Inn for crabcakes (and a serving of James Michener lore) and a yacht club. But it's dignified in its quest to be something other than a Shore tourist town: a quiet place for residents, whether come-heres, from-heres, or come-backs, to enjoy life.

Things don't really kick off in town for a few weeks, so you still have time to reserve your room at the Robert Morris Inn, if you want. It opens the first week in April and they are not fillled for the season. Also, the inn is for sale, but hasn't been sold yet.

If anyone has recommendations of other inns, (maybe cheaper inns?) please send a comment so travelers can find them.

 Later, on April 26, the town will celebrate Oxford Day. You might want to plan your visit around that, as it's a great way to take in all of the attractions. Then there are the log canoe races. The town offers plenty for sailors, too -- most notably, marinas that are not choc-a-block with large powerboats.

What are the attractions? Those include the fact that the town has no traffic lights, that every waterfront street ends in a public place with a bench, that there is a beach where people still actually swim, that working watermen still keep their boats in the town's marina at a discounted rate and that there are stunning views of the Tred Avon and Town Creek from multiple vantage points. 

Oh, and there's a ferry. It's not free, like the Whitehaven Ferry, but it will take you from Oxford to Bellevue, which is near St. Michaels. A lot of people like it as a bit of a shortcut for a biking destination-you avoid the main raods a bit.

As is typical of a reporter on the run, my Oxford meals lately have consisted of a sandwich at the market. So I asked two Sun colleagues who live near there, at least part of the year, and they both recommend a place called Latitude 38.

One colleague reccomends eating at the bar: same great food, just less of it and cheaper.