Three years ago, we began a tradition with my Texas in-laws: local summer vacations.

It was a good tradition: We got a mostly free vacation; they got to see their granddaughter and occasionally we got an afternoon or an evening off. The one thing I usually had to do was to decide where to go, being someone who "knows" Maryland.

The first year, I picked Berkeley Springs. They wanted mountains; the map looked like some could be found there. They asked me if I wanted to go to the Shore; I said not so much, I go there all the time, why don't we explore something else?

Bottom line: none of us much cared for Berkeley Springs. We didn't have a bad time, we just weren't that enthralled with it.

The next year, I suggested Chincoteague. I had been there only once, for pony-penning, but thought here was a lot to like.  Indeed, we all had a good time there. And I decided, so what if I come to the Shore a lot? It's beautiful, and I'm lucky to be able to do it, so why not keep coming back?

 This year, I had no time to plan anything, so I gave them three suggestions: RockHall/Chestertown; Onancock, or something in the Easton/St. Michaels/Oxford area so we could explore the mid-Shore.

Soon, my mother-in-law called.

 "What do you think of Cambridge?" she asked.

 And so it was that we rented a beautiful, historic house in downtown Cambridge for a week. It was huge: three bedrooms, three baths, an upstairs loft, a fully equipped kitchen. And I bet it cost half of what it would in Ocean City or St. Michaels.

Despite all of my trips to the area, I learned a few things:

Dorchester County has a fabulous pool on Virginia Ave. with a cool slide;

Cambridge is a great place to ride a bicycle;

Oxford has a wonderful park on the waterfront;

The boat works museum in Cambridge does not always adhere to the hours posted; my father-in-law went twice, and both times it was closed;

Much of Blackwater is closed this time of year so they can build a bulkhead;

You really do save about a half-hour with an EZ Pass on the Bay Bridge;

and, finally, when you tell people you are going on vacation to the Shore, they assume you are going to Ocean City. You really throw them when you tell them you're going to Cambridge.

I took the in-laws to the best restuarants I knew of on the Shore: Mason's, Town Dock, Canvasback's, Bobby's, etc. Good meals, all. But their favorite was Old Salty's on Hooper's Island, where we got the best service I have had in a restaurant in years. And this despite a toddler who was not on her best behavior. 

Sadly, I fear the tradition is ending. My in-laws are hoping to spend their summers at a vacation house in East Texas from now on. So, if we want to go to the Shore, we'll have to foot the bill ourselves. Sigh.