The "Lunch On The Canal: Part II" Story

Entrance to the Guy Harvey outdoor seating area of the
Schaefer's Restaurant and Canal Bar in Chesapeake City, MD.
In the background you can see the C&D Canal Bridge.

It was an ordinary day.  Having a lemonade with my Crab Melt on a soft pretzel at Schaefer's Restaurant and Canal Bar in Chesapeake City, Maryland.  Sitting in Guy Harvey's Island Grill overlooking the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on a warm spring day enjoying the sights of passing boats as well as a tugboat pushing a large fuel-laden barge.  

LDub and Carol on the right while Jere and Just Sue
sit on the left of the table in the foreground.

My table-mates on this beautiful day are my wife Carol and our traveling friends Jere and Just Sue who are visiting with us from State College, PA.  The four of us visit Chesapeake city quite frequently, but most times eat on the south side of the canal.  Today we thought we would try Schaefer's which just opened once again a year or so ago after a few years of renovations.  

Restaurant logo appears on the menu.

When we arrived, without reservations, we entered the main indoor restaurant at Schaefer's and were told it would be at least a 30 minute wait to be seated.  We decided to cross the canal and eat at another spot until we walked back outside and saw that their Canal Bar was seating customers on their outdoor deck.  The temperature was in the mid-70s on one of the first days after a very long and brutal winter, so we opted to sit on the deck.  Wasn't long before we all had our drinks and meals and were enjoying watching the boat as well as pedestrian traffic along the Canal.  On the opposite side of the  450 foot wide canal were the two familiar restaurants, The Chesapeake Inn and The Bayard House.  The town of Chesapeake City sits on the south side of the canal close to the two restaurants.  

My meal of Crab Melt on a soft pretzel with coleslaw.

Carol and I, as well as friends Sandy and Gary, made visits to Chesapeake City starting in the early 1980s when our children, who were very close in age, would visit to eat and look for souvenirs of their visits to the Chesapeake.  The C& Canal was completed in 1829 wiith the first bridge across it constructed in 1900.  

Photo of seating area before the customers arrived.

There have been many changes to the bridge over the last century, but the town of Chesapeake City still remains.  For us the hour-long ride is a welcome chance to take a break from our routine schedules and enjoy a good meal with friends as we watch the boat traffic on the world's third busiest canal.  Always an exciting visit.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Barge and tugboat pass the restaurant.

Rear of the restaurant chair shows the unique design that was laser-cut into the metal.

The restaurant logo flies next to the Maryland flag.