The "Reunited Once Again" Story

The Bayard House Restaurant in Chesapeake City, Maryland.

It was an ordinary day.  Talked with my wife last evening about possibly heading to the Chesapeake Bay area for lunch tomorrow.  I had a few stained glass Hawaiian shirts to deliver to Kathy's Corner in Northeast, Maryland and we decided to stop, after our delivery, for lunch in Chesapeake City at the Bayard House, an old favorite from back in the late 1980s.  

My altered Polaroid I made of the Bayard House.

We had always loved the restaurant located along the south side of the Chesapeake City Bridge which connects the north and south halves of Chesapeake City that border the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  Sitting directly on the bank of the canal, The Bayard House gives great views of the boat traffic that passes by on the third most traveled canal in the World.  Being that it is a weekday and not boating season yet, we didn't expect to view the traffic that we do during the summer months.  We were seated in the glassed-in dining area along the water and placed our order for lunch.  We saw an old friend who was waiting on another table, but whom took the time to stop and talk with us about times past.  We had stopped making regular visits to the restaurant after the menu had changed during the past and had taken all my favorites off of it.  

A stained glass panel I made of the Bayard House.

A month ago I stopped at the shop next door to the Bayard House to drop off some of my altered Polaroid prints and was told that there is new management at the Bayard House and the food is much better.  That's all we needed to hear to give it another try.  The food was very good, but after the meal, I was waiting in the front lobby for my wife when I met the new owner, Jennifer.  We talked about our experience and I told her of my old-time favorites and she actually made notes so she could check the old recipes from the past.  I was impressed!  

Swapped the panel with Wernie for a gift certificate. 

Then I told her I enjoyed the large double-panel stained glass that was in the lobby.  Her husband had made it and it was obvious that he is extremely talented in glasswork.  I mentioned that I had made a small panel years ago of the exterior of the Bayard House and after hanging it in my home for a few years decided to sell it at Kathy's Corner.  It hung in the store for a few months and I thought I would take it the Bayard House and ask the owner at the time, Wernie, if he would be interested in purchasing the window panel.  He loved it and asked my price.  Told him he could have it for a gift certificate.  He jumped at the offer and we found a suitable price that made both of us happy.  

The panel is on display once again hanging in a window
at the one end of the glassed-in restaurant deck.
Click to enlarge photographs.

I had assumed that when he gave up ownership of the restaurant the window would be gone, but after telling Jennifer my story, she smiled and said it was now hanging in the restaurant.  She directed me to the site and sure enough, there was one of my favorites.  She told me that Wernie presented it to her and her husband as a gift when they took over the restaurant.  Now, every time I return to the Bayard House I will have another chance to view the small panel that hangs inside the corner of the rear deck.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.