St. Mary's College Part 1

I'm really much more of a small town kind of gal.  Even though I've spent the last 25 years living 5 miles from the nation's capital I'm much more comfortable in a one stoplight town- three or four is okay as well.

St. Mary's City was that town.  I'm sure it was big stuff in it's heyday, as the fourth permanent settlement in British North America and as Maryland's first capital, but by the time I arrived in August of 1980 it was not really much of a town at all.  There was a post office, a church and one flashing light.  The nearest store of any kind was about 3 miles away.  St. Mary's City was really just St. Mary's College. In fact, tourists would often flag us college students down as we strolled along Route 5 on our way to class.

"Excuse me, could you tell us where St. Mary's City is? " they would inquire.

"Uh, you're in it."

Life at St. Mary's College was small in size, but, wow, it was large in so many other ways.  To start with there was the river.  The St. Mary's River is impressive.  I'd bet if you asked anyone who went to school there what their favorite part of campus was they'd say it was the drive down Rt. 5 into St. Mary's City.  Shortly after passing an old tobacco barn and a dive bar, The Green Door, the road bends around to the right a bit.  After a short drive through a stand of trees the road curves once more and opens up with a grand view of nothing but river, trees and sky.  When the water is filled with the sails of 420s, Lasers, and windsurfers it's downright fabulous.  I have four years of memories crammed into my head about that place, but nothing beats the way the river welcomes me every time I go down that way.