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Way Back Machine

Stories about the way things were on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

Marty's Playland in Ocean City
DestinationsWay Back Machine

The Great Throwback Arcade on the Boardwalk in Ocean City

What will strike you most when approaching Marty’s Playland are the old familiar sounds from back in the day—the rumble-rumble-ka-thunk of skee-ball, the thwick-ding-ding of classic pinball, the spooky monotone of The Fortune Teller, and the pop-clack-THWACK-clack of an air hockey game. We are talking here about a veritable symphony of old-school childhood fun. There are quite a few fun arcades in Ocean City, but…
February 5, 2015
MIles Hancock of Chincoteague, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
CharactersWay Back Machine

CHINCOTEAGUE CHARACTER OF THE DAY: Decoy-Carving Legend Miles Hancock

The amazing life that Miles Hancock led could never have unfolded the way it did if he had lived anyplace else in the world. Born in Williamsville, Delaware in 1887, he was one of four children in a farming family. When he was seven, his parents moved to Chincoteague.   Miniature Black Duck by Miles Hancock That’s when things got tough. First, his mother died.…
February 5, 2015
Peanut Sign at Stuckey's in Mappsville (JJP)
DestinationsWay Back Machine

The Old-School Stuckey’s in Mappsville

    There are the fake new Stuckey’s, and there are the genuine old-time Stuckey’s. The Stuckey’s in Mappsville, an itty bitty burg of 400-and-some souls on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, most definitely falls into the latter category. As far as I can tell, this is the only genuine Stuckey’s left in the Shore region. Walk through the door and you’ll feel like you’ve…
December 5, 2014
The Ghost Ships of Kiptopeke (JJP)
DestinationsWay Back Machine

The Ghost Ships of Kiptopeke

    Step out onto the beach at Kiptopeke State Park for the first time and you’ll need to do a double take. Why, yes, that is a humongous arc of a jetty made out of eerie-looking ghost ships. It’s like some naval version of the scene at the end of the original “Planet of the Apes” where we see the tattered remnants of the…
December 5, 2014