"As a native marylander, I’ve crossed the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge—commonly known as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge—hundreds of times, but its majesty still amazes. The twin spans, with arching cables suspended between towers that look like giant steel rulers in the distance, curve over four miles of dark, choppy water (that’s more than twice the length of the Golden Gate Bridge). About a forty-five-minute drive from Baltimore and an hour from Washington, D.C., the bridge links Maryland’s urban, congested Western Shore to its intently rural Eastern Shore. When I was young, my family made yearly outings to Ocean City, the Eastern Shore’s sprawling resort destination along the Atlantic. These days I prefer to linger a bit more inland, meandering through the area’s small, relaxed towns and absorbing the Chesapeake’s calming beauty."