Most of the roads end in stretches along the water with lines of residences, many with docks and boats. While one longs for old villages and centers of water-based work, those are surprisingly sparse. The pattern is more to live on one of the tidal reaches, and to work inland where most of the jobs are located. And even where there is water-based work, it tends to be out of marinas and piers remote from town centers. Of course, there are exceptions, and it is those places that most draw in the outsider.
Colonial Beach has a history and look unto itself.
Kinsale is a gem. Mathews and Lancaster Court House are county seats reflecting many eras. And Reedville, for years known for the odors of its menhaden plants, is today a lovely town of restored Victorians. Still, one does long for more traditional water-based communities like Gwynn and Grimstead on Gwynn's Island or like Coles Point, where the post office is right next to the town wharf. There is a certain sadness at seeing many old village centers with boarded-up general stores that couldn't compete with the chains a few miles away on the main road, and no longer serve as a place for the community to gather.