A TREASURE IN THE CHESAPEAKE

Last October I described Tangier Island, the speck of Virginian marshland in the Chesapeake, as a truly “timeless” escape…a journey back to a more innocent era.

Well, Smith Island, Tangier’s bigger but less populated cousin to the north, is just as timeless, if not moreso…

I love those moments in travel where you become acutely aware of your new, strange surroundings. Sort of like a “what the hell, this place is frickin’ crazy and I love it”-moment. My moment on this particular hot and sunny early June day was at Ruke’s a “snack bar”, for lack of a better term, and the only real competitor with the Bayside Inn Restaurant as far as eateries on Smith Island.

This is Ruke’s – it’s everything you’d want from a place on Smith island. No frills, no expectations!

Walk into Ruke’s and you’ll get a jovial welcome. Your eyes will naturally look up towards the ballpark concession style menu above. Your eyes will linger on the basic offerings until your reminded that they haven’t changed that menu in years and will hand you a formal paper menu. We wanted a couple ice teas and a ice cream. Ten minutes later, we got our order…

Ruke’s is a gem to behold. The wooden floor is warped and seems to be sinking the further back you walk into the place. The walls are littered with all sorts of random antiques you’d find at a junkyard sale – and they’re all for sale here, if your interested. The place is run by two youthful grandparents, who, that day, happened to be training a young granddaughter on the cash register (prompting some of that aforementioned delay).

Ruke’s has everything you don’t need, just part of the charm in being here. P.S. That’s the “well-hid” ice cream freezer in the bottom right.

I wanted chocolate ice cream. Well I wanted chocolate ice cream because I didn’t have much choice. It was either that or vanilla. The real adventure was in finding this ice cream. The friendly gentleman running the show for the day had no idea where the ice cream was! Apparently the ice box had been moved to a different location from the prior season and my chocolate cone request was the very first of the year. After locating the ice cream, I was served the most basic of spoon-scooped cones, the kind you’d probably put together at home if you just needed an ice cream fix. Soft serve, this wasn’t (in fact, I’m probably lucky it wasn’t freezer-burned).

A friendly chat between customer and owner – a common sight here.

I’m not knocking on Ruke’s – in fact, I highly recommend a visit. What else do you have to do in Smith Island anyway? Sure, grab a lunch or dinner at the Bayside Inn Restaurant (which shouldn’t disappoint – the crab cakes were amazing) and don’t forget a slice of that famous Smith Island Cake. But for pure culture, and a throwback moment reminiscent of an unassuming Ma and Pop place from fifty years ago, step into Ruke’s, order something, anything, and take in the joys of a simpler time before returning to a far more hectic pace – which applies to most of the places outside of Smith Island…

Enjoy some more pictures of my visit to Smith Island below…