i want to eat seafood, stay at a charming waterfront b&b, and maybe be someplace not too out of the way. and maybe busy enough to hop on a boat for a sunset booze cruise. i like hanging out at docks to find sailors on shore leave. a quaint walkable town is a plus. maybe kayak rental if it's a bay where you don't get run over. birdwatching and antiquing.

anybody have a favorite get away with a low price tag?
in a way, a john waters tour of baltimore could even be fun, but i didn't know if norfolk or virginia beach were nice or cheesy or what, or if there are hidden gems abounding. i like the name havre de grace, maybe i'll just go because it sounds je ne sais quoi!

eta-- i was trying to make fun of jersey shore, and was dissapointed that k8m8 kept suggesting sandy places. i guess i find port cities more interesting. though chincoteague and assoteague sound like good fun! i think i read Misty when i was a kid.

If you're really looking for sailors on shore leave this is the place to go. We have a huge Navy base and smaller Army, Coast Guard and Air Force bases in close proximity. Our's is a very military-influenced area.

Annapolis is a good distance from here, 4-5 hours, I think. There are a lot of beaches closer to Annapolis. I'm not as familiar with those, but I've heard of Ocean City and Rohobeth Beach. There are many shore points on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Deleware, and Maryland. Again, farther north than me, so I don't know more details there.

A very cool little beach town called Chincoteague is between here and Annapolis on the Eastern shore of VA. That is the kind of place with the atmosphere you seem to be looking for.

It really seems like a charming but informal little town with many antique shops and the like including restaurants with live music. It has at least one great seafood restaurant -- you can't miss Woody's Crab House.
http://www.woodyscrabhouse.com/crabs_home.html

This might be the only b&b officially in the town.
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/north-east-maryland.html

As for Virginia Beach, it seemed like a more sedate version of the Jersey Shore boardwalk towns. Norfolk isn't too far from there and has a lot to do plus a Navy base, if memory serves.

eta - I spent one day in Virginia Beach years ago and it definitely gave off the Pat Robertson vibe.

Not sure if you're going to get all your desires in a single area. Charming waterfront B&B? Cape May, NJ, Havre de Grace or Annapolis, MD. Sunset booze cruise? Ocean City, Virginia Beach, Rehoboth Beach. Quaint and walkable? Havre de Grace, Annapolis, or one of the other old Bay towns, like Easton, Kent Island, St. Solomons Island, St. Michaels. Sailors on shore leave? Norfolk. Underage boys in midshipmen apparel so they look like young sailors? Annapolis. Men who will dress up to look like sailors on shore leave if you pay them? Baltimore.

But the good news is that you can find tasty seafood at any of these places.

Ocean City, MD is even worse. Virginia Beach isn't much better. I have heard, though I haven't been myself, that Cape May is really nice. You catch a ferry over and it's got lots of Victorian charm. And maybe no vehicles?

The area between Ocean City and Rehobeth is kind of cool. Long stretches of deserted beach, old WW II concrete watchtowers, dunes, etc. Up around Lewes.

For a bigger town, Annapolis offers lots of charm and lots to do. Here's a picture I took:

Assateague and Chincoteague are less commercial, but I remember just being hot, sweaty and bug-bitten there.