Souvenir shopping in Annapolis, Maryland: Crabby Road

You can't beat a fish sandwich in Annapolis!

Stevens Hardware: great stuff since 1961!

We spent a lovely day in the pretty, well-preserved Colonial town of Annapolis, Maryland in 2007. It's a great place to walk around, get a delicious bite to eat and souvenir shop. Any place that refers to itself as "the crab capital of the world," as Maryland does, is tops in my book, and the souvenirs bear this out. Stevens True Value Hardware store on Dock Street is one of those great American institutions: the downtown independent local hardware store. It was opened as a general store in the late 1800s and the Stevens family has been running the place since 1961. They've weathered the ups and downs of good and bad times, including being flooded by Hurricane Isabel in 2003, and, in addition to the usual hardware mainstays, offer a glittering array of souvenirs for the tourist trade. My favorite was the brass crab door-knocker... a real beauty. Who doesn't know a crabby person who wouldn't love to receive this as a gift item? So quit your crabbin' and get down to Annapolis. You'll be glad you did.