A perfectly manicured lawn leads to a small beach on the shores of the Severn. Just to the right there's a patch of marshy wetlands with tall bay grasses swaying in the breeze. Just down river, you can see the Naval Academy Bridge.
A pier juts out into the Severn. Almost at water's edge, a small shed acts as a bar and food service area for parties - at night, lights dangling from the exterior of the rudimentary but oh-so-perfect shabby-chic shed cast just enough glow.
Sometimes you can see 20-somethings in flip-flops and T-shirts toasting one another. On other occasions, there's a mixed crowd of adults, young adults and kids watching the Blue Angels, fireworks or the full moon - or just getting together for a midsummer night's cocktail.
This is the home of George and Christine Turner in the Wardour neighborhood of West Annapolis. George grew up here, along with his brother and sister. His grandparents purchased the property in 1913, and it was subdivided after his grandfather died. The current house was built by his grandmother in 1936.
George's grandfather was from Baltimore, he said. "The train came from Baltimore right through the Wardour station. It was a summer community, mostly. Back then there was no Bay Bridge, no one went to Ocean City. If you went to the beach, you went to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries."
The couple's grown sons, Ryan and Drew, have moved out. But as of this visit, Ryan is back, sort of just chillin' for a bit. It's a great place for that.
The baby of the house is a puppy named Riley, a Yorkshire-poodle mix with a fondness for stealing Christine's iPod.
Christine is a flight attendant for United Airlines; George has been a successful real estate agent since 1976.
"I had the prerequisite of real estate - I was a bartender at Middleton's for two years," George laughed.
A visit to his pier brings back memories of watching his kids grow up.
"It's funny seeing my kids grown up, seeing photos of them doing all the same things I did as a kid - down at the pier crabbing, playing on the beach. Everything was the same except the trees are much smaller in my pictures," he said.
George pulls up a crab trap filled with about a dozen and a half extra-larges. He walks farther down the pier and hauls up a soft-shell and its pre-molted peeler counterpart.
He calls his shed The Severn River Gentlemen's Club, although Christine and her friends often threaten mutiny.
It's more than a shed, of course.
"It's very famous - people from all over the country talk about it," George said.
The Turners' 3,500-square-foot Cape Cod house is not all new and decorator-driven. Some of it is old and comfortable. The dining room features a modest table and chairs in dark wood complemented by bright turquoise walls.
"Christine wanted a bright color," George said.
On one wall hangs a woman's portrait in oil, framed in a striking carved wooden frame.
"This was painted by my mother. That's her mother. She did it from a picture my father took with him to the war," George said. He still has the photo.
A living room with fireplace toward the rear of the house offers a comfortable spot to take in a football or lacrosse game. George's father played lacrosse at St. John's; he played lacrosse at Severn and then at the University of Virginia; his brother played at the Naval Academy; and both of his sons have played.
"Our family has five national championships," George said.
Original heart of pine flooring runs through much of the home.
At the rear of the home, the porch, which overlooks the yard and the Severn, comes complete with what is probably his grandmother's original porch furniture. It is retro without trying - and perfect.
Off the living room is the family room, open to the kitchen. Terra cotta-colored Mexican tile floors add color and character. With a soaring ceiling open to a loft, it's a great space for entertaining.
Hanging on the wall that is the edge of the loft is a beautiful fish print - the result of catching a 49-inch, 44-pound rockfish. It is painted with latex house paint and pulls an impression onto fabric. It's art with a story.
At the other end of the house is the master bedroom. Upstairs, two bedrooms are the boys' domain.
Ryan uses the computer in the loft when he's home.
His childhood was "definitely a lot of fun," Ryan said. "As we referred to it when we were younger, it was Camp Fun. There was always something to do in the summer."
Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in Annapolis. If you'd like your house considered for "Home of the Week," please contact her at writerdle@aol.com.
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