Where to Go, What to Know

Travel staffer Christina Talcott recently biked her way through an Eastern Shore wildlife refuge. Her reporter's notebook:

DRIVE TIME About 2 hours from Beltway

COST $25 bike rental $64 hotel $1 for Wildlife Drive $90

GETTING THERE

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is 10 miles south of Cambridge and about two hours from the Capital Beltway. Take Route 50 east across the Bay Bridge and follow it into Cambridge. The refuge is on Key Wallace Drive, off Route 341 south.

WHERE TO STAY

· America's Best Value Inn (2831 Ocean Gateway, 410-221-0800, http://www.americasbestvalueinn.com/bestv.cfm?idp=528), just east of Cambridge, is simple but clean. Rooms start at $54.95 a night.

· The Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (100 Heron Blvd. at Route 50, 410-901-1234, http://www.chesapeakebay.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp) features indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, a golf course and a spa. Rooms start at $239.

WHERE TO EAT

· Cambridge's Bistro Poplar (535 Poplar St., 410-228-4884, http://www.bistropoplar.com) is the new kid on the block -- and the swankiest. This French restaurant, which opened in January, features a classic bistro menu daily at lunch and dinner. Entrees are $18 to $24, with wines by the glass from $5.

· The classic Cambridge Diner (2924 Old Route 50, 410-228-8898) is an institution, with Italian dishes and diner standards: Blintzes are $6.19, veal parmigiana is $13.99 and a cup of coffee is $1.29.

WHAT TO DO