Blogs from Maryland, United States, North America - page 2

Written in 2012: Again, the only reason to go to Maryland is to have crab cakes on the Chesapeake, see an Orioles game at Camden Yards, or visit the great Naval Academy in Annapolis. To think I almost went to graduate school in old downtown Baltimore at Johns Hopkins! It was the seventh state to ratify the Constitution. Though it is a small state, it is the fifth most densely populated and the nineteenth most populous. Several government agencies are located here. Baltimore is the most populated city, and Annapolis is the capital. Maryland has an area of 12,407 square miles, or roughly the size of Belgium, without its great chocolates. Washington, DC sits on land that once belonged to Maryland. Chesapeake Bay nearly intersects the state down the middle. It is one of the few ... read more

With road trips ramping up once again, we set out to visit Julia and Frank once again in Athens, Ohio. We hadn't been to see them since February 2020 just before the world fell apart. We planned to take a measured trip this time. No driving straight through from Northern Virginia to Athens (or Logan, rather). Instead we would break the outward trip with an overnight in Morgantown, West Virginia. At Hancock, Maryland, Interstate I-68 diverges from I-70. I-68 routes directly westbound, though Cumberland, Maryland, and on to Morgantown. It's called the National Freeway, after the old 19th Century National Road, which I-68 parallels between Hancock and Keysers Ridge. Not far west of Hancock is a dramatic roadcut through Sideling Hill. The cut was excavated in 1983-1985 and is 340 feet (104 m) deep with about ... read more

Cumberland, Maryland For such a small town the houses were very grand so to the historic railway station. The ornate buildings, designed in the architectural styles of the time, including Italianate, Art Deco, Beau Arts, Romanesque, and Georgian Revival. We saw George Washington’s Headquarters, Constructed in 1755, the historic cabin was originally a part of Fort Cumberland. George Washington, lived there during the French and Indian War and the Whiskey Rebellion. The cabin was moved to its current location after the destruction of the fort. It is the only surviving building of Fort Cumberland. Another enjoyable trip discovering locations outside of New York with Aaron & Patrick https://www.heygo.com/aaronandpatrick... read more

We all slept really well in the hotel, thanks in part to the cocktails! We got up, found a Dunkin', and headed to our final destination. The trip took way longer than we anitcipated. First, Theresa's tire was low on air and we had to stop at two gas stations to find an air machine that worked. Then, the traffic was really rough in places, particularly around Philadelphia. There were no easy rest stops, either. We had to pull of and enter a busy town every time we had to make a pit stop. The first place we stopped at was a store called Wawas, which I've never heard off. It was a pretty busy place, full of travelers looking for a bathroom. The second time we needed to stop, we were in Delaware. We were ... read more

Let the adventure really begin. Today was a red letter day. We had to drive about 90 miles to accomplish it, but we got our covid tests and are all negative. Thank you, universe. Had a lovely breakfast with Gerri’s friends before we headed home to laundry and packing. I took grandkids out for dinner and we had a blast talking about upcoming trip for Becky and new college semester courses for both. 6:30 am can checkin for flight to LAX and 11 am for flight to HI. Am much more relaxed and excited about trip now. Worrying about which test we would have to get and timing to get it was nerve-wracking. But type and timing verified today. Had results in less than three hours. We got to do it to ourselves and only had ... read more