Best Baltimore-area day trips

Lifelong East Coast residents may take it for granted that we can easily travel to a different state and back in a day, but the proximity of so many interesting sites, cities and states on the East Coast still fascinates me. I love the fact that just an hour away from Baltimore you can experience a totally different pace of life—Maryland truly lives up to its moniker of “America in Miniature.” In the past year I’ve tried to take advantage of Baltimore’s location—straddling the North and South, Atlantic coast and Appalachian foothills—by going on many day trips. Of course, there are plenty of adventures to be had further away (i.e. New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the far western parts of Maryland, lower Eastern Shore, etc.) but today I’ll share some of my favorite destinations within a two-hour drive of Baltimore. Just a warning—if you’re not into history and historic sites, these might not interest you…


Civil War sites
The Civil War Sesquicentennial, which will continue into 2015, is a great time to explore the hallowed battlefields in our midst. Antietam, which lies just south of Hagerstown, is remembered as the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. Significant markers of Lee’s Maryland campaign are still striking to see today, including Dunker Church, the Cornfield, and the Burnside Bridge. I’d recommend capping off your visit to Antietam with ice cream from Nutter’s in the well-preserved town of Sharpsburg, just minutes from the battlefield. This September will be an exciting time in the area, with the “Maryland, My Maryland” commemoration of the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam—complete with reenactments, concerts, lectures and a festival. If you haven’t been to Frederick, stop by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine to complement what you learn at the battlefield—or keep in mind that Frederick is just a wonderful place to visit anytime (walkable downtown, lots of great restaurants, beautiful canal, well-preserved architecture)!  Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle in the entire Civil War, is worth the trip across the Mason-Dixon Line (it’s just a few minutes north of Emmitsburg in Frederick County). A few shots from a trip to Antietam in August:

Downtown Sharpsburg

 If you’re really up for a day packed full of Civil War battlefield tours, head south to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia, referred to as “the bloodiest landscape in North America” on its National Park Service website. There are four battlefields within fifteen miles of each other: The Wilderness, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Court House. By the end of the day it may seem exhausting and repetitive, but the significance of each is really extraordinary. I would highly recommend taking a ranger-guided tour at Chancellorsville to learn how Stonewall Jackson was wounded, and trips to both the Union and Confederate cemeteries in the area. Our time at Fredericksburg Battlefield was greatly enhanced by using the Civil War Trust’s awesome (and free!) Battle App, which provided multimedia such as video and audio to help illuminate the events that transpired there in December 1862. The town of Fredericksburg is a pleasure to walk around and I would whole-heartedly recommend Sammy T’s restaurant on Caroline Street for a quick bite. Photos from our trip to Fredericksburg in November:

Fredericksburg Battlefield

 Confederate trenches at Spotsylvania Court House

 Chancellorsville

 Wilderness Battlefield

Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House

Spotsylvania Confederate Cemetery

Eastern Shore 
There are countless sleepy small towns to explore on the Delmarva peninsula, but my personal favorite is Chestertown. This central Eastern Shore (Kent County) town is amazingly well-preserved and has a definite colonial feel to it. I’m sure it’s lovely year-round, but I would totally recommend going to the Chestertown Tea Party Festival on Memorial Day weekend. Even if you’re not a big fan of colonial reenactments, the Tea Party Festival is a lot of fun for visitors of all ages—especially at the end of the day, when everyone watches the “colonists” dump “tea” into the Chester River with great fervor. A few May 2011 festival photos:

Other memorable festivals on the Eastern Shore are the annual Tuckahoe Steam and Gas Show, held at the Talbot County Fairgrounds outside Easton each July, and the Chesapeake Folk Festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in gorgeous St. Michael’s at the end of July. I was almost completely unaware of what was going on at the Tuckahoe Show—vintage steam tractors are not my area of expertise—but loved the opportunity to soak up this authentic Eastern Shore tradition…and to try Maryland beaten biscuits for the first time!

If you have a little extra time for your day trip, get to the Shore via the Bay Bridge but drive back through Cecil County (route 213 and then 95). There are some lovely, historic small towns sprinkled throughout Cecil County, including North East, Elkton and Port Deposit. One fun fact about Elkton is that it was a very popular place for couples to elope until a 1938 law instituted a 48-hour waiting period before marriage.

I love the Live Bait vending machine in North East.

Other Destinations 
If you don’t have the time or energy to make it all the way to the Shore or western Maryland, you can always have a good time in our own backyard. I thought of Howard County as strictly suburban until I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the county fairgrounds last May. I don’t knit or own sheep, but I had a delightful time learning about shearing, spinning, and shepherding. There were also really unique and well-priced antique vendors and delicious snack options, which sure make me happy. Of course, Ellicott City is another quintessential historic Maryland town that is sure to please if you enjoy antique shopping, railroad history, and/or fine dining.

These bags are all full of wool!

Annapolis, the state capital, is just an hour south of Baltimore but its nautical, preppy, old-money vibe makes it feel light-years away. It took me four years of living in Maryland to finally make it there, but I think a trip to the State House is something every Marylander should do at least once. Finally, I love the Harford County town of Havre de Grace immensely. It will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where Tim proposed, but even before that I loved strolling its tidy main streets and admiring its beautiful Victorian homes. Its natural setting at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay makes for a striking view, which you can enjoy by walking along the waterfront to the Concord Point Lighthouse. The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum surprised me with its high-quality exhibits and the Maritime Museum is also worth a visit. I totally adored the Candlelight House Tour in December, sponsored by the Lock House Museum. Havre de Grace is also an important War of 1812 site, with plenty of bicentennial happenings coming up in the next two years—check them out here.

 I love the Victorian houses along Union Avenue in Havre de Grace!

 Concord Point Lighthouse

 My day trips lined up for 2012 include Historic St. Mary’s City in Southern Maryland; New Market (antiques), Brunswick (railroad museum) and Harper’s Ferry (Civil War site); and the Halloween Mummer’s parade in Hagerstown in October. Please let me know if you have any recommendations for other local trips!

A much-overdue update

I’ve been living in the area for over five years now, and Baltimore has never ceased to amaze me with its ample opportunities. In fact, it’s sometimes overwhelming to keep track of everything that happens around this town! Although the winter is traditionally a slow time of year—it seems like many Baltimoreans go into hibernation mode in January and February—I am confident there will be plenty to do in the coming weeks.


A little personal update for you: I can’t believe it has been such an incredibly long period—fourteen months—since I last updated this, but I plan to make it a monthly ritual. In that past year I’ve tried to keep up with both familiar (Monument Lighting, Art Scape, the State Fair, Great Halloween Lantern Parade, afternoons in Druid Hill Park, etc.) and new events as well as go on lots of day trips throughout the Mid-Atlantic. In addition, I’ve also gone through some job changes, had seemingly endless car troubles, traveled out of state a few times, started going to the gym, learned to sew, saw several friends move away, and most recently, got engaged! It’s been a very busy year and at this point it seems like life is just going to get busier, but I’m going to make a concerted effort to maintain this blog.



My old neighborhood, Remington



Druid Hill Park after Hurricane Irene



The Rotunda at the B & O Railroad Museum


A few new Baltimore discoveries to share:
• Charm City Circulator: the new city shuttle bus is great. Sure, it doesn’t go everywhere and it rarely comes every ten minutes as promised, but it is a FREE and usually quiet, clean and friendly ride. I take the Purple Line up and down the Charles-St. Paul street corridor a few times a week and am so thankful for this great city service. If you haven’t rode the Circulator yet, it’s certainly worth a try.
• Baltimore Heritage: This nonprofit heritage and preservation organization organizes an amazing variety of work in the city, ranging from behind-the-scenes tours of historic landmarks to Young Preservationist Happy Hours, lectures, neighborhood advocacy, awards and stimulating social media. I joined about 85 preservationists, planners, historians, archivists and other individuals at the Bmore Historic “unconference” in December and was floored to meet so many wonderful folks dedicated to promoting, preserving and learning more about Baltimore’s history. I would say Baltimore’s history is one of its best assets and it has been an absolute pleasure to learn more about it through Baltimore Heritage!



Lovely Lane United Methodist Church


• History Museums: I’ve also been soaking up Baltimore history through its great museums lately. For a few months I worked as an Educational Interpreter at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, the historic house where, in 1813, an independent woman named Mary Pickersgill sewed the 15-star, 15-stripe, 30x42’ American flag that flew at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what would become our national anthem. The Flag House is located in a great spot on Pratt Street in Little Italy and is definitely worth a visit—the War of 1812 is a fascinating part of American history. If you haven’t already caught wind of the War of 1812 bicentennial that kicks off this spring, check out the cool Star-Spangled 200 website to learn more about the commemorations that will be taking place. I would highly recommend a trip to Fort McHenry for anyone—locals, visitors, even international tourists—because of its unique history (it played an important role not only in the War of 1812 but the Civil War and even World War I as well), beautiful grounds (great view of the harbor) and facilities (the brand-new Visitor’s Center is extremely high-tech) and knowledgeable staff. Other (not necessarily War of 1812-related) museums I’d recommend are the B&O Railroad Museum and the Museum of Industry.



Civil War weekend at Fort McHenry


• Center Stage: My fiancé Tim started working at the state theater of Maryland, Center Stage, almost a year ago and we’ve been lucky enough to see most of their shows since then. The scale of the theater really surprised me at first—it seems so unusual for theaters to have such a comprehensive staff of professional costume makers, prop managers, audio technicians, set builders, etc—but it certainly proves that it is a heavyweight in the East Coast theatre scene. I have never been a die-hard theatre fan but I’ve really enjoyed learning more about it through the shows they have produced in the past year.
• Liam Flynn’s Ale House: Tim has also been involved in a new soccer pub in town, Liam Flynn’s in the old North Avenue market in Station North (by Baltimore: Open City and the Wind-Up Space). If you are a fan of English Premier League soccer, Liam’s is a no-brainer. We usually go on weekend mornings to catch the games, but I’m sure it’s a lovely hangout spot at night too.
• Barry Levinson: The Baltimore-born and raised filmmaker celebrated the 30th anniversary of his classic Diner with a special screening and Q&A at Hopkins in December. The screening has inspired me to revisit some of his other somewhat autobiographical films that take place in Baltimore: Avalon, Tin Men and Liberty Heights. His work is truly poignant and although the settings are somewhat specific to Charm City, his characters appeal to a vast audience.


And a few upcoming day trips that I am super excited about:
• Paper Americana Show (Cecil County): The Singerly Fire Company of Elkton will host this vintage paper goods (think maps, prints, books, postcards, etc.) extravaganza on Saturday, January 28 from 10:00-4:00. We went last year and had such a wonderful time picking through this treasure trove of cool old collectibles.
• National Outdoor Show (Dorchester County): The 67th annual National Outdoor Show will take place in Golden Hill on February 24 & 25. Although the festival includes a variety of activities, its main attraction is the world championship muskrat skinning competition. I’ve been meaning to check out this Eastern Shore tradition since watching the film “Muskrat Lovely” at the Chesapeake Folk Festival—which introduces the teenagers who compete in the Miss Outdoors beauty pageant while learning to hunt, trap, skin, fish, etc.


Have a great January, Baltimore!