Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for maryland
A Long Shot in Baltimore
By Linda Tancs
Built in 1828, the Phoenix Shot Tower in Baltimore, Maryland, was the tallest building (at 215 feet) in the United States until 1846. It was a manufacturing facility for drop shot used in small game hunting using a patented process of pouring molten lead down the open shaft, which would cool as it descended and form into a smooth ball. The shot would be collected from a water barrel at the tower’s base and then sorted for distribution. The tower remained active until new methods of production rendered it obsolete in 1892. Now on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, the tower is open to the public as a museum.
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A Phone for the Birds
By Linda Tancs
In Takoma Park, Maryland, there’s a phone fit for the birds. Known as The Bird Calls Phone, it’s an old payphone rewired by a local artist to play bird calls. The dial tone is replaced with the sound of a mourning dove, and each number corresponds to the call of a local bird. The phone’s buttons also play facts about the bird species. Instructions on use of the phone are provided in English, Spanish and Amharic (to accommodate Takoma Park’s sizable Ethiopian community).
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Mountain Vistas in Maryland
By Linda Tancs
Constructed in 1949 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Chesapeake & Ohio Railway steam locomotive no. 1309 was built to handle the railroad’s heaviest coal trains throughout Kentucky and West Virginia until it was retired in 1956. The largest operating steam locomotive of its type in the country, it’s now the star attraction at Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland. The historic train runs through the Allegheny Mountains on a scenic route between Cumberland and Frostburg, climbing grades up to 2.8% on a 16-mile trek.
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Front Stoops in Baltimore
By Linda Tancs
The Canton Historic District in Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the largest historic districts in Baltimore at over 100 blocks. It’s known for, among other things, its 19th and early 20th-century row houses. In fact, Baltimore has more row houses than any other U.S. city. These narrow dwellings are characterized by their front “stoops” (steps) instead of porches. Many of these steps are composed of marble from a local quarry, which in turn supplied the marble to build structures in Washington, D.C., like the Washington Monument.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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Horse-Drawn Wonders in Maryland
By Linda Tancs
Open seasonally, the Thrasher Carriage Museum in Frostburg, Maryland, offers a rare and extensive collection of horse-drawn vehicles dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Every walk of life is represented, including milkman carts, luxurious sleighs used by the Vanderbilt family and even President Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration coach. The history of the vehicles is paired with docent-led discussions of the clothing, activities and lifestyles of Victorian era Americans. The array was once the private collection of James Richard Thrasher, an avid collector of goods of this kind.
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The Wonders of Delmarva
By Linda Tancs
The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula embracing the state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and Virginia. Its name derives from this tri-state reach (DelMarVa) of about 170 miles. It’s one of the earliest sites of European settlement and boasts a record of indigenous occupation since the last Ice Age. Among the many tourist destinations in the region, some highlights are Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, Ocean City in Maryland and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.
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Down on the Farm in Maryland
By Linda Tancs
The Mason-Dixon line is credited as the boundary line separating the North from the South in the United States. Its original purpose, however, was to establish boundaries of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia thanks to the efforts of surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. In Maryland, the Mason and Dixon Scenic Byway offers country vistas on a route running along the northern edge of Maryland near its border with Pennsylvania. The nostalgia of rural life is on full display at Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster as well as at Union Mills Homestead and its functioning grist mill. And you won’t want to miss Foxcatcher Farms Covered Bridge in Elkton (near the Fair Hill Nature and Environmental Center), one of only two remaining authentic covered bridges in Cecil County.
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Dwelling in the Wind
By Linda Tancs
Thomas Stone was the youngest member of the Maryland delegation to vote for the Declaration of Independence. He was also one of the politicians responsible for the Olive Branch Petition, a letter to King George III petitioning for the avoidance of conflict between Great Britain and the colonies. You can learn more about this peace-loving planter, lawyer and politician at the Thomas Stone National Historic Site near the historic town of Port Tobacco in Maryland. Take a 30-minute guided tour of the Thomas Stone House, unique not only for its blended architectural styles but also for the estate’s historical name, Haberdeventure. Although owners of the house over three centuries spelled it differently, the National Park Service chose to use “Haberdeventure” as the place name, which is generally agreed to be a loose variation of the Latin phrase “havitatio de ventus,” meaning to “dwell in or of the wind.” Living up to its name, the park area has endured a tornado, a derecho and the remnants of two tropical storms.
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Cryptologic History in Maryland
By Linda Tancs
Cryptology is the art and science of making and breaking codes and ciphers. You can learn all about cryptology and those who devoted their lives to national defense at the National Cryptologic Museum in Maryland. Appropriately enough, it’s located adjacent to headquarters of the National Security Agency at Fort George G. Meade. One of the first public museums in the intelligence community, it serves as both a reference library and a tourist destination for those interested in code making and code breaking. The collection of cryptologic history is so comprehensive that the museum is often referred to as “America’s hidden treasure.”
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Visionary Art in Baltimore
By Linda Tancs
Do you consider yourself an artist? Then again, maybe you are, and you just don’t know it. That’s the theme behind the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The facility is dedicated to exhibiting the works of self-taught artists. Unlike folk art, it’s geared toward showcasing spontaneous, intuitive art. Some of the permanent exhibitions include the museum’s exterior mosaic walls and an outdoor, wind-powered sculpture. The museum is located at the base of historic Federal Hill, adjacent to downtown Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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