Berlin, MD

Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA
Date Visited: January 2015

I am so in love with this town. It is precious. The woman at the visitor center was a hoot, and I loved wandering the shops. I had lunch at Rayne's Reef, where I sketched the windows of Town Center Antiques across the street while enjoying my fries, salad, and fountain cherry cola. I've never seen Runaway Bride or Tuck Everlasting, both of which were filmed in Berlin, but I liked the trivia nonetheless. The woman at the visitor center told me that for Tuck, they rented dirt from a local farmer to cover the streets, then when filming wrapped, they gave it back. That must have been quite a production. They also renamed some of the buildings, which explains why one of the windows of Old Town Antiques said "Garrett Journal". I would have spent a lot more time in this cute little town, but I had a lot of ground to cover yet, so I had to move on.

I didn't even notice until I was scanning in this page that I'd rotated the bumper sticker so that "Maryland" was upside-down. Oh well.

Assateague Island, MD

Location: Assateague Island National Seashore, Berlin, Maryland, USA
Date Visited: January 2015

After some great tips from the woman working at the visitor center, I drove up and down the length of Assateague Island. I did indeed spot some wild horses, including one walking just on the far side of the guardrail. Luckily, there was nobody else on the road, so I was able to slow down to snap a picture. I don't think he even noticed me.

I may or may not have squealed like a child when I saw him.

The visitor center itself has some good displays about the local wildlife, including a couple of aquariums. All in all, a lovely place.

Cambridge, MD

Location:Cambridge, Maryland, USA
Date Visited: January 2015

Lunch at The High Spot was tasty, and it started to snow while I was eating. This turned out to be a bigger setback than I'd realized, as the snow quickly turned near-blinding and I ended up at the Dorchester County Visitor Center to wait it out. That was a bit of a strange place. At every single visitor center I've ever visited (and I've visited quite a few), the person working behind the desk has been friendly and helpful. The woman working at this one barely gave me a nod and a smile. Unfortunately, by the time the snow had started to ease up, it was too dark and rainy to continue on, so I overnighted in Delmar. I ate dinner at Tokyo Steakhouse, which was yummy but wow did I ever order too much food.

Easton, MD

Location: Easton, Maryland, USA
Date Visited: January 2015

I didn't spend much time in Easton, but it seemed like a lovely little town. This was one of my first stops during my little road trip across the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It's very pretty, and their brochure is right: the pace is a little bit slower than what I'm used to back in Northern Virginia, and I appreciate it.

Alexandria, VA

Location: Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Date Visited: January 2015

While out snarfing with a friend, we happened upon the new memorial at the Freedmen's Cemetery. It's beautiful and the statue is haunting, but what's really cool is the list of names of those interred. A large number of them have a note next to it saying that a living descendent has been found. Just amazing. Later that same day we visited the Alexandra Archaeology Museum, where we learned that the Freedmen's Cemetery wasn't found all that long ago, when digging began for adding to the existing gas station and office building on the site. Needless to say, as soon as they found graves, all construction ceased. Now it's an open field with stones marking many of the plots.

We also stopped by the Fish Market for lunch, a longtime favorite of mine and a delightful new experience for my friend. If you like seafood and happen to be in Old Town Alexandria, it's worth checking out.