From sea to shining mountain peak, Maryland offers a cornucopia of opportunities and resources for aficionados of limitless tastes and interests. Here are some of the recommendations and offerings from the good folks at the Maryland Office of Tourism.
Get Your Drink On
Sometimes these days, it feels like just about every big metropolitan area and tiny hamlet in Maryland — and all points in between — has a slew of breweries, distilleries, craft beer havens, vineyards, specialized speakeasys and micro-pubs popping up, all with their own distinct character and style.
From Waldorf’s Patuxent Brewing Company to the Charis Winery in Cumberland to the Mountain State Brewery near Deep Creek Lake, there is no shortage of places to imbibe, guzzle, sip, swill, knock back, chug or purchase unique and unusual spirits. Sorry Mr. Boh, but you’ve got competition!
For information, go to visitmaryland.org/culinary/breweries-distilleries-wineries
On Freedom Road
As a border state bound by the Mason-Dixon at the Pennsylvania line, Maryland played a crucial role during the Civil War. Caught up before and during the bloody conflict were hundreds of freedom seekers risking their lives to escape the shackles of slavery in Maryland and other states. Their powerful stories are told through the National Park Service’s “Network to Freedom” sites. To commemorate Maryland’s Underground Railroad story, the “Network to Freedom” includes places epitomizing the opposition to freedom, such as farms and plantations where freedom seekers fled their enslavement. It also includes the sites of captures, arrests, trials and jails where ex-slaves and their helpers lost their struggles. Yes, Maryland was the birthplace of such famous freedom fighters as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. But there’s so much more to the story here.
For information, go to visitmaryland.org/unique-experiences/underground-railroad
Authentically Maryland
What makes Maryland distinctly Maryland (or Merlin, in the local dialect)? Well, where do you start? Old Bay Seasoning, amazing hiking trails, the first national road (begun in 1811 in Cumberland and eventually stretching from Baltimore to East St. Louis, Missouri), lacrosse and jousting, maritime life, Pimlico, railroad museums and attractions, historic St. Mary’s City, the Great Chesapeake Bay Loop, Fort McHenry, waterman heritage, the C&O Canal, Solomons Island, seafood festivals, Antietam National Battlefield, Smith Island Cakes, the escape route of assassin John Wilkes Booth, Baltimore’s painted screens, the Muddy Creek waterfall at Swallow Falls State Park — just to name a mere few!
For information, go to visitmaryland.org/unique-experiences/only-in-maryland
On The Road
The best way to really get to know the essence of Maryland is to, as Ray Charles once advised, hit the road, Jack. Maryland’s phalanx of scenic byways and road trips offer travelers a superb way to get off the highways, breathe and explore charming towns, out-of-the-way places and other hidden gems. There’s no better way to see Maryland’s Main Streets, mountain trails, climbing treks, waterways, heritage sites and pleasant pit stops than by automobile.
For information, go to visitmaryland.org/scenic-byways
Rabbi David Wolpe looks at the recent interest in Hollywood productions about King David and why the story is resonating now.
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut, the production is based on of the 1998 novel and 2003 film of the same name.
In "The Future is Peace," Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon say there is still hope for coexistence between Arabs and Jews.
In his new memoir, piano man Marc Shaiman tells a showbiz story shaped by Jewish humor.