Travelling The 50 States – Maryland

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 7th state to be added to the Union: Maryland.

State: Maryland
Joined the Union: 1788
Visits: 1

My first, and only, so far, visit to the Chesapeake Bay State came at the beginning of our family trip to Washington DC in 2019 to celebrate Michael’s graduation from junior high.

On a Sunday morning in the beginning of June, the family flew into Baltimore.  While the girls headed to the train to Washington, the boys went for a nice breakfast followed by a quick impromptu sight-seeing tour.  After seeing the grave of Edgar Allen Poe and a museum celebrating the birthplace of Babe Ruth, we found ourselves at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see the Orioles battle their rival San Francisco Giants.

Things got a little hairy late in the game when we realized that the train we were planning to take to Washington didn’t run on weekends.  We left the game early and hoofed it to a bus depot, where we booked passage on a bus route headed to DC.

Will I return?  Maybe, for baseball reasons.  But outside of that, I don’t see what would draw me back.

2019: The Year In Travel

Once again, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took this year.  As you may recall from last year‘s wrap-up, the year began in California.

New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, where Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band were performing.  Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade.  However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being.  The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor, and the beach before heading home.

And home is where I stayed for a whole month before heading out to Hawaii in February.  I arrived that first Saturday in February, checking out my surroundings around the resort and down Waikiki Beach after the long flight.  Monday, I took a tour of the island of Oahu, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  Thursday, I traveled over to Pearl Harbor and all of the associated attractions and museums.  Come the following Saturday, it was time to head home on an overnight flight that got me in town very early Sunday morning.

Come June, the whole family headed east to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  We flew into Baltimore, where Dennis, the boys, and I went to breakfast before heading to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants.  On the way to the stadium, we stopped at the grave site of Edgar Allen Poe and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum.  After the game, we walked to the local bus depot, where we caught a bus to Washington DC for the remainder of the trip.

Continue reading →