MARY-LAND of Adventure-Cari Marsi

Let’s get the Maryland stats out of the way before we get to the fun stuff.

Maryland consists of 12,193 miles, ranks 42nd in the nation and includes the Chesapeake Bay, America’s largest estuary (source: Maryland Geological Survey) Chesapeake Bay is 185 miles long, 30 miles wide at its widest, 174 feet deep at its deepest and holds 18 trillion gallons of water.

Maryland has 9,844 square miles of land, 623.35 square miles of inland water, 31 miles of Atlantic Ocean coast, including Assateague Island, almost 4,000 miles of shoreline, 400 lakes, all man made.

Wikipedia.com

Now for the fun stuff.

For a small state, Maryland is big in resources with lots to see and do. I live in the neighboring state of Delaware. Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia make up the Delmarva Peninsula. Because the states on the East Coast are small and close to each other, travel between them is easy. Visiting Maryland, for me, is like traveling to another part of my state. 

Maryland has a great beach—Ocean City—situated along the Atlantic

coast just south of the Delaware beaches. The soft, white sand and the long boardwalk make Ocean City a popular destination. Although Ocean City is a tad too built up for my taste, with a proliferation of high-rise hotels, it’s a fun place, always awake and exciting during the summer months.

Then there’s Baltimore, a gritty urban city with a kind of downhome flavor. Inner Harbor is close to downtown Baltimore, and a bit touristy, but very pretty, especially in summer. Inner Harbor has an abundance of terrific restaurants, a world-class aquarium, and good shopping. If you’re looking for something with a little more edge, visit Fell’s Point, a gentrified, trendy area near Inner Harbor. I once stayed at an inn there called Admiral Fell Inn. The name still makes me chuckle.

Annapolis, home of the U.S. Naval Academy, is a quaint little town filled with bars and restaurants, and some cool shops too. My husband and I once spent a weekend there on a friend’s sailboat. Finding a spot to dock your boat is easier than finding a parking spot for your car. When in Annapolis, go to Middleton Tavern, established 1750, and try their oyster shooters. For me, it’s worth making the one hundred mile trip just to have a few oyster shooters. 

Wikipedia.com

A nephew attended the Naval Academy. For four years, I dreamed of attending his graduation and seeing all those hats flying in the air. Graduation day arrived, in the middle of a week-long deluge that wouldn’t stop. We sat in the stands wrapped in garbage bags made into rain gear. It was awful, and to make it worse, the graduates couldn’t toss their hats. 

St. Michael’s, Maryland, derives its name from the Episcopal Parish established in 1677. It’s a fun town with quirky shops and restaurants, perfect for a summer day excursion. On a weekend trip there with a group of boaters, we took over an inn. Great food, lots of wine. My husband and I aren’t boaters, but we were

friends with people who owned boats. Those boaters know how to party!

I’ve enjoyed Maryland through the years, but the best trip there was one that was unplanned. The road less traveled can be the richest. Some time ago, my husband, son, and I took a road trip through Maryland and

West Virginia, with no particular destination in mind. It soon turned into a Civil War Battlefield journey. We stayed overnight in Hagerstown and visited Antietam, site of the bloodiest single day of war in U.S. history.

During the Civil War, Maryland was a border state with split loyalties (as was Delaware). The infamous Battle of Antietam took place Wednesday, September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg,

Washington County. The combined forces at Antietam totaled just over 114,000, of which 22,717 either died, were wounded, or were lost.

The men who fell at Antietam that day haunt the battlefield, just as the dead haunt Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which we’ve visited several times. The indentation for the ditch at Antietam where so many died is still there. Walking through Antietam, I could feel the spirits of the brave men who gave their lives that day. The feeling got stronger at the ditch. I get chills even now thinking about it. There are a total of seven Civil War battlefields in Maryland, but Antietam is the most famous, the most deadly, and the most haunted. We visited other battlefields on that trip, but the haunting sadness of Antietam has never left me.

Visit Maryland and enjoy all it offers. Their crab cakes are without equal. Fresh seafood is abundant on its Eastern Shore. Swim in the ocean and take in the night life of Ocean City. Shop in the quaint towns and explore its rich history, especially the Civil War battlefields.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little excursion through Maryland. 

 As a thank you for visiting Fifty Authors from Fifty States, a giveaway!!

June, the month of weddings, is near. To celebrate, I’m giving away a print, autographed copy of the bestselling anthology, The Marriage Coin Boxed Set, to one commenter chosen at random. Don’t forget to leave your email address.

“Flowers make the perfume of love stronger.” 

A mysterious coin is passed down through the centuries to those deserving of Luck and Love. Five couples in different eras each come into possession of the coin and enter into a marriage-of-convenience. Will the coin lead them to love as well as luck?
Five original sweet romance novellas by three award-winning authors and two talented debut authors. 

Violet-Any Earl Will Do by Gwendolyn Schuler 
Lilly-The Bronze Talisman by Martha Schroeder 
Rose-The Power of Hope by Kate Welsh 
Poppy-Her Forever Husband by Cara Marsi 
Dahlia-A Gypsy’s Flower by Daria Grady

 http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Coin-Gwendolyn-Schuler-ebook/dp/B00KTJOV3O/?tag=carmaraut-20

 

Cara Marsi, an award-winning author and self-proclaimed TV junkie, is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller. Freed from her fabric-covered cage, she can now indulge her love of all things romance. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about independent heroines and the strong heroes who love them. And she loves to put her characters in dangerous situations or situations merely dangerous to their hearts and watch them fight for the happy endings they deserve.

An eclectic author, Cara is published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She has also published numerous short romance stories in national women’s magazines and online. When not traveling or dreaming of traveling, Cara and her husband live on the East Coast in a house ruled by a sweet, formerly homeless cat named Tortie and a fat black diva of a cat named Killer.

Find out more about me, and my author life, and sign up for my newsletter here: www.caramarsi.com