Maryland was settled on March 25, 1634. I came much later. My family and I found Maryland vacation destinations close, affordable and fun. Later we learned that this kind of vacation saves the planet as well as the budget.
Now I'm alone. I have moved to the State's Eastern Shore where all of us spent many happy times. From this base I enjoy exploring my state and my country in my 21-foot motorhome. And I still care about the planet. After all, now I've got grandkids. and had great fun a few weeks ago showing them some of back-roads Maryland.. They enjoyed hearing me get directions from truckers on CB, but slept right through a chance to have lunch at a truck stop. Kids!
If you only hit the interstates, a new Maryland lies in wait for you out there where you are welcome just because you cared enough to come. I've found that when vacations are planned with lots of objectives within short distances, the fuel and lodging costs drop a lot. This is important for young families and also for older travelers.
On the interstate you ride high and remote. Local roads bring scenery up close and personal. House windows wink at you as you go by. In the open, the mountains shoulder right up and seem to regard your passing with interest.
Maryland is one of the smallest states, number 42 with an area of only 10,577 square miles. It is sometimes called by nervous tourism professionals a "drive-through" state. That is, if RV travelers don't know its treasures, they may come out the other side before realizing what they've missed.
In truth, Maryland is America in miniature with seashores, mountains, lakes, and forests near sites that saw American history. No revolutionary battles were fought here, but during the Eastern Shore's harvest seasons, soldiers in blue and gold ate well. The shore is called by historians, "The Breadbasket of the Revolution." Ships and wagons from the shore were attacked by the British to keep food from the Continental Army.
The visitor can live history through rides behind steam locomotives, "hands on" farms, archaeological digs, and tours of fine old homes in which artifacts of life in another age repose as if just laid down for a moment. It seems every other town sports a white-lettered brown Park Service sign designating its "Historic District," or dating plain little towns "Founded 1647." These are not puffery; they're all real.
Some fascinating places are open and virtually crowd - free all year, simply because few people know about them. The beaches, lake shores and many of the parks, however, should be visited between October and May. Maryland's east coast is wall-to-wall folks all summer. But if you can enjoy the beach while the wind blusters and the waves bring you storm- tossed curios, come to the Eastern Shore from November through March.
Southern Maryland includes the historic town of Pocomoke. High school students worked with park rangers to build floating boardwalks (handicapped accessible) in Cypress Park, refuge for one of the northernmost stands of rare bald cypress. In Pocomoke City sponsors of a rehabilitated art-deco motion picture house have scheduled live theater and concerts on the old pipe organ.
Cambridge on the Choptank River has Maryland's first micro-brewery where tours are available to watch the making of lager and ale. The city has a Maryland life collection, a maritime museum, and is the site of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies at Horn Point, where research tries to keep those delicious crabs, oysters and rockfish coming.
Cambridge's developing Sailwinds Park is the planned site of many events near where the long-time annual speedboat, log canoe and small sailboat races already entice the salty ones.
Even Marylanders may overlook the state's Western panhandle. This mountainous region stretches from Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland and Frostburg to Backbone Mountain, the state's highest peak at 3,360 feet.
In those mountains, some small RV engines will begin to labor, and you will join the 18-wheelers in the third lane on the right. I have four squirrels on a treadmill up front (the builder calls them cylinders). They definitely struggle with any grade over four degrees. But they have taken me through the Donner Pass and to the top of North Carolina's Grandfather Mountain!
Some of our back roads are famous. Maryland Route 144 is called The National Pike. It was the first Federally-assisted U.S. highway; 600 miles from Cumberland, MD to Vandalia, IL. George Washington traveled on part of it in 1753. Route 144 was later part of U.S. 40. Once lined with sleazy roadhouses and honky tonks, 40 has now mellowed and been justly promoted to "Scenic Route 40."
On a recent camping trip, I took Route 40 as one of a chain of back routes to Deep Creek Lake Park. I got a little lost as I went from Routes 40 to 36 to 135 to 495. But Gary Buckel, third-generation owner of Buckel's store in Bittinger, routed me onto a shortcut; Rock Lodge Road.
Now THAT is a back road ... and a very pretty one, too.
Signage of all kinds along the back roads is geared for locals and those with quick reflexes. There are no big green advance notices like those on the interstates. Just keep a sharp lookout and don't hesitate to ask for help.
Speed is no fun in back roading. You can almost miss history going through towns like Lonaconing, birthplace of "Lefty" Grove, nine times American league earned-run leader. Lonaconing is the site of the first successful coke-fired iron furnace in America. It's right there in the park.
You can miss Tilghman Island where our last commercial sailing vessels live, or St. Mary's City with its replica of the "Dove" which brought settlers to Maryland in 1634.
After an enjoyable trip, then, you get to return home knowing you have saved energy - yours and the planet's. Actually, you may have energy -- and money -- to spare.
The Maryland Office of Tourism with its wealth of booklets and maps, can be reached on 1 800 543 1036. You can write to them at 45 Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD.
The above is a chapter from a forthcoming book on environmentally-wise RV travel.
Copyright 1995 Jo Campbell All Rights Reserved Ecotopics International News Service P.O. Box 2309 Ocean City, MD 21842-8309 voice 410 250 3404 fax 250 4967 jocee@shore.intercom.net
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