tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91221969203326629902024-03-05T20:22:55.131-05:00Walking Across America with Beth and ChowderBethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-25133401028727359272011-01-23T19:26:00.005-05:002011-01-23T19:48:06.803-05:00College Park, Md<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtGPXsypuKuUDSWtAlqhjkWznYyVHKhzNxcu4JkQ7geR-Jtg83IuIV3VlGyYGk7GdzJiX8X6LpOH2qaZs3avDC_Hl_DYwlh1yHtxxekGqZGCd0ODEBmXoAfRTjyMQNb3KBsvKElk904fb/s1600/Maryland-Basketball-Comcast-Center.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtGPXsypuKuUDSWtAlqhjkWznYyVHKhzNxcu4JkQ7geR-Jtg83IuIV3VlGyYGk7GdzJiX8X6LpOH2qaZs3avDC_Hl_DYwlh1yHtxxekGqZGCd0ODEBmXoAfRTjyMQNb3KBsvKElk904fb/s200/Maryland-Basketball-Comcast-Center.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565547181726137266" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpPIDS8WUBmCP5fm-vZ70qPJDugQDRyJQngnP3scY5be0PSLh8Skd9BpnYGTqBD20h4i50Ht5lqVk8sc5XedjaWHiwZBPaDJWllgaMcDbDBnt1rurGfM_tYXLLAr3up4bIApQvUPZ_KJg/s1600/College_Park_Airport_2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpPIDS8WUBmCP5fm-vZ70qPJDugQDRyJQngnP3scY5be0PSLh8Skd9BpnYGTqBD20h4i50Ht5lqVk8sc5XedjaWHiwZBPaDJWllgaMcDbDBnt1rurGfM_tYXLLAr3up4bIApQvUPZ_KJg/s200/College_Park_Airport_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565547176260811202" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYgYSLuBiQNQlO2y6xn2usT9fB9_pk1meUjovrGTZNXaXV0GSnd1-8g-AM1CQ9MyJcKuHj8mYbTtqjUIOJwqoZB_IRB6qXjKjNcz3WGGFdoWytxx8NE4PTbXKShyYKYQYHYId4PHHewWz/s1600/maryland-fans.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYgYSLuBiQNQlO2y6xn2usT9fB9_pk1meUjovrGTZNXaXV0GSnd1-8g-AM1CQ9MyJcKuHj8mYbTtqjUIOJwqoZB_IRB6qXjKjNcz3WGGFdoWytxx8NE4PTbXKShyYKYQYHYId4PHHewWz/s200/maryland-fans.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565547176486611986" /></a><br />College Park is the home of the University of Maryland, which means it is also the home of the Maryland Terrapins. As I type this I am sitting in a room painted red, white and yellow - the colors of the terrapins. There is a Maryland Terrapins clock on the wall, a Terrapins throw blanket on the sofa I'm sitting on, and the room decor includes among other things a stuffed version of the Terps' mascot and a gnome with a Terrapin logo holding a football. My dear partner is, um, a little fond of the Terps.<br /><br />But she never reads my blog, so this post will be about the historic College Park Airport. So there! It was established in 1909 so that Wilbur Wright could teach two Army officers to fly the government's very first military airplane. There is an aviation museum, but the airport is still in use, making it the oldest continuously operated airport in the world. It occupies 40 acres, and has a single runway. Its firsts include the first night flights and landings, the first women passengers, first aerial photographs, and the first mile-high flight.<br /><br />Oh, fine, and the Terps play in College Park too.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-44490271437336814052011-01-18T15:19:00.006-05:002011-01-18T15:29:19.659-05:00Utopia in the DC Suburbs - Greenbelt, Md<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6R2iJIZemUJ8RW4rs6qX2BqF3d_J05AYm3PNdDJcNxN7vpG80IAvCDEOwCHJjQPi3lL4zP2S9w5DoS9C2YVnNk1xjwF8Sq9RbKhzw7QIwjZhssIvrJ7O54PTbIDFFbJdqsrG2u2-4iX-s/s1600/imagesCA8L8YIP.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6R2iJIZemUJ8RW4rs6qX2BqF3d_J05AYm3PNdDJcNxN7vpG80IAvCDEOwCHJjQPi3lL4zP2S9w5DoS9C2YVnNk1xjwF8Sq9RbKhzw7QIwjZhssIvrJ7O54PTbIDFFbJdqsrG2u2-4iX-s/s200/imagesCA8L8YIP.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563624039779619506" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VQEkepojMQJ-GeAjt4O9hTLEEDl8esEda3JJ_Y1EyNeKyQSeepAZf993UQTxhNbVD5vmHdyZ78LBAHRAlSOxrcRfGqOSAeSLsUXg6IfG0gMhYM0h5k-gQuD4bpN2JZJcWL2wUf9FICFf/s1600/3664979172_fa386bd0b7.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VQEkepojMQJ-GeAjt4O9hTLEEDl8esEda3JJ_Y1EyNeKyQSeepAZf993UQTxhNbVD5vmHdyZ78LBAHRAlSOxrcRfGqOSAeSLsUXg6IfG0gMhYM0h5k-gQuD4bpN2JZJcWL2wUf9FICFf/s200/3664979172_fa386bd0b7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563624038840602402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyltyfL6iBEyOWwUrgPmAJDWzkp7nv7fVxbdYeQ5I1XKPLLlUcuOS8C5OW8BLUbe3PmBqiF5yybwI2f4pp7X6nsFrhiZd07YWXFaBQzBzBlPMF7vV2tQa-tqv9_sjaNdPQ6mEgkL7MM1p2/s1600/family_in_livingroom.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyltyfL6iBEyOWwUrgPmAJDWzkp7nv7fVxbdYeQ5I1XKPLLlUcuOS8C5OW8BLUbe3PmBqiF5yybwI2f4pp7X6nsFrhiZd07YWXFaBQzBzBlPMF7vV2tQa-tqv9_sjaNdPQ6mEgkL7MM1p2/s200/family_in_livingroom.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563624043474741570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCw8fG2WaP4B_t7yhKpmNeYexP8alPDltesper_yqAO4wbXRIptdHKlQ1wEMlykEbKF2LJZbTARob4ALRZsBYq_niV3GKOcJX4eWNVZwT3ih_nXhxxI4-6poZLe5W1aiOnraxkUvUSMEv/s1600/frieze_union.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCw8fG2WaP4B_t7yhKpmNeYexP8alPDltesper_yqAO4wbXRIptdHKlQ1wEMlykEbKF2LJZbTARob4ALRZsBYq_niV3GKOcJX4eWNVZwT3ih_nXhxxI4-6poZLe5W1aiOnraxkUvUSMEv/s200/frieze_union.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563624044435273010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYPaMm60yURe6j8WSaqS7fFgF5SIJJWZ_5OQjidm4-2LEMeYATgNLTNGSNkA7aU8UNdYdmaYnObF0AR_G7rsh3bT_bTojRfbP52iCHQ0mFSiiMg6S1wWi7xhnmeQifwJVZDFL6GbgRN-E/s1600/800px-2008_04_02_-_Greenbelt_-_Centerway_pedestrian_path_2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYPaMm60yURe6j8WSaqS7fFgF5SIJJWZ_5OQjidm4-2LEMeYATgNLTNGSNkA7aU8UNdYdmaYnObF0AR_G7rsh3bT_bTojRfbP52iCHQ0mFSiiMg6S1wWi7xhnmeQifwJVZDFL6GbgRN-E/s200/800px-2008_04_02_-_Greenbelt_-_Centerway_pedestrian_path_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563624048269560338" /></a><br /><br />This city was created in 1937, in the midst of the Depression, as a federal project to provide housing for low income families. Two other greenbelt cities were built in the 30s - Greendale, WI and Greenhills, OH. The plan was ambitious - a complete city where people would have affordable homes, work together for the community good, and have ready access to green spaces. The two main streets formed a crescent, with stores, the school, and community buildings nestled between them. Around them were homes, grouped so that residents could walk into the center of town without crossing a major street. There were lots of pedestrian pathways, with tunnels or overpasses to safely get pedestrians across major roads. Surrounding it all was forested land, the green belt for which the town was named. Nearly 6000 families applied for the original 885 homes. <br /><br />So, what did Utopia look like in 1937? Well, it had art deco buildings, simple Scandinavian style furniture, and lots of inspirational sculptures showing people working together to make a better community. The houses were designed very small to minimize costs - just under 700 square feet for a two story, 3 bedroom house. Ordinary furniture would not have fit, and so special furniture was designed for these homes. Pieces were designed to be small, simply designed, and multipurpose, and then production was contracted to a family owned Danish furniture factory. Although it was affordable furniture designed for low income homeowners, it became sought after for its sleek, modern style. The company went on to become SCAN furniture, a chain which still sells Scandinavian style furniture in the DC area.<br /><br />Greenbelt residents were very big on community life. Local groups formed to provide babysitting, publish a newspaper, and start a hospital, fire department, and rescue squad. A co-op was formed to operate stores in the community, and in the 1950s when the federal government wanted to get out of the housing business in Greenbelt, another co-op formed to buy the homes. Nowadays a typical suburban community has grown up around the historic original city, with high rises, McMansions sitting on cul de sacs, and an Ikea. Today, in this city founded for low income families, the median household income is $46,000.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-15856067053750881572011-01-16T20:23:00.003-05:002011-01-16T20:36:38.788-05:00A hiking interlude<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cVYm8cMUziL0GTqTyUcjK9TwKdV035Gk-YXwJ7f-dICX43xmittEWrGr4VCWEEMwWMH1rYHHZoAZmFXgiW5RWWflqtByNZ33B3Ub1W74GkJ4yrBGC6VAzK44EJOaiNNdckHC11tQEWRX/s1600/600_20833415.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2cVYm8cMUziL0GTqTyUcjK9TwKdV035Gk-YXwJ7f-dICX43xmittEWrGr4VCWEEMwWMH1rYHHZoAZmFXgiW5RWWflqtByNZ33B3Ub1W74GkJ4yrBGC6VAzK44EJOaiNNdckHC11tQEWRX/s200/600_20833415.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562962136300543250" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87r8m4v7YSOBiVxk7t_ClednwdMW8NgtBUy2sk0wqB1iHMi1adGu0tXmJkLZJFL5vTrR-1Su52MZ4DwYMn5QmVCDLn5OYrQPgDMBsPiagr_Bw9p78q4JFaLs6wzT-WSbOT3bEhrIyAWfB/s1600/eli%2527s+first+hike.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87r8m4v7YSOBiVxk7t_ClednwdMW8NgtBUy2sk0wqB1iHMi1adGu0tXmJkLZJFL5vTrR-1Su52MZ4DwYMn5QmVCDLn5OYrQPgDMBsPiagr_Bw9p78q4JFaLs6wzT-WSbOT3bEhrIyAWfB/s200/eli%2527s+first+hike.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562962131414165874" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwrAtkT2Zl_hO_O-0simVzC4J21BVPkXNS0YocN_-u6FUPFIdQ4fQa4EZ9QJAMfVAn_ISXWY7m6B2L_FHE4tuJyf6lav89CQ7UVL8Sawugij1-1dPgNG6ih9uYX-5eyrYCUWJVTl42ISl/s1600/600_20833308.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwrAtkT2Zl_hO_O-0simVzC4J21BVPkXNS0YocN_-u6FUPFIdQ4fQa4EZ9QJAMfVAn_ISXWY7m6B2L_FHE4tuJyf6lav89CQ7UVL8Sawugij1-1dPgNG6ih9uYX-5eyrYCUWJVTl42ISl/s200/600_20833308.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562962124879286690" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQS38lGmi26XMryRUvom1RY1RRc9fJPnDcTDj_nRR9Viy4qL39DcKENAsIA-HETdYOEi20ex6AOPkieUjPAgG7eSj6glZTp7nfSktc-1PO4LkW7yrD7bUs8V3Agok6lVfOMS82pOVjMt1/s1600/600_20833391.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQS38lGmi26XMryRUvom1RY1RRc9fJPnDcTDj_nRR9Viy4qL39DcKENAsIA-HETdYOEi20ex6AOPkieUjPAgG7eSj6glZTp7nfSktc-1PO4LkW7yrD7bUs8V3Agok6lVfOMS82pOVjMt1/s200/600_20833391.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562962127897441026" /></a><br />Today we interrupt our virtual walking to bring you pictures from a real walk. I went for my first outing with an awesome group called Hiking Dogs of Central Maryland, along with Chowder's baby brother Eli. We hiked for nearly 4 hours around Liberty Reservoir in Northwest Baltimore County. The scenery was pretty, the dogs and people were friendly, and I logged 7.6 more miles for my walk across America. Also I may not be able to move tomorrow. The dogs got to run around off leash, except for Eli who had to go back on his leash after about an hour and a half because he met the love of his life, a yellow lab named Elinor, and would. not. stop. humping. her. That's him and her above. <br /><br />Coming up next: Greenbelt Maryland!BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-88998969042384252872010-12-28T21:55:00.001-05:002010-12-28T21:55:52.213-05:00Beltsville, Md<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKVHZ-mKb0XgUR-SX9tQ55TySmncSv2OL1UyvS6Bnq1xio1P5QVu6NwVSN7uhAFVTCw5SVgiKVttEmkLoBJZX7LKbn2Shpkl9Jzwzvf9bTUF6vjh7f4a1n0VWftEAKQAUQ_LTqKO7OfpM/s1600/3594405000_8fe7ce004c_o.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKVHZ-mKb0XgUR-SX9tQ55TySmncSv2OL1UyvS6Bnq1xio1P5QVu6NwVSN7uhAFVTCw5SVgiKVttEmkLoBJZX7LKbn2Shpkl9Jzwzvf9bTUF6vjh7f4a1n0VWftEAKQAUQ_LTqKO7OfpM/s200/3594405000_8fe7ce004c_o.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555931970328044418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPU0A53eRjE1CvY8zInOAapmy0G4wBI85NY951bbZp1-mB_nJwCvqTIV1E7lZUyDVS9Z4zyfpR6eCffd2kZ0_tNTgFhVUeIleA7T9dAco17jz90LPu9QazM9egiSdT8q6Ocihtr_iaOFLr/s1600/Photo64072.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPU0A53eRjE1CvY8zInOAapmy0G4wBI85NY951bbZp1-mB_nJwCvqTIV1E7lZUyDVS9Z4zyfpR6eCffd2kZ0_tNTgFhVUeIleA7T9dAco17jz90LPu9QazM9egiSdT8q6Ocihtr_iaOFLr/s200/Photo64072.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555931962181664978" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTpVWfdgqzFuyXQ3RZmD3mEwtrCf57NEs0afrfz86sJyxuYnykmI9bxrh_cdsaX8YFQummtZfHWXlibIYmIzljnbkQC4sy7PgZqzycpkwR_y46DMNZPEAyVHN2OzEhB4Vaw_7OXXCoqmZ/s1600/Beltsvillerc.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTpVWfdgqzFuyXQ3RZmD3mEwtrCf57NEs0afrfz86sJyxuYnykmI9bxrh_cdsaX8YFQummtZfHWXlibIYmIzljnbkQC4sy7PgZqzycpkwR_y46DMNZPEAyVHN2OzEhB4Vaw_7OXXCoqmZ/s200/Beltsvillerc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555931961550764130" /></a><br />Ok, so I'm a bad blogger. A very, very bad blogger. And a bad walker. And here I go, trying to get back on track! So, at mile 131, we find ourselves in Beltsville, Md. Home to the largest agricultural research complex in the world: The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. <br /><br />It's been around for 100 years, and in that time it has been the site of some major breakthroughs, including:<br />-proving that dairy cows and beef cows are the same animal. I have no idea how this was ever in question, but there you go.<br />-proving that refrigerating pork reduces the chance of catching a parasite from it. Again, this seems kind of obvious, albeit a little less so than the discovery that cows are cows.<br />-major changes in the process of making butter that increased its shelf life.<br />-developing a smaller turkey with more breast meat. You probably ate one of its descendants last month for Thanksgiving.<br />-inventing the Beltsville Aerated Pile Method for composting sewage sludge. Apparently it's very well regarded in the sewage treatment world.<br />-introducing New Guinea Impatiens to the 99.997% of the world that doesn't live in New Guinea. Possibly less important to humanity than the sewage treatment thing, but definitely more attractive.<br /><br /><br />miles walked: 131BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-32893320529897499602010-05-23T03:17:00.017-04:002010-05-26T22:38:09.702-04:00The journey of a thousand miles and all that jazz<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5o5BOdGU6V1OSlYQRwtNS7WZTBzk8PsDbQapemK5-5rqDeaQkamQQS9_Soh5viATR8iEYpm5Z5UvAEuLhyphenhypheny-eZ25EC6l6QToG1J2uEJPnBGm6hWouCoKGif-Z8Qk1SMgRzLgadr_IYKVw/s1600/th025.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5o5BOdGU6V1OSlYQRwtNS7WZTBzk8PsDbQapemK5-5rqDeaQkamQQS9_Soh5viATR8iEYpm5Z5UvAEuLhyphenhypheny-eZ25EC6l6QToG1J2uEJPnBGm6hWouCoKGif-Z8Qk1SMgRzLgadr_IYKVw/s320/th025.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474645290452110626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiITBBkizGHm8-6TFRK3ztKpvI27uDcHELYVSLj82gY_1RvaXuWLGQ15ydvndCHGVFJFGqpMFsBPMeDCVJdnBmyxoiNtQhnXWs5-gyLumQt7w_4vSYZ3pEvcoOvRkL-8BJmd3sS4ZG17T/s1600/the-journey-of-a-thousand-miles-begins-with-a-single-step-confucius-203179.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiITBBkizGHm8-6TFRK3ztKpvI27uDcHELYVSLj82gY_1RvaXuWLGQ15ydvndCHGVFJFGqpMFsBPMeDCVJdnBmyxoiNtQhnXWs5-gyLumQt7w_4vSYZ3pEvcoOvRkL-8BJmd3sS4ZG17T/s320/the-journey-of-a-thousand-miles-begins-with-a-single-step-confucius-203179.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474645280350417010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTIH66eL6fGCXQ92IUi4vhG7G4YGrxggKVJjXiA2cC0byh2P5ADU66QFK8d1m8VTFM6QpWXchJJ_PlM2bC5q3Excx7RadzpaQYUYfqq3MS74N1Jf7GWvpKwuoEDa4PYyHS2JkAE3bxaKj/s1600/journey_of_a_thousand_miles.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTIH66eL6fGCXQ92IUi4vhG7G4YGrxggKVJjXiA2cC0byh2P5ADU66QFK8d1m8VTFM6QpWXchJJ_PlM2bC5q3Excx7RadzpaQYUYfqq3MS74N1Jf7GWvpKwuoEDa4PYyHS2JkAE3bxaKj/s320/journey_of_a_thousand_miles.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474645273609318018" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbPsEHmpOPzvQzGwcsJMz2DfasegUkT9JHhqZ41PmXzeDpje0ke4NszqVxi3WBQkDBz6t8GNULNgGklLbThdPL7yGVJHSutO9fKj9LAmRE81QvonMyotn-n59qybrPu2SXk2yHb3zfEUf/s1600/journey_of_a_thousand_miles_greeting_card-p137422090375659101t5tq_400.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbPsEHmpOPzvQzGwcsJMz2DfasegUkT9JHhqZ41PmXzeDpje0ke4NszqVxi3WBQkDBz6t8GNULNgGklLbThdPL7yGVJHSutO9fKj9LAmRE81QvonMyotn-n59qybrPu2SXk2yHb3zfEUf/s320/journey_of_a_thousand_miles_greeting_card-p137422090375659101t5tq_400.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474642005246203138" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3sj8ZNaOaRkGDIzST8XpEHMou7dP3pTBHAjPEw2Os8qT0SRBkCK_A-scYHh529KxFEhzmzClg6woDh0rh53DiG28YGfmGwdh5dXDrKLDylvVm5-onier9uZG_z8f_iV6PpfKR8w5ZTvI/s1600/6335134213966949352.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3sj8ZNaOaRkGDIzST8XpEHMou7dP3pTBHAjPEw2Os8qT0SRBkCK_A-scYHh529KxFEhzmzClg6woDh0rh53DiG28YGfmGwdh5dXDrKLDylvVm5-onier9uZG_z8f_iV6PpfKR8w5ZTvI/s320/6335134213966949352.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474642017110667874" /></a><br /> Chinese philospher Lao Tzu said the famous quote above about the journey of a thousand miles. Since then it's been immortalized on a bunch of sappy motivational posters and greeting cards (see above). Those posters in turn were satirized hilariously on the one above titled "Ambition." It sounds pretty profound until you think about it and realize it basically amounts to "You gotta start somewhere." <br /><br />Anyway, how about a journey of 5000 miles? The other night, I couldn't sleep, and I did a very stupid thing. I looked up the whole American Discovery Trail and estimated how long it will take me, if I keep up about 2 miles a day, to get all the way to the end of this walk across America. Are you ready for this? Seven years. By the time my virtual self stands on the beach at Limantour, California, my daughter will be 22. I will be pushing 50. Damn. Gives a whole new meaning to "it's the journey, not the destination."<br /><br />So, I thought, let's see how long it will take to get me out of freaking Maryland. (I will be passing through part of DC soon but then back into Maryland, so that doesn't really count.) It will be a real milestone to finally walk far enough to get out of my home state. Turns out that will happen sometime in August. Then I thought, let's see where I'll be by Christmas! The answer: just reaching Ohio. Getting a little discouraged, I decided to see where I'll be this time next year. And the answer to that is.......still somewhere in Ohio. <br /><br />So my goal is to reach the end of this walk before I turn 50. That sounded miserably long but then I thought about the fact that around this time in 2001, I decided to change careers, get out of social work and become a doctor. This involved completing a program to do my med school prerequisites, getting into and through medical school, then getting into and through residency. When you add up all the time that stuff all takes - 11 years. And one month from now I will start year 10 of that 11 year plan. So, it may take a while, but Limantour, California here I come!BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-44860815423851009942010-05-19T20:39:00.005-04:002010-05-23T02:48:44.222-04:00Take Me Out to the Ballgame<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hPibTYw9jWil3wxQzpPRvik3aWrfrPGR1ESruJCi8OWoX66KZ59loi_d1lIxN75YPd5VyXNrbJMOvOblDAF_xNlbq1ULB8wUI5aMcyKfqfkL11JI_SaApXxWUZyhSREqj_J3cJLCbQAF/s1600/Bowie%2520Stadium.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hPibTYw9jWil3wxQzpPRvik3aWrfrPGR1ESruJCi8OWoX66KZ59loi_d1lIxN75YPd5VyXNrbJMOvOblDAF_xNlbq1ULB8wUI5aMcyKfqfkL11JI_SaApXxWUZyhSREqj_J3cJLCbQAF/s320/Bowie%2520Stadium.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474353148065856322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-i825KvwjxUj7PstaDuFBpQ4KW3Ax07dW5eCBbsPIdojXog8A2zomGRI9U18z2meUQcO29zy51jm9y3s2Qok0M6XZDUs_-R5wGnd65YkE-46XhTBfdJ5eMXhIK191iJ7NpLDjnb5ZDFs8/s1600/dog+baysox.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-i825KvwjxUj7PstaDuFBpQ4KW3Ax07dW5eCBbsPIdojXog8A2zomGRI9U18z2meUQcO29zy51jm9y3s2Qok0M6XZDUs_-R5wGnd65YkE-46XhTBfdJ5eMXhIK191iJ7NpLDjnb5ZDFs8/s320/dog+baysox.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474353153014688530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nVgjXTlThyoyUhqnCDCeDdGmkMmoENQ7aDDemoHhic4Z3iy3kpMMKKZAkXSWOLCnb_5fW5OYSko4PGz1EjrnOUXSWnLSwoDmftrXj0hVnUqWFzGGyIdX8BeY-1mO_xpcN_ui5UKkbDtl/s1600/p6171131-947x1024.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nVgjXTlThyoyUhqnCDCeDdGmkMmoENQ7aDDemoHhic4Z3iy3kpMMKKZAkXSWOLCnb_5fW5OYSko4PGz1EjrnOUXSWnLSwoDmftrXj0hVnUqWFzGGyIdX8BeY-1mO_xpcN_ui5UKkbDtl/s320/p6171131-947x1024.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474353153988035202" /></a><br /><br />Today we find ourselves in Bowie, Maryland, to enjoy a Saturday ballgame. That would be the Bowie Baysox, the minor league AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The team was started in 1993 and the name was chosen by a contest - other finalists included the "Baybirds" and the "Nationals." They made it to the playoffs in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2008. Notable alumni of the Baysox include Armando Benitez, closer for the SF Giants, Eric Bedard, pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, Nick Markakis, outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, and Sidney Ponson, starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. I say they are notable because I've actually heard of them, which given my tepid level of interest in pro baseball can only mean one of two things: they are or were an Oriole, or they're actually famous. Actually, reviewing the list, I think those were all Orioles at some point. But hey, Sidney Ponson was knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, so that clearly proves he's notable. <br /> <br />The mascot of the Baysox is "Louie," a large green furry thing with pink hair. His species is unknown but he looks pretty friendly. General admission tickets are only $9 and parking is free! Chowder was happy to see that the stadium is apparently dog friendly. Unfortunately, the Baysox lost 6-2 to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Their record for the season stands at 20-22.<br /><br /><br />miles walked: 119BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-67252730676105286582010-05-10T19:06:00.006-04:002010-05-10T19:30:01.647-04:00Parole, Maryland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoipyKASqaMFohjuDNCX9_2k1eZSnPtKGlEYzXc1apdJKaqwY-TDJg6-I8SojSwST2pef1zOcshJw0su5SWlVBx0U1EfQw57xyJknoFbq-E_L4tGAAEXBqPerqLi9j1_F3qMeXnDUpH_Pb/s1600/camp+parole.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoipyKASqaMFohjuDNCX9_2k1eZSnPtKGlEYzXc1apdJKaqwY-TDJg6-I8SojSwST2pef1zOcshJw0su5SWlVBx0U1EfQw57xyJknoFbq-E_L4tGAAEXBqPerqLi9j1_F3qMeXnDUpH_Pb/s320/camp+parole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469787290815494530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6k8p1tIezGkKE9D5rCTYTqYUJh__8EjxvNfd1Di6BJnd6tMYBr7qg2cpcXJ5BK1jBCeAKVOHfcjerVnLo0kBBW1Fa-o7cEOUcdGlrKyxRWh_x8a6wmKGHG0lUKq3SgcmlYV-JfyKsvlWq/s1600/sears+parole.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6k8p1tIezGkKE9D5rCTYTqYUJh__8EjxvNfd1Di6BJnd6tMYBr7qg2cpcXJ5BK1jBCeAKVOHfcjerVnLo0kBBW1Fa-o7cEOUcdGlrKyxRWh_x8a6wmKGHG0lUKq3SgcmlYV-JfyKsvlWq/s320/sears+parole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469786429321002274" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZIqK1dGIDCiLdpHNktAC_ICuLtsFmHoIY1rAR3H6O40bWRh854Jpjzymkw4vZLm_weKWnqLjPaM-TgilcbZviTKxlqk1LkUu3_y5wvJXrLBGrhuO0UOuDvaNVIufiIH1bpFjSKX-FHXi/s1600/233427251_e99db70e43.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZIqK1dGIDCiLdpHNktAC_ICuLtsFmHoIY1rAR3H6O40bWRh854Jpjzymkw4vZLm_weKWnqLjPaM-TgilcbZviTKxlqk1LkUu3_y5wvJXrLBGrhuO0UOuDvaNVIufiIH1bpFjSKX-FHXi/s320/233427251_e99db70e43.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469786417289101042" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlNmbj3q1pC7gRUSLVPa9w6CMc5mjwEBzqdR37-s8qk6P0PynA0BSfikocET1ACDrzsOXnM_ETqXCi70IQd6VqHtlMkNRk3_oSIVIOmLR4frTgzkcW1vnNnKv836EYZcUkT5WiJloCZCR/s1600/1006parole.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlNmbj3q1pC7gRUSLVPa9w6CMc5mjwEBzqdR37-s8qk6P0PynA0BSfikocET1ACDrzsOXnM_ETqXCi70IQd6VqHtlMkNRk3_oSIVIOmLR4frTgzkcW1vnNnKv836EYZcUkT5WiJloCZCR/s320/1006parole.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469786413875029810" /></a><br />Our next stop is on the way out of Annapolis, in the little town/area of Parole. When I was a child, its main claim to fame was that it was the posh area to shop near Annapolis. In 1961, ground was broken for the Parole Plaza, an open air mall anchored by a Sears store. It's hard to believe from the pictures above, taken after the shopping center was abandoned and before it was torn down to be redeveloped as yet another mall, but it was a shopping destination. Before it was built, people had to go to Baltimore or Washington DC for large department stores. This was just before enclosed shopping malls were developed, so Parole Plaza was built around a grassy center courtyard, and you walked from store to store outside. Parole Plaza was blamed for killing the shopping district in downtown Annapolis, and in a bit of poetic justice, the Annapolis Mall that was built in later years did the same thing to Parole Plaza. By the 1990s it had fallen on hard times, and now it's gone.<br /><br />The area is named for Camp Parole, where prisoners of war were held during the Civil War. Union soldiers who had been captured in the South were held there while corresponding Confederate prisoners were exchanged for them. Once the exchanging was done, they were sent back to their homes or their former regiments. Below is a letter which one of the prisoners sent to his hometown newspaper in Indianapolis:<br /><br />Parole Camp, Annapolis, MD., <br />February 8, 1863.<br /><br />Editor Journal: After wandering over the bounds of this camp to the Bay Shore and back again this beautiful Sabbath day, to retire to my tent with my fellow comrades, I feel a degree of languor that almost subsides into a stupidity and carelessness which is not common but wrong for a soldier. How can we be composed , how can we divest ourselves of the great melancholy that pervades us.—The last day of the year 1862 hundreds of us were compelled to surrender as prisoners of war before Murfreesboro, Tenn. As fast as possible we were paroled, placed in cars upon the railroad for Chattanooga and informed by the Confederate officers having us in charge that our final destination was Vicksburg, Miss. The railroad communication was so damaged that our transportation was not only very expensive, but quite circuitous. Some of the points we made were Atlanta, Georgia, through North Carolina, Montgomery Alabama, to the State of Florida, to a city wearing the name of Pollard. Here an officer in charge received a dispatch from the authorities to return to Richmond, Va., which was done, and in an almost starving and naked condition we were introduced to our lodgings in Richmond, to-wit: Castle Thunder, on the 18th of January. After two weeks of a stay and short rations of bread and soup we were stripped of the remnant of our little extras, placed on cars, taken to City Point on board the steamers New York and Express and, by way of Fortress Monroe, we arrived at this old city.<br /><br />The weather has been very unfavorable for remaining without shelter. But so many of us have been thrown here at one time that we have been compelled to remain out of doors, exposed to snow storms, pelting rains, and piercing winds, without clothes to keep us warm; but it was a military necessity and was complied with. But fortune and the government have at last favored us. It is not only amusing but interesting to see the boys this warm, pleasant day passing about completely enveloped in new suits who, three days since, were passing around or shivering about the poor camp fires in tatters and rags dodging snow and rain.<br /><br />Various are the private letters and petitions that have been directed to Governor Morton for his aid, assistance and influence for our removal to Camp Morton. We are all soldiers in the Army of the Cumberland. We have long undergone the privations incident to the army almost without a murmur. Unfortunately for a while we are compelled to lay down our arms, and why not let us be in our own State during the interval. We are ready and willing at any time for an exchange that will return us again to our regiments, but as with the voice of one man we cry for home (several hundred of us); if we fail in this, as we all now fully contemplate we will not, I fear it may result in a dissatisfaction among and with us. None doubt but that we will all soon seen Indianapolis; all are loud in the praise of our noble Governor, who has already won our favor by his kindness manifested towards Indiana soldiers, and for his patriotism in the cause in which we are engaged and have left our homes and risked our lives to sustain.<br /><br />There are thousands of troops here from every loyal or half loyal State in the Union; some very hard boys and some very good.—There is plenty of everything to sell to satisfy the cravings of appetite and clothing to decorate the bodies of us soldiers, and very cheap; but very unfortunately the boys are out of money, and we are enjoying ourselves entirely at Uncle Sam’s expense. It is quite cheap living. We have some sickness among us, and rumors of smallpox among us brought from Richmond. <br />Yours truly, <br />Masten Dashiel <br /><br />miles walked to date: 101BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-6319494382577305452010-05-02T15:33:00.010-04:002010-12-28T21:22:54.298-05:00Annapolis - little city by the bay<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoFv0XSCdAGNKvJJAkV2DJnTmTi0sDy9JiAlPPBSjA77E4QqYSBqd4UjtepZiEONvCtBoPv_pbLMkdmZPjaFvnKhqzBpCWmfEsAvna-QKZpkV4dvzqEaFleUjbOjbyoyaWLcfq5WK56cG/s1600/annapolisnight.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoFv0XSCdAGNKvJJAkV2DJnTmTi0sDy9JiAlPPBSjA77E4QqYSBqd4UjtepZiEONvCtBoPv_pbLMkdmZPjaFvnKhqzBpCWmfEsAvna-QKZpkV4dvzqEaFleUjbOjbyoyaWLcfq5WK56cG/s320/annapolisnight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466773108481754594" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQszwq8-nnBnx_cPViDLy5yU1MdDYc_Ep3wVVWLDuV5xZtjwVf9-z0jNLTlsfOW06y42xe7S-ZgK6bSDfGoT5r05jQ5CgkwfIO8gCOb_0mkoHFXbPK3tBLNfr8lpqb7yo0Heqs0P4txb1/s1600/harbor"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQszwq8-nnBnx_cPViDLy5yU1MdDYc_Ep3wVVWLDuV5xZtjwVf9-z0jNLTlsfOW06y42xe7S-ZgK6bSDfGoT5r05jQ5CgkwfIO8gCOb_0mkoHFXbPK3tBLNfr8lpqb7yo0Heqs0P4txb1/s320/harbor" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466772845816140194" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpRAgp6PMFt2LbkfeXYG8X2AtcXrPrDOqjAxAUug2MgZQPx8F4HyyXpgFxHExq8-Kr8RGO9_axVGokayuHYwzF53RU-XG2cUXAmJDgVylZR73i_6woJIox2V22uZZuqxqhmrdriKQ-Olf/s1600/HiResPaca.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpRAgp6PMFt2LbkfeXYG8X2AtcXrPrDOqjAxAUug2MgZQPx8F4HyyXpgFxHExq8-Kr8RGO9_axVGokayuHYwzF53RU-XG2cUXAmJDgVylZR73i_6woJIox2V22uZZuqxqhmrdriKQ-Olf/s320/HiResPaca.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466773576365019842" /></a><br /><br /><br />Okay, after far too long a break, I'm getting back on the trail. Blame a bout of depression, plus a broken hand and 80 hour work weeks - whatever, I'm back. I have been doing some walking in the interim, since Chowder still has to poop, and am around mile 154 on the trail. But I'll be blogging all the places we missed during my funk.<br /><br />So today, we find ourselves in Annapolis, the state capitol of Maryland. Now, two-thirds of my readership (ie my mom and my sister) used to give guided history tours of Annapolis, and they know WAY more about the place than me. So apologies in advance for any inaccuracies to follow. I blame wikipedia.<br /><br />Annapolis was founded in 1649 by a bunch of Puritans from Virginia, and went through several names in its early years: Town at Proctor's, Town at the Severn, and Anne Arundel's town. It was finally named Annapolis after Princess Anne of England in 1694, when it became the capitol of the colony of Maryland. It briefly served as the capitol of the US in 1783-1784. <br /><br />One of the loveliest parts of Annapolis is its city dock, right in the historic district. On beautiful days like today, the water is filled with sailboats, and the streets with people strolling around enjoying the view and the shops and restaurants. There is a memorial to Kunta Kinte and Alex Haley, commemorating the actual place where Haley's famous ancestor arrived in America. A few blocks away are State Circle, with the state house at its center, and Church Circle, which encloses St. Anne's church. St. Anne's is an Episcopal church that was the first house of worship in Annapolis. It was built in 1792, but that was 3 churches ago, and the structure that stands there now was built in 1858. The original structure was uncharitably referred to by contemporaries as more of a barn than a church, so I guess no gem of historic architecture was lost. <br /><br />Annapolis has a lot of surviving buildings from the 1700s. If you like colonial history, this is your town - sort of like Williamsburg Virginia, without all the hype. There's the William Paca House and Gardens (shown above, home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence) and the Hammond-Harwood House ("arguably one of the most exquisite houses remaining from the Colonial Period in America"). Annapolis is also home to the US Naval Academy.<br /><br />Miles walked: 99BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-370462809774978862009-12-24T17:50:00.004-05:002009-12-24T18:21:21.592-05:00In the Burbs: Arnold, Maryland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRLEBTHKbSAE5nDEPRV4bzPtXmouOSUx7sAAATebAHkaC8WlZJ_KvYmXlTDgoraga88oseAQrkvt8QYiuHF0hciQxVWiSC7wk3iu99NtYLGSIT96WmStX0-MEWRpNt6Ra-jleLOVEctoA/s1600-h/arnoldcreek.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRLEBTHKbSAE5nDEPRV4bzPtXmouOSUx7sAAATebAHkaC8WlZJ_KvYmXlTDgoraga88oseAQrkvt8QYiuHF0hciQxVWiSC7wk3iu99NtYLGSIT96WmStX0-MEWRpNt6Ra-jleLOVEctoA/s320/arnoldcreek.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418939465113627858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FLqmpSP9VzLWA8A-0H19URGtgMLsdVIAK1WanId1dZeocAI85CyzL3fj2gOjDO2RNryBAC0-yM4nCAhFIvBDi3ihjvLwmcPgaIypZX-HM5NIosnXSmFmDFHl52xD81gr-hPuL4Yphueq/s1600-h/magothy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FLqmpSP9VzLWA8A-0H19URGtgMLsdVIAK1WanId1dZeocAI85CyzL3fj2gOjDO2RNryBAC0-yM4nCAhFIvBDi3ihjvLwmcPgaIypZX-HM5NIosnXSmFmDFHl52xD81gr-hPuL4Yphueq/s320/magothy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418939460279975794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCKTnZKtVZJdmvwlqz9955v2uEqopCLto5rdVd6SpI3o38rNqbyXHzsxlBhFZTzcgXpN3UVXC0wwSQZaFMd6tYe-6JAxYnwD1wCfqR2W4BjmG3uqUBQ8srzxW3yTgG9Xp7jVFrdBlMsk4/s1600-h/asburymechurcharnold.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCKTnZKtVZJdmvwlqz9955v2uEqopCLto5rdVd6SpI3o38rNqbyXHzsxlBhFZTzcgXpN3UVXC0wwSQZaFMd6tYe-6JAxYnwD1wCfqR2W4BjmG3uqUBQ8srzxW3yTgG9Xp7jVFrdBlMsk4/s320/asburymechurcharnold.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418939458207748386" /></a><br />Arnold, Maryland is an unincorporated area in the Baltimore/Annapolis suburbs with a population of about 23,000, located along the Magothy River. It’s a place with lots of big 1970s style colonials on hills and cliffs overlooking the river and the creeks that flow into it. The Baltimore-Annapolis bike trail passes through the area along the former route of the now defunct B&A Railroad. <br />The town is named for Arnold’s store, owned by Thomas Arnold, a prominent local citizen in the latter half of the 1800. Mr. Arnold donated land for the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church which is still an active congregation today, and then started the store which the town was named for. Unfortunately the store apparently no longer exists. In 1997, a group of students at Magothy River Middle School decided to do a project on the history of their town, and the result is preserved in a delightful website: http://www.aacps.org/aacps/mrms/arnold.htm#The%20Arnold%20Family. By interviewing older residents, they learned that electricity didn’t arrive in Arnold until the 1930s, and the area consisted mostly of farms and a 4 room school until after WWII. They note that the cemetery behind the Asbury M.E. church contains many tombstones with the name Arnold. One of Thomas’s sons, John was buried on the property adjoining his home instead, giving rise to some local lore: “There are many stories about why John Arnold is not buried with the rest of his family in the Asbury cemetery, but we will never really know. As the stories go, it is said that John Arnold requested to be buried right near his house so he could always keep an eye on his young widow Rebecca. Other stories say that he was buried with his money, and if you kept quiet while digging for it, you would be able to get it, but if you spoke, it would sink deeper into the earth. “<br />Above: Asbury M.E. Church, looking like a Christmas card; the Magothy River; and docks and boats along Mill Creek in Arnold.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-12143729920687095062009-12-20T09:54:00.009-05:002009-12-20T10:38:11.916-05:00snowed in<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWEIVk2kAyNwyc-htp6kSpaM8PiietLUY2xyF2r93Wf6pCNcSmAraOLr50vkKn0VUZ4QCLApnMSrLlWsJA9HjWfCrR-9-14hsh3rhW4WjJXzuY1oP-IlEE-l1wGAQ5Cg9gxWNGt6_mCzR/s1600-h/sandypt1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWEIVk2kAyNwyc-htp6kSpaM8PiietLUY2xyF2r93Wf6pCNcSmAraOLr50vkKn0VUZ4QCLApnMSrLlWsJA9HjWfCrR-9-14hsh3rhW4WjJXzuY1oP-IlEE-l1wGAQ5Cg9gxWNGt6_mCzR/s320/sandypt1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342200191640738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsZ7pPZ5r-ZwQzm5jn1tMVQljatrM-FEczSYX9apSDZ8k4eF9AL_p2yRl6lhKru2phbV6-iNJ9h60OtGC2Gw20ttYB6UDAkwYWkMHUGkN2eFFL6zRZwifY5k-XOEow4pAWUnzdME3SvXY/s1600-h/sandypt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsZ7pPZ5r-ZwQzm5jn1tMVQljatrM-FEczSYX9apSDZ8k4eF9AL_p2yRl6lhKru2phbV6-iNJ9h60OtGC2Gw20ttYB6UDAkwYWkMHUGkN2eFFL6zRZwifY5k-XOEow4pAWUnzdME3SvXY/s320/sandypt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342194726261858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSW64nXYLnj8BBEXTTI-N_9gz0dq8vbk-5GHkOV68YCyU5-idsMTGwssLpD-pidx2qvaQAa_Qd-pzZWAocY7_-8q-930xdEvw6kb0ze32iDXZPqBS4PEpALALUKWrObRN-4bJkejdnhIi/s1600-h/sandypt2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSW64nXYLnj8BBEXTTI-N_9gz0dq8vbk-5GHkOV68YCyU5-idsMTGwssLpD-pidx2qvaQAa_Qd-pzZWAocY7_-8q-930xdEvw6kb0ze32iDXZPqBS4PEpALALUKWrObRN-4bJkejdnhIi/s320/sandypt2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342193910570162" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsdy-4Hc0Awhsh-ss6sAHReZBHa-o2X8bbZ3I-XU-n-rf4KgNNR0Ua1OfxKB5BkpNmIHf3C-BTCfNQ9LfRIrsoD9X0BaWvsXalWT51C9VFK2zxUCewQCA1Dk75AjGtxqe-Bl3xabTYMyY/s1600-h/IceCastle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsdy-4Hc0Awhsh-ss6sAHReZBHa-o2X8bbZ3I-XU-n-rf4KgNNR0Ua1OfxKB5BkpNmIHf3C-BTCfNQ9LfRIrsoD9X0BaWvsXalWT51C9VFK2zxUCewQCA1Dk75AjGtxqe-Bl3xabTYMyY/s320/IceCastle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342203766053794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSD4WSrQHtmnodbE5ZrdNdQ1dg-YviNLoecxZ8s273m5qsS4KK3HP0_reWHzdG7CzdvUKDmYDDVM1Zvb8SE5_eUq1KilaOCq3divJ9ebb9zLcMYhyphenhyphencd-4bkngQJhEjJ-t-tYyTedLmrKO/s1600-h/sandyptlights.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSD4WSrQHtmnodbE5ZrdNdQ1dg-YviNLoecxZ8s273m5qsS4KK3HP0_reWHzdG7CzdvUKDmYDDVM1Zvb8SE5_eUq1KilaOCq3divJ9ebb9zLcMYhyphenhyphencd-4bkngQJhEjJ-t-tYyTedLmrKO/s320/sandyptlights.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417342206120109874" /></a><br /><br />Well, I have the entire weekend off for only the 3rd time since July 1, and we got a delightful 20 inches of snow for the occasion. I love snow, and would have been royally pissed to be stuck at work during this. Chowder likes snow too but he isn't so crazy about it being up to his shoulders and prefers for Mommy to break him a trail. Expect a future post with gratuitous pictures of my house, neighborhood and dog in a foot and a half of snow.<br /><br />Back on the virtual walk, minus the snow, we have made it across the long, long bridge, and now find ourselves in Sandy Point State Park. This 768 acre park is where the western end of the bridge touches down, located at the site of a former ferry for the Chesapeake Bay Ferry System. The ferries ran from the 1920s until the day the bridge opened. That summer the ferries closed and the park opened. In the summer the park features a beach, hiking, fishing, crabbing and picnic facilities. There is also the historic Sandy Point Farmhouse, not currently open to the public but visible from the main road. Too bad I can't find any pictures of it. Reportedly it is on the National Register of Historic Places and dates back to a time when the property was a seaweed farm. This time of year, we're just in time for Lights on the Bay, a drive-through display of holiday lights along the shore sponsored by Anne Arundel Medical Center. $14 per car but free for virtual walkers.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-44112329472907507432009-11-08T13:44:00.006-05:002009-12-24T15:30:55.405-05:00Walking Across the Bay<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dXcqNyVmMZGYHUbf0ONZTziflhOBkslDJ5dJT9abWCalnhcshsrn4Vb2ydpvRFb6Zof1YNql-rnc1lLS8XW-h0inwWyY7XUQnY_hDUYdrjjNB2jv0_sjaGGikfeGi08i_hUk2EWqQyCn/s1600-h/ChesapeakeBayBridge.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dXcqNyVmMZGYHUbf0ONZTziflhOBkslDJ5dJT9abWCalnhcshsrn4Vb2ydpvRFb6Zof1YNql-rnc1lLS8XW-h0inwWyY7XUQnY_hDUYdrjjNB2jv0_sjaGGikfeGi08i_hUk2EWqQyCn/s320/ChesapeakeBayBridge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418902844189039954" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR1QxlT8Qm2QluDEUt3WZR1-0m9o32qNhDv-LLSyQEQCN78iGNbsQk-Y98qOCvX1CV0SJUn3lqsNBqoYwui1FrrfVVhWyaXWh4sGm8Gm_Fy-2vfZlgQYY054mK3saTgwlFGqLuWsY-3nS/s1600-h/Chesapeake%2520Bay%2520Bridge.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR1QxlT8Qm2QluDEUt3WZR1-0m9o32qNhDv-LLSyQEQCN78iGNbsQk-Y98qOCvX1CV0SJUn3lqsNBqoYwui1FrrfVVhWyaXWh4sGm8Gm_Fy-2vfZlgQYY054mK3saTgwlFGqLuWsY-3nS/s320/Chesapeake%2520Bay%2520Bridge.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401834420567649778" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcXXPAl238pO4p7dbspdkP5iF6QMFocuG8mapKUXevIhNsC5JAEZ9FqWdJIWUPp_NbfYXFKCVBPR9EswXfUiulceo7gxCiw7dnLUIv-QUCRRIRLNhJxP0tY_gxpaU8Z_vIE6nUnnfDM5q/s1600-h/cfiles29994.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcXXPAl238pO4p7dbspdkP5iF6QMFocuG8mapKUXevIhNsC5JAEZ9FqWdJIWUPp_NbfYXFKCVBPR9EswXfUiulceo7gxCiw7dnLUIv-QUCRRIRLNhJxP0tY_gxpaU8Z_vIE6nUnnfDM5q/s320/cfiles29994.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401834419792784978" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIXKX2MDtngL6m9Olpbn53LpcVrRghS5upBetWkvn0KSNMF_jCyD-w__oQ-6JuU0CHVVrUfYwtj5deC-pDnocKwXXH9bqO5zVZAAEyWPDvt3ojfHh7qN8f-JLWoiTnmPbyx06iZKJpCeU/s1600-h/longest-bridge-0041.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIXKX2MDtngL6m9Olpbn53LpcVrRghS5upBetWkvn0KSNMF_jCyD-w__oQ-6JuU0CHVVrUfYwtj5deC-pDnocKwXXH9bqO5zVZAAEyWPDvt3ojfHh7qN8f-JLWoiTnmPbyx06iZKJpCeU/s320/longest-bridge-0041.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401834411860864802" /></a><br />No, I didn't fall off the bridge. And I didn't give up my walk. It just got really, really bad at work. Sigh. So here is my entry completing the trip across the Bay Bridge.<br /><br />It's a good thing this is just a virtual walk, or Chowder and I would have to hitch a ride, because the bridge is only open to foot traffic once a year. That occasion is for the Annual Bay Bridge Walk, held on a Sunday in the spring when the eastbound span (the older, 1952 bridge) is closed to cars so that people can walk across it. The event has been held since 1975. Unfortunately the walk has been cancelled for 2009 due to bridge construction, but hopefully it will be back in 2010. I actually did the Bay Bridge Walk in 1970something, with my girl scout troop. I remember feeling very uneasy looking down through the gratings to the water 186 feet below. <br /><br />That 186 feet height has bothered a lot of people over the years. State troopers used to be stationed at the bridge to drive scared motorists across. In more recent years the state has contracted this job out to a private company who charges $25 each way to convey gephyrophobics to the other side. About 4000 people a year use the service.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-62122774455851024802009-11-08T11:05:00.008-05:002009-11-10T20:59:17.156-05:00Lane's Folly: the Chesapeake Bay Bridge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFLQM4WKtJ5wtrwz59L20giQ683MacBLWKv9dC7huX49qTF7-OfEbZqT4sbTYX-xJv7xKiUstFONO4H3Q9cvaJS7SPk_BD7Ahr1v1nETA0qWQo3Av79qFZ7ry9bAxlLNip4YHrzrcSHdk/s1600-h/180px-William_Preston_Lane_on_Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFLQM4WKtJ5wtrwz59L20giQ683MacBLWKv9dC7huX49qTF7-OfEbZqT4sbTYX-xJv7xKiUstFONO4H3Q9cvaJS7SPk_BD7Ahr1v1nETA0qWQo3Av79qFZ7ry9bAxlLNip4YHrzrcSHdk/s320/180px-William_Preston_Lane_on_Chesapeake_Bay_Bridge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401774536523525586" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1nkQM0UOi9CfwmqimQm0BTKZ1rVf5vbSxVLc4dZ8BDrUMXa2Hq-dRxezTZ7ayFil8YXuBtQP-x9ETJcC0Zubcqocy23wEFbyctkUoP3CnkCTdSMwmx_3VArMo093yUYJ84aAXcBhuecz/s1600-h/ChesapeakeBayopening+day.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1nkQM0UOi9CfwmqimQm0BTKZ1rVf5vbSxVLc4dZ8BDrUMXa2Hq-dRxezTZ7ayFil8YXuBtQP-x9ETJcC0Zubcqocy23wEFbyctkUoP3CnkCTdSMwmx_3VArMo093yUYJ84aAXcBhuecz/s320/ChesapeakeBayopening+day.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401774537487483506" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgDaW1-apbagSU5zpoeR7iNzPYbPHFUz3Lsvvswx8un-vCRm42kPwOVJyQhXvU2jw26ZocESTh87qQkV-qZsYXseCPbd0pqrUFKxCQEEVN9lOh0B50-jro3jAkt1pGWh7_X-bMDQxZiKA/s1600-h/Bay%2520bridge%2520construction%2520piers.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgDaW1-apbagSU5zpoeR7iNzPYbPHFUz3Lsvvswx8un-vCRm42kPwOVJyQhXvU2jw26ZocESTh87qQkV-qZsYXseCPbd0pqrUFKxCQEEVN9lOh0B50-jro3jAkt1pGWh7_X-bMDQxZiKA/s320/Bay%2520bridge%2520construction%2520piers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401774533585310770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8zEEy95jAjlKi1uqDtQPK5cJmil2BFgcJ9C4rsqiswzisriQoFjfU-CpLvyFCV_15TeQNjCqR9Q4VeQIAvv8Y_wp2fLtL5PXhwm06lyNqzv3ka2awA1gJQYw7kUpl0TlD41EcqPPFLcC/s1600-h/beautiful.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8zEEy95jAjlKi1uqDtQPK5cJmil2BFgcJ9C4rsqiswzisriQoFjfU-CpLvyFCV_15TeQNjCqR9Q4VeQIAvv8Y_wp2fLtL5PXhwm06lyNqzv3ka2awA1gJQYw7kUpl0TlD41EcqPPFLcC/s320/beautiful.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401774534372139090" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx08NuTCRRPz3U4s4rRaTg1fMZW1se6i-GQ_PGRTpTSLBdnCGwCVH5P7MsZ6ywI09P8PH1hYytDUB6LZvf3C0WfwvM0NiGctAIloYRSAsslNYX2Uoc-6U3JZ6yzuucwSflozNghlc3Aru/s1600-h/cnstr.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx08NuTCRRPz3U4s4rRaTg1fMZW1se6i-GQ_PGRTpTSLBdnCGwCVH5P7MsZ6ywI09P8PH1hYytDUB6LZvf3C0WfwvM0NiGctAIloYRSAsslNYX2Uoc-6U3JZ6yzuucwSflozNghlc3Aru/s320/cnstr.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401774528057605986" /></a><br />It's time to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Since the thing is 4.3 miles long, it will take a couple posts for Chowder and I to get across it. Which is good, because I found so many beautiful pictures of the bridge that they can't all fit in one post. <br /><br />For today's post, a little historical perspective. Proposals to build a bridge across the bay go back as far as the 1880s. In 1907 there was a proposal for an electric trolley line to link Baltimore and the Eastern Shore. In 1909 there was an even more ambitious plan for a 235 mile network of trolley lines crisscrossing the bay and connecting the mainland to countless little towns on the other side. No one was willing to put up the $13 million dollars, so that didn't work out. In 1918, the Governor wanted to build a double decker bridge, with freight trains on one level and trolley cars on the other, but again it was just too expensive, so a new ferry service was put in place instead. In the late 1920s, the bridge almost happened - the legislature approved plans for a road bridge across the bay and even appropriated some funds, but then the stock market crashed and we got a Great Depression instead of a bay bridge. They were getting close to reviving the project 10 years later, but World War II got in the way.<br /><br />Baltimore writer H.L. Mencken thought the idea of a bay bridge was foolish, saying "There is not the slightest reason to believe that any such structure could ever earn enough to pay the interest and amortization on $10,000,000, to say nothing of the heavy costs of maintenance. There is simply not traffic enough between the Eastern and Western Shores, and there is no evidence that there will ever be enough hereafter." Ha. He should see the bridge on a Friday afternoon in July. Some folks on the Eastern Shore weren't too crazy about the idea either, apparently not wanting to be all that closely associated with the rest of Maryland. <br /><br />Another winner in the Predicting the Future Badly department is this Baltimore Sun editorial from 1947: “It’s a good thing they didn’t build that trolley bridge forty years ago. It would have been out of date and just a piece of junk now. If they wait another forty years before they build this bridge, they won’t need it. Automobiles will be as out of date as trolley cars. People will have flymobiles and won’t need bridges to cross the bay.” <br /><br />Governor William Preston Lane disagreed, or maybe just didn't want to wait around for flymobiles to be invented, and got a plan approved by Congress to build the bridge in 1948. His critics called it "Lane's Folly" but he got the last laugh when the bridge was eventually named in his memory in 1967. The first span cost 45 million dollars and used 42,500 pounds of steel. It opened in 1952 with a five hour ceremony followed by a motorcade across the new bridge led by the Governor. It was at the time the longest steel structure over water in the world. Traffic far exceeded expectations, and in 1973 a second span was added. Above are pictures of the 1952 span under construction, Governor Lane on the bridge on the eve of its opening, and opening day.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-75321835862117737272009-11-08T10:17:00.005-05:002009-11-08T11:05:05.944-05:00Kent Island<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctLF-RqVznz3I7OJU3r2oioS3pXpUQhZRWF6zulysk4ocTisgh_GlUZ14wJMm-OvKOe58SdCkiI_67VSZv-4lkmYjnh7K_aghD19l7e7tUENsGhii0Du_6kAGVUEQNpCJVFB-M1uFnVeh/s1600-h/playground.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctLF-RqVznz3I7OJU3r2oioS3pXpUQhZRWF6zulysk4ocTisgh_GlUZ14wJMm-OvKOe58SdCkiI_67VSZv-4lkmYjnh7K_aghD19l7e7tUENsGhii0Du_6kAGVUEQNpCJVFB-M1uFnVeh/s320/playground.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401764018182078706" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5gH02TxXarcXygN8a9vuHFAM-JEwkqzSUUCxrVjXc9cIU-ywOKiwN66FDlaa-qQoCVnskkY2R7GPuJB_aeelsw-GQWmCu7g9_uyWj_NQxCLP8ma83UuPLrfw5C5m1HxgmeGjf7FLvZy3/s1600-h/Kent_Island%252C_MD.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5gH02TxXarcXygN8a9vuHFAM-JEwkqzSUUCxrVjXc9cIU-ywOKiwN66FDlaa-qQoCVnskkY2R7GPuJB_aeelsw-GQWmCu7g9_uyWj_NQxCLP8ma83UuPLrfw5C5m1HxgmeGjf7FLvZy3/s320/Kent_Island%252C_MD.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401761101746096178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lVP_XxeXRVqTb5vSMte7zZwJ6-We_RzD4xrFHMhEc599bpP3ntYQWlttSsyhuWBeXgJ9mIfVrUfeqeXcTvskkmAH7pX3sJdxSvNiGwzGmyZ90rMg_JiXv9sLjdhz1tvVvjTnRQIu1NmW/s1600-h/crossisland2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lVP_XxeXRVqTb5vSMte7zZwJ6-We_RzD4xrFHMhEc599bpP3ntYQWlttSsyhuWBeXgJ9mIfVrUfeqeXcTvskkmAH7pX3sJdxSvNiGwzGmyZ90rMg_JiXv9sLjdhz1tvVvjTnRQIu1NmW/s320/crossisland2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401761098455418658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQInb_UY5dq4nocuNTBHi6FVI3TduX2eVk6KB1cJ0FvvOmplID6sd1xzhihJd_GkfXHeFy8L_hBZvllXPudAPZ3KAfDm0S3a1INm9FxZfI9d7yLLluhXINaNbgzfjoYl44aEL4zGSJtrx/s1600-h/trail.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQInb_UY5dq4nocuNTBHi6FVI3TduX2eVk6KB1cJ0FvvOmplID6sd1xzhihJd_GkfXHeFy8L_hBZvllXPudAPZ3KAfDm0S3a1INm9FxZfI9d7yLLluhXINaNbgzfjoYl44aEL4zGSJtrx/s320/trail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401760782571437442" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7a0TLW8tVc1yq4b3p3HYM-KsxxnvswVakX-kYW11pgcW2C83uJA_RvmyR6KD5DABOKqKG3Tqwp-SZ301QsSMxyGYFulBOqB8Nsld_kKAilH4kBLmVr_J-6ebYv2EREF3gxZHfa8KbkCY6/s1600-h/biketrailview.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7a0TLW8tVc1yq4b3p3HYM-KsxxnvswVakX-kYW11pgcW2C83uJA_RvmyR6KD5DABOKqKG3Tqwp-SZ301QsSMxyGYFulBOqB8Nsld_kKAilH4kBLmVr_J-6ebYv2EREF3gxZHfa8KbkCY6/s320/biketrailview.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401760777449288626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQu6Yw61TRIUMIdCXnQJSOFB7flFG1gvjjwCdqV_lIcQOh0CXPqTX9ZKqAcZog99QO7YBgmjxQUIZUyS282gC5AQKoIBJ2MeoNjYZ1VLQ7cSAX7Cc78-4h1hgv6xgM-lwDQyYSslmYSRu/s1600-h/crossisland.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQu6Yw61TRIUMIdCXnQJSOFB7flFG1gvjjwCdqV_lIcQOh0CXPqTX9ZKqAcZog99QO7YBgmjxQUIZUyS282gC5AQKoIBJ2MeoNjYZ1VLQ7cSAX7Cc78-4h1hgv6xgM-lwDQyYSslmYSRu/s320/crossisland.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401760776542998818" /></a><br /><br />Having crossed the narrows, we now find ourselves on Kent Island. At 4 miles wide and 15 miles long, it's the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay. Originally it was a remote farming community, with access to the mainland only by ship or later by ferry boat. In 1952 that all changed with the building of the Bay Bridge. The bridge is still the only route across the bay by car in Maryland, so everyone on their way to or from the beach drives through Kent Island along route 50. Nowadays some people live on the island and commute to jobs in Annapolis or Baltimore. We will be travelling along the Cross Island Trail, a greenway and bike path which opened in 2001. The photos above are all from the trail. <br /><br />Kent Island was first settled in 1631, making it the first European settlement in Maryland. William Claiborne, surveyor of the Jamestown Colony, purchased the island from the Susquehannock tribe in that year and established a settlement and trading post. In 1632, the Calvert family (who you may remember from the Mason-Dixon line controversy several posts back) was granted a license by the King to establish a colony in Maryland. Looks like those Calverts were always fighting with someone about their land. Their charter included all lands surrounding the bay north of the mouth of the Pocomoke River, which included Kent Island. Meanwhile the Virginia Assembly backed up Claiborne in claiming it as his property and part of Virginia. The ensuing dispute involved lawsuits, naval battles, and an unfortunate ship's captain being hanged for piracy. But in the end it all came down to business. Claiborne's investors were unsatisfied with the profits they were seeing from fur trade on the island, and in 1637 Claiborne had to return to England to deal with the lawsuit they filed against him. As soon as he left, the attorney for the investors invited Maryland to come take over the island by force, which they did.<br /><br />Things are a bit more peaceful on Kent Island today. Recent headlines from the Kent Island Bay Times include the crowning of the homecoming king and queen at Stevensville High School, some post office boxes being broken into, and "windshield broken by hurled oranges." My personal favorite, with photo above: "Back on the Playground: Kent Island Elementary School students play on the school playground after new mulch was put down under the play equipment."BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-73144003963576825612009-11-03T20:39:00.004-05:002009-11-03T22:50:14.342-05:00Kent Narrows<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA57uxGku1ZM1TUim8hi_l5SNSu5VLwv-B81UnSKzwRZdKgnBZYtzoWAXYS2zd2lqomtYL4X-Gz6m4PWbFlpJddkP4gIDKaw2ZkAFHuMC9M21AugD6x_6poiFimL-3iimQ8GL2IGbRNwKA/s1600-h/kentnarrows2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA57uxGku1ZM1TUim8hi_l5SNSu5VLwv-B81UnSKzwRZdKgnBZYtzoWAXYS2zd2lqomtYL4X-Gz6m4PWbFlpJddkP4gIDKaw2ZkAFHuMC9M21AugD6x_6poiFimL-3iimQ8GL2IGbRNwKA/s320/kentnarrows2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400077605130276930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9Ie2fV0UnIf3gfRwIsV9vLE6IxJT1cdDrVoI9H0ao1H-KH-l5keXDu8fnY3u6AWQhNVIV41iJnurpnfzGPaxccZXHYgzfCl6w9kFPO_o15l62MCgxhqwcgJliydvTmDX7Xn3-TK_fG4q/s1600-h/harris_shucking.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9Ie2fV0UnIf3gfRwIsV9vLE6IxJT1cdDrVoI9H0ao1H-KH-l5keXDu8fnY3u6AWQhNVIV41iJnurpnfzGPaxccZXHYgzfCl6w9kFPO_o15l62MCgxhqwcgJliydvTmDX7Xn3-TK_fG4q/s320/harris_shucking.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400077594846689762" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHysTBjgc9HOvBJYXPzYRvR8OSkevP-hkOtGCcXbXmLs7X2NCf0DGVowQRg2XZITN15LBEj-4xNHf3wY2LKe0TdCrTMcWZwE6umYu4o0VXWMVRXqmSql8WxhysrjkLz6KjrLVHIBRkfSR/s1600-h/oyster_cans.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHysTBjgc9HOvBJYXPzYRvR8OSkevP-hkOtGCcXbXmLs7X2NCf0DGVowQRg2XZITN15LBEj-4xNHf3wY2LKe0TdCrTMcWZwE6umYu4o0VXWMVRXqmSql8WxhysrjkLz6KjrLVHIBRkfSR/s320/oyster_cans.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400077593312096786" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdmb6O2-SrjhxF3kdn4xCl4hfQBwUxsTK1wdM5bDXjeHAHU73a4SMwInZGqXEO6GWG6SZA2fx1KeXbh5NN1dfT9WQRZq5GASDH-Ts6HdL-MOMhwjWlfIwHxu_EOhEuntpF276KWMFgOoa/s1600-h/Fisherman's+Inn+1939.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdmb6O2-SrjhxF3kdn4xCl4hfQBwUxsTK1wdM5bDXjeHAHU73a4SMwInZGqXEO6GWG6SZA2fx1KeXbh5NN1dfT9WQRZq5GASDH-Ts6HdL-MOMhwjWlfIwHxu_EOhEuntpF276KWMFgOoa/s320/Fisherman's+Inn+1939.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400077586047802258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVrsFUBmvN4sXvb8mm8FQw3Kmr1-lIT1-CQl8fH0AiK_qgikxhc5s7KFt5Ok6QVklzLS3_uuzC_aUmsSTauzlXZ_pox4MIPD0N6vVt2FIbaIXJq37tHu-n_XpfDhJTdrNC79BEf1iTr3F/s1600-h/fishermansinnfront.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVrsFUBmvN4sXvb8mm8FQw3Kmr1-lIT1-CQl8fH0AiK_qgikxhc5s7KFt5Ok6QVklzLS3_uuzC_aUmsSTauzlXZ_pox4MIPD0N6vVt2FIbaIXJq37tHu-n_XpfDhJTdrNC79BEf1iTr3F/s320/fishermansinnfront.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400077593603187202" /></a><br /><br /><br />Pictured: the Kent Narrows Drawbridge built c. 1910; workers shucking oysters at the Harris Seafood plant; cans of locally processed seafood from years gone by; the Fisherman's Inn in 1939 and in 2009.<br /><br />Kent Narrows is, well, the narrow part of water you cross to get from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, aka the Delmarva Peninsula, to Kent Island. In colonial days it was a marshy area shallow enough to wade across. Nowadays there's a bridge, which is good since Chowder hates to get his feet wet. <br /><br />For most of the 20th century, this area was the center of the booming Maryland seafood industry. In the 50s, 60s and 70s, Kent Narrows was a slum where the African-American employees of area seafood packing plants lived in conditions that the Maryland Department of Health bluntly described as unfit for human habitation. A report to the US Commission on Civil Rights in 1971 describes the area in pretty grim terms: "Living accommodations for workers and their families in Kent Narrows consist primarily of rows of frame or cinder-block shacks located in clusters around the several packing houses... The land...is often flooded with rain and tidewater which frequently collect in the walkways and areas between the shacks and underneath some of the housing units...there are no indoor toilets or running water in the workers' shanties. Water for drinking, cooking, and washing is carried by workers to their houses from spigots near the packing houses or from a pump centrally located among a group of dwellings. There is no apparent method for the disposal of waste water other than throwing it outside the door onto the ground." <br /><br />Over time harvests of oysters and other seafood from the bay dropped, putting a crimp in the seafood packing business. As their packing business dwindled, many of the plant owners started up restaurants next door. Nowadays Kent Narrows is mainly known for its seafood restaurants, conveniently located to attract summer beachgoers on their way to or from the shore. Only one packing plant remains, and I sincerely hope their employees now have indoor toilets.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-2892836514700507702009-11-01T15:43:00.006-05:002009-11-02T06:29:22.382-05:00Every Place Has a Story. Except Grasonville, Md.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlflGIHGM5nh6UKf2Y0d3IWzwYNatkZswD_UUgPrMCEjy_PICZl0h9VrCky0ELglGOLyaR7zrvQ7ttqXifqkMQlB6r_TDTcBwhirgov4GTFJfYm-yrFonpCPzwsczGBmbKmSnrEOQQkM5/s1600-h/grasonville4.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlflGIHGM5nh6UKf2Y0d3IWzwYNatkZswD_UUgPrMCEjy_PICZl0h9VrCky0ELglGOLyaR7zrvQ7ttqXifqkMQlB6r_TDTcBwhirgov4GTFJfYm-yrFonpCPzwsczGBmbKmSnrEOQQkM5/s320/grasonville4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399242304670674642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Ycs60uj8T2Zd_UMKTJ2eU9sy8fZY8IpiKVzQhPBjri_Bmdm_GJqH-AFK5-xZFHS6-27SkvTgVu01tDDNk2l2WWW_IC9defqtOAHPSy7gtZzFiaM7TOlngApybwHUxAQyUtZfxRpGrkd/s1600-h/grasonville3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8Ycs60uj8T2Zd_UMKTJ2eU9sy8fZY8IpiKVzQhPBjri_Bmdm_GJqH-AFK5-xZFHS6-27SkvTgVu01tDDNk2l2WWW_IC9defqtOAHPSy7gtZzFiaM7TOlngApybwHUxAQyUtZfxRpGrkd/s320/grasonville3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399242304781315394" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPf1VYwJ5EIvFkkBTyn_8JBkHpcBFYr9M1LpM30wJYLZy0uAf85RadSuK9BfeH_6_GqQQJ2zRLNWmQwoAxamYW5CSxB4_4nkK2C-BtFZuofGPf_sompXvsFTEJjwjPVgJlzidgyywUUYnk/s1600-h/grasonville.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPf1VYwJ5EIvFkkBTyn_8JBkHpcBFYr9M1LpM30wJYLZy0uAf85RadSuK9BfeH_6_GqQQJ2zRLNWmQwoAxamYW5CSxB4_4nkK2C-BtFZuofGPf_sompXvsFTEJjwjPVgJlzidgyywUUYnk/s320/grasonville.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399242296352163074" /></a><br />That's the whole concept of this blog, right? Every place has a story. But today we are in Grasonville, Md, a little town on the Chesapeake Bay that I was not able to find a single interesting thing to tell you about despite scouring the internet. It was named for William Grason, 1786-1868, who was the 28th governor of Maryland. And that's all I was able to find. But Grasonville shouldn't feel bad. It may not have a story, but it apparently has some very pretty scenery. These pictures were posted on a hotel-rating website by someone who stayed in a hotel in Grasonville. (Maybe I could email them and ask why they were there....) Pretty, huh?BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-30523218925275295212009-11-01T12:25:00.005-05:002009-11-01T12:37:30.588-05:00Halloween<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1kCzjLlCjIrupluJdsHoNAaG1mmANC4XOXW6MMr0V_KdQCven-8ereWChZeJi4LLdSeQzr627Bi57Jc2SptflFrCmH3tBCgTkNv-iK9m0hpMn29WYFsjk4jdi2ahyphenhyphenmewuV9Ci585neQb/s1600-h/010.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1kCzjLlCjIrupluJdsHoNAaG1mmANC4XOXW6MMr0V_KdQCven-8ereWChZeJi4LLdSeQzr627Bi57Jc2SptflFrCmH3tBCgTkNv-iK9m0hpMn29WYFsjk4jdi2ahyphenhyphenmewuV9Ci585neQb/s320/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399190062820857586" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-ScnP81JxBH1p9NgWLQwilz0yxkIeEYFdGjpiMiby1g5rBnGh6XKCHyRnO6XZJzkbhYlbuPtuVYXnogDFa2ie95zG2aPvmnTWMQw_Gcplikt6No90pUw8Yfb2-yQ9wNN8p4On5x_d2el/s1600-h/008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-ScnP81JxBH1p9NgWLQwilz0yxkIeEYFdGjpiMiby1g5rBnGh6XKCHyRnO6XZJzkbhYlbuPtuVYXnogDFa2ie95zG2aPvmnTWMQw_Gcplikt6No90pUw8Yfb2-yQ9wNN8p4On5x_d2el/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399190050469524546" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-XezAzFDgozKY6CzDoIikFlk2CY_65PkNUQM8m6HaB9nwLB5JTX2-SsV3k7O12fvaUrRC6C7l31tYPeEy5AGR8A83uHXJVIUgxIVTD36Q5qkM4WhThtcsAFnHQ11DWjBGUdhltDdSsIj/s1600-h/007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-XezAzFDgozKY6CzDoIikFlk2CY_65PkNUQM8m6HaB9nwLB5JTX2-SsV3k7O12fvaUrRC6C7l31tYPeEy5AGR8A83uHXJVIUgxIVTD36Q5qkM4WhThtcsAFnHQ11DWjBGUdhltDdSsIj/s320/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399190046786400482" /></a><br />well, we're not doing so well with the walking, mostly because I have been stuck working 80 hrs a week and the walks have been forced to be short. At this rate, I feel like we're never going to get out of Maryland. But don't give up on us. This crappy work schedule can't last forever and we're determined to get a little further down the trail.<br /><br />But in the meantime, I thought I'd share some pictures of Chowder in his Halloween costume. He was a spider. He tried to eat the first few trick or treaters, but he settled down after that and was a good boy.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-8442639582287510362009-10-18T12:24:00.008-04:002009-10-18T13:04:17.833-04:00Wye Mills, Maryland: Where Stuff Lasts a Really, Really Long Time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFCd6XQxOx10v_b4eTfu1oGUDPVI7L2IWg2nVUSf8ICht6E0F6Yk-DT9WzwZSi9anCvcgsENgjtzAdBh7hkRNaEXOLb04fLQYjrURyjwsppOBEU5Lf6xjJOCbvJC3BK5kxh0jAOxl93Ei/s1600-h/babywyeoak.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFCd6XQxOx10v_b4eTfu1oGUDPVI7L2IWg2nVUSf8ICht6E0F6Yk-DT9WzwZSi9anCvcgsENgjtzAdBh7hkRNaEXOLb04fLQYjrURyjwsppOBEU5Lf6xjJOCbvJC3BK5kxh0jAOxl93Ei/s320/babywyeoak.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393986732529534818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwABaDYBV2rfoRT5Tnyd0XnY354HOBHr_Tr1mELJoXLX8Ya8GMgU8ozazUjSSW3ol8qNfbcWYfwSPbkIFm7bmMFsujwX1-zL4rJuSuzd-v1hYzv89aEp81fvTLHWM7BNNLy3aa-MC-_dn/s1600-h/white+oak.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwABaDYBV2rfoRT5Tnyd0XnY354HOBHr_Tr1mELJoXLX8Ya8GMgU8ozazUjSSW3ol8qNfbcWYfwSPbkIFm7bmMFsujwX1-zL4rJuSuzd-v1hYzv89aEp81fvTLHWM7BNNLy3aa-MC-_dn/s320/white+oak.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393981639346588834" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X4ep7bYpLwObwEeMS3evf5lWFz4NiM-ZT_IWZS0q2nnkk7zCCCsoWEIrJWq-6GAbGTvmQ5-nn8JG493ZTHqIDCONSFnw4iiRvm8HscRqMK8gzBbfJ0wJpcmzEiJZj7-SBXUXdflW8U3c/s1600-h/wye.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X4ep7bYpLwObwEeMS3evf5lWFz4NiM-ZT_IWZS0q2nnkk7zCCCsoWEIrJWq-6GAbGTvmQ5-nn8JG493ZTHqIDCONSFnw4iiRvm8HscRqMK8gzBbfJ0wJpcmzEiJZj7-SBXUXdflW8U3c/s320/wye.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393981634764969570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIJ6pHx7cDrSmXZa1DFgea_mMeGPBBA4kUq2aHPczc0hxglrHPvNvfvxm1diUoTungnuJO3yhkEMm2YFw5PU72Dmw3XzpWueFScPnvXIiIgCm0xt29LrMmCOjf784z-LuJq9MNdvBzW8/s1600-h/wye+oak.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIJ6pHx7cDrSmXZa1DFgea_mMeGPBBA4kUq2aHPczc0hxglrHPvNvfvxm1diUoTungnuJO3yhkEMm2YFw5PU72Dmw3XzpWueFScPnvXIiIgCm0xt29LrMmCOjf784z-LuJq9MNdvBzW8/s320/wye+oak.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393981622629319794" /></a><br /> <br /><br /><br />First of all, my apologies for the long hiatus. I've been under the weather, and also working about 7,000 hours per week (ok, technically 80 hours per week) and between the two I haven't been feeling up to much walking. Chowder is pretty fed up with the short around-the-block walks he's been settling for. But we're getting back on track now, and find ourselves in Wye Mills, Maryland today, at mile 74 of our walk. Estimated population 414. (You'd think that in that kind of population size, you could get an exact population, not just estimated, wouldn't you?)<br /><br />Wye Mills was settled in 1668 and was named for its grist mill powered by water from the Wye River, which still grinds flour on two Saturdays a month using two massive grindstones and a water-powered wheel. Not bad considering it was built in 1682. Wonder if any of our current technology will still be running two Saturdays a month in 327 years. It's apparently the oldest operating grist mill in Maryland, and I'm guessing one of the older ones anywhere.<br /><br />Wye Mills is also famous for the Wye Oak tree, the official state tree of Maryland, and the oldest living thing in the state until it finally collapsed in a thunderstorm in June 2002. It is believed to have sprouted around the year 1500. It was officially recognized as the largest white oak tree in the country in 1940 and continued to hold the title til its demise. It stood 96 feet tall, with a trunk 31 ft 8 inches in circumference, and a crown spreading 119 feet across. Valiant efforts were made to preserve it; cables were installed to brace its massive crown and its hollow trunk was filled with cement in an effort to prevent further deterioration, so that toward the end, it was getting to be a bit more like a sculpture project than a tree. <br /><br />Fortunately the Wye Oak gave rise to a few clones and lots of baby acorns; seedlings can periodically be purchased from the state Dept. of Natural Resources. There is even one, shown above, growing from within the remains of the trunk of the original in Wye Mills.BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-40079618170160230782009-10-06T22:19:00.011-04:002009-10-06T22:48:11.622-04:00Chowder<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJkeXNzqbV7Hc2P5V6TjIDnXqLUYPeUStsjbmoqSyevuIzhTWponNQYKO42ihgWFPWly2Tdw2OAgztc97N1IWHllI5hDZCjb09T1hIWnZk93ozaMhh4qrCewd_zavNGTAkS5Q_-Nz6NFc/s1600-h/060.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJkeXNzqbV7Hc2P5V6TjIDnXqLUYPeUStsjbmoqSyevuIzhTWponNQYKO42ihgWFPWly2Tdw2OAgztc97N1IWHllI5hDZCjb09T1hIWnZk93ozaMhh4qrCewd_zavNGTAkS5Q_-Nz6NFc/s320/060.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389679805194169890" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfF3N_YmgS2O7sbtSRnSoR-Edok7zGXxupmo5zvbbomfemcY8c8dCiOQOzhZ2Ys-4nEq_6hl1rWSBw0cQL6nf61JyOehxW0k3yryfWrLOhbf3q6jy4kuLMSwd9aNWMuDWfaLFyUNswPfD/s1600-h/022.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfF3N_YmgS2O7sbtSRnSoR-Edok7zGXxupmo5zvbbomfemcY8c8dCiOQOzhZ2Ys-4nEq_6hl1rWSBw0cQL6nf61JyOehxW0k3yryfWrLOhbf3q6jy4kuLMSwd9aNWMuDWfaLFyUNswPfD/s320/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389677472834393186" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXQ2RiJrWGPvVbrjoDtfgWH-viQ-qcfuMAMCTbWWfKmqZdvvmTMPAudqQPDQmkt0jkd71Om32aAftlxbsWr4AnTYA9b1o4njuHj7_3LxCjDiSNrBX7p_-Kl_D2qZHZXuQ0hUr6S9Txd8u/s1600-h/023.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXQ2RiJrWGPvVbrjoDtfgWH-viQ-qcfuMAMCTbWWfKmqZdvvmTMPAudqQPDQmkt0jkd71Om32aAftlxbsWr4AnTYA9b1o4njuHj7_3LxCjDiSNrBX7p_-Kl_D2qZHZXuQ0hUr6S9Txd8u/s320/023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389677472265847938" /></a><br /><br />Since we're in a long stretch between towns, I thought I'd do a post to properly introduce my walking partner, Chowder. He is 6 years old (we think) and is a mix of Chow and Golden Retriever (we think). Unless the guy from my homeowner's insurance asks, in which case he's a Golden Retriever mix and we have <em></em>nooooo idea<em></em> what other breeds might be in him. We found Chowder running through the street in front of our house, dragging a chewed off tie-out behind him. He was terrified of people at first, and it was apparent he hadn't been treated very well, so we didn't exactly try to find his original owners. Four years later he is fat and happy. He still doesn't trust strangers at first, but once he's been properly introduced he does fine.<br /><br />When not walking across America, Chowder's hobbies include sleeping, scratching himself, and trying to get the cats to play with him. He loves our cats, and will jump around in front of them with his front half down and his butt up in the air, in the international dog signal for "Let's play!" The cats, for their part, stare at him blankly in the international cat signal for "whatever is wrong with you?" <br /><br />He is a very sweet dog although definitely not the smartest dog God ever made. He has, one more than one occasion, mistaken lawn ornaments for fellow animals. I think he's pretty handsome. However, my mom's first words upon seeing him were "well, you're a funny looking critter, aren't you?" I'll let you judge for yourselves.<br /><br />Miles to date: 70.5BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-5628876311171351382009-09-29T09:18:00.017-04:002009-10-02T05:40:30.720-04:00Heading out of Ridgley<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP861Mti_y6dvfU_rP4NnMey6QXuDvXTYjFwUCOeqhAG669RfevzwTAv-fWaAxkdNfqvR2A6DG55j1AiNhYh-m_NsovlXtqMhsdfILsqNrX-cSaveuPuJUg9e7M9h9VeHYxW1Tix-IwtOu/s1600-h/ruralstreetcornerridgely.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386880001004072658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 246px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP861Mti_y6dvfU_rP4NnMey6QXuDvXTYjFwUCOeqhAG669RfevzwTAv-fWaAxkdNfqvR2A6DG55j1AiNhYh-m_NsovlXtqMhsdfILsqNrX-cSaveuPuJUg9e7M9h9VeHYxW1Tix-IwtOu/s320/ruralstreetcornerridgely.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgf4Au1VTLHvA7ooIFJoWl5tTWRVC31s0Pkil7lOAWWXxqJlGK01Wt65dRM6LyCpgCr0rGsacsJKFMHnAifQFXTtPS9MUPXYPCVu6zUYbAllg5NswPSt_kThaWBsbr6x60iTmbA8KEj3/s1600-h/fountainridgely.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386878243069971170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRgf4Au1VTLHvA7ooIFJoWl5tTWRVC31s0Pkil7lOAWWXxqJlGK01Wt65dRM6LyCpgCr0rGsacsJKFMHnAifQFXTtPS9MUPXYPCVu6zUYbAllg5NswPSt_kThaWBsbr6x60iTmbA8KEj3/s320/fountainridgely.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p>As we leave Ridgley, I have to mention Chowder's favorite feature of this little rural town - the historic fountain in the park. Back in 1915, a group of young ladies in the town decided they wanted to do something to benefit their community. They called themselves the Forget-Me-Not Band of Mercy, and raised funds to put up a fountain in the town park. It was intended not only for people but the also the local dog population and the horses and mules that pulled wagons through the dusty streets. The fountain remains in the park today; it was repaired in 2000 and thirsty dogs, humans, and I suppose horses and mules, can still get a drink there. It will be about 8 miles before Chowder and I hit another town so that drink is much appreciated. I love the sentiment on the original plaque:</p><br /><br /><p align="center">ERECTED<br />IN THE NAME OF<br />LOVE AND MERCY<br />TOWARD<br />ALL OF GOD’S CREATURES<br />1915</p>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-49792092198106113092009-09-29T09:01:00.012-04:002009-09-29T11:41:48.920-04:00Ridgley, MD<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBZx_cScMpvIUUIljG09oK6ehAHUovQmgbaWZVmBI9C-yIcO6LbdcXd0JobEw3PkEnaIr9rvszwfHe2JO4omAC_pjPo81sO6CMTLAZ0GBueXzcxXZX8pDKPKinn1GwkIXuN0HR0ZXfig2/s1600-h/071207ridgelywebsite13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386876584721657426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBZx_cScMpvIUUIljG09oK6ehAHUovQmgbaWZVmBI9C-yIcO6LbdcXd0JobEw3PkEnaIr9rvszwfHe2JO4omAC_pjPo81sO6CMTLAZ0GBueXzcxXZX8pDKPKinn1GwkIXuN0HR0ZXfig2/s320/071207ridgelywebsite13.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhN0StT-yuOe27JunpKhaWrTzOg2RBiMRBT1OT3I7t4qNbhKEERXU8x6utWythieHlfOGueUpqEJSqwXD_RPmmzNbtoqqx7pvF54a8C0sikBgUr3OxMo256V2tsnbSa4QQcqJKOIQJzxL/s1600-h/backyard_windmill.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386877956556251778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhN0StT-yuOe27JunpKhaWrTzOg2RBiMRBT1OT3I7t4qNbhKEERXU8x6utWythieHlfOGueUpqEJSqwXD_RPmmzNbtoqqx7pvF54a8C0sikBgUr3OxMo256V2tsnbSa4QQcqJKOIQJzxL/s320/backyard_windmill.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKizfxEzm6pAkW_dwNp8_WvWdb5YHIbIMiQdQu1Rs0zeyPXJCuUWbCvti5RVEEnQZ4u2fshtgE-y-1aBp9xWXUDBw8qx4yZql-VTc733Yp8JFg5iH9QCfM61T8rpO7v__Ft-fy9-jZ5_X/s1600-h/Ridgely_House300.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386876576308248610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKizfxEzm6pAkW_dwNp8_WvWdb5YHIbIMiQdQu1Rs0zeyPXJCuUWbCvti5RVEEnQZ4u2fshtgE-y-1aBp9xWXUDBw8qx4yZql-VTc733Yp8JFg5iH9QCfM61T8rpO7v__Ft-fy9-jZ5_X/s320/Ridgely_House300.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Ridgely, MD, population 1352, was conceived as a planned city in 1867 by a company from Philadelphia called the Maryland and Baltimore Land Association, during a land speculation boom that followed the Civil War. They funded a 200 acre survey and produced an elaborate map of the future city to attract settlers. Unfortunately, the infrastructure was not there to support their plans. The company went bankrupt within the year, and Ridgely was left with 4 buildings: a railroad station for the railroad which would not arrive for another year, a hotel, one house and one combination house/general store. That last building, the Ridgely house, is still standing and is shown above. The green house above is also one of the very early buildings of Ridgely. The town did start to grow once the railroad arrived, and in the second half of the 19th century little Ridgely became the “Strawberry Capital of the World,” home to the Armour Strawberry Preserving Plant. This was at the time the largest strawberry canning factory in the world and employed about1000 people during strawberry season. Strawberries are still a major crop of the region, and Ridgely has a strawberry festival every May.</div></div></div></div><br /><br />Miles to date, 61.99BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-30257305818617286402009-09-28T08:36:00.014-04:002009-09-29T09:40:55.333-04:00Crossing the Choptank River<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLszms2vc0WxD7HGz1utEKgAPW1FYm0kpYURCh84ARMvnj1edgK2l_t7ZB8lr2Frz-TQQJLXRjVAkUHz2Aaoc0n__bAVE3nfjoJ2WiSr8pu8Jk7786ksZAybZ9Cw7JC85UM_wCv08FtJ4/s1600-h/choptank-pier.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386504669356263602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLszms2vc0WxD7HGz1utEKgAPW1FYm0kpYURCh84ARMvnj1edgK2l_t7ZB8lr2Frz-TQQJLXRjVAkUHz2Aaoc0n__bAVE3nfjoJ2WiSr8pu8Jk7786ksZAybZ9Cw7JC85UM_wCv08FtJ4/s320/choptank-pier.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48pnG_sY77hge9Ips_vruYXljd_C-9uyw4UlMBrA31afwdsafC4ZPW7yhV5BmYHeA5tHg5ns24lB7wIt4UMBE64h1Ve4WIOV7kv-Nac7XNBXLNbaE821azsOc-Xi1SXS_fveVOu6vw0m1/s1600-h/Bill_Candid_Mugshot.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386504298440396514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 241px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48pnG_sY77hge9Ips_vruYXljd_C-9uyw4UlMBrA31afwdsafC4ZPW7yhV5BmYHeA5tHg5ns24lB7wIt4UMBE64h1Ve4WIOV7kv-Nac7XNBXLNbaE821azsOc-Xi1SXS_fveVOu6vw0m1/s320/Bill_Candid_Mugshot.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLku10uNvAacx1ng_QBKuWtgZdAxSYcFB1FgO5_nGJPqkboUSjYjDtPDv4yj-aImAUNICYUxMyIBc5Hs9iYn0JVI4eFEoZEdx1YXvgXw6jEdc69-TYLOu5McaQEkHEZjXYry-vtBOE7hU/s1600-h/choptankbridgeand+pier.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386504285236032706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLku10uNvAacx1ng_QBKuWtgZdAxSYcFB1FgO5_nGJPqkboUSjYjDtPDv4yj-aImAUNICYUxMyIBc5Hs9iYn0JVI4eFEoZEdx1YXvgXw6jEdc69-TYLOu5McaQEkHEZjXYry-vtBOE7hU/s320/choptankbridgeand+pier.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Miles to date: 58.56</p><p>The current bridge for cars over the Choptank river was built in 1986; the older bridge which it replaced is now a popular fishing pier. It was recently renamed the Bill Burton State Park Fishing Pier, after a local outdoorsman and journalist who convinced the state to keep it open for fishing. For over 30 years, Burton wrote columns about the outdoors for the Baltimore Sun, the Annapolis Evening Capital and the Bay Weekly. He also did a weekly fishing report on local channel 2: dressed in fishing gear, he would stand in front of a map which had little magnetic fish to show where the fishing was good that week. He is credited with educating Marylanders about the outdoors, promoting conservation, and fostering an appreciation of our natural resources. He died in August at the age of 82. His daughter reports that he was fishing up til the end.</p><p>Since Bill's not here to do it, here is this week's fishing report for the area, courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources: channel catfish have been very active in the Choptank and other local rivers, due to recent rains that have cooled many of the Eastern Shore’s rivers and also flushed them out, leaving clearer water.</p>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-9266963179430341772009-09-26T06:58:00.000-04:002009-09-26T10:15:00.177-04:00Martinak State Park<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWin-PA8V5i8ovqyNO6Y1fI8nUHKmE0bG4WMPTynDDiOgzb0Byf_hEkGSSVCE4yvoVjJfPa6VbLeY1-9m9CW1ukOSNZXdVBbGXV1CHZT91dR4HJGafboAAeRq_wh3rLrRcZVDEr3g6UfS/s1600-h/martinak3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385729789570845810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWin-PA8V5i8ovqyNO6Y1fI8nUHKmE0bG4WMPTynDDiOgzb0Byf_hEkGSSVCE4yvoVjJfPa6VbLeY1-9m9CW1ukOSNZXdVBbGXV1CHZT91dR4HJGafboAAeRq_wh3rLrRcZVDEr3g6UfS/s320/martinak3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwTrTMcvEAyfivfCwkzgpKAeOlrABNpzzVGcbNWQlBUxD0SswsJPAfccS9m8WvdsyCcFnEWyc9bSzsuyg1SPPS2Rlv6pDCo89skvuzI3QRs5yXiaABvQEDbqOax4rnIprL2a-ai8V0hf-/s1600-h/martinak4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385729780826302626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwTrTMcvEAyfivfCwkzgpKAeOlrABNpzzVGcbNWQlBUxD0SswsJPAfccS9m8WvdsyCcFnEWyc9bSzsuyg1SPPS2Rlv6pDCo89skvuzI3QRs5yXiaABvQEDbqOax4rnIprL2a-ai8V0hf-/s320/martinak4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdw6VzRhTQ0V_WfgDU9goV6eunPHTDPzhHE7eiCqj0gEg3JRDvV-a4oVuaaur1F6wYJy8rCBMe6_Gt01HDyjty3o3F0kToG0iGkZ_nJDU_HsfljYUN2Nga87CDSn02VveLwvNlnMax1Lx/s1600-h/martinak1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385729776877493650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdw6VzRhTQ0V_WfgDU9goV6eunPHTDPzhHE7eiCqj0gEg3JRDvV-a4oVuaaur1F6wYJy8rCBMe6_Gt01HDyjty3o3F0kToG0iGkZ_nJDU_HsfljYUN2Nga87CDSn02VveLwvNlnMax1Lx/s320/martinak1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Only had time for a short walk today since I'm off to start a 30 hr shift at work. So we'll just hang out right outside Denton in Martinak State Park. According to two online reviews, Martinak park gets 5 stars. It has campgrounds, a playground, a boat ramp and a beatiful river, perfect for fishing, kayaking, canoeing and jet skiing. Chowder was also happy to hear that it's dog friendly. The land was deeded to the state by George Martinak in 1961. Thanks, Mr. Martinak!<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Total miles to date, 56.06</div></div></div>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-72222087735072698592009-09-25T11:23:00.000-04:002009-09-25T11:26:32.454-04:00Denton, Maryland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hCXZA5XZMtzWuBOVI_Jg5Pu3QgSFfBIzL3C4kyXgg6gehSUzZyiC41KRamtXQHwY7N7NtkaV7ikEgOhD4suMkupO41x3_DtYgFiVS68EDc0qbCOU3mGLLpuS4UkbUbAMVbx6XEHqYhru/s1600-h/denton.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385426245095640402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 230px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hCXZA5XZMtzWuBOVI_Jg5Pu3QgSFfBIzL3C4kyXgg6gehSUzZyiC41KRamtXQHwY7N7NtkaV7ikEgOhD4suMkupO41x3_DtYgFiVS68EDc0qbCOU3mGLLpuS4UkbUbAMVbx6XEHqYhru/s320/denton.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRG7JHQBLrJ0e13r3D0_oNVpBCKSUTUbhLaXSRZa0gTYi8QoGPpM76G5oNv_bJImLTBRWVAeWjK-kASaC9bjO0Pqcr4E_RgSAwYsFEGsRP-C4UfiXeadtBjgYX1eVWM-E3VGDNtz4D6Rya/s1600-h/dentonwharf.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385426239180259842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 222px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRG7JHQBLrJ0e13r3D0_oNVpBCKSUTUbhLaXSRZa0gTYi8QoGPpM76G5oNv_bJImLTBRWVAeWjK-kASaC9bjO0Pqcr4E_RgSAwYsFEGsRP-C4UfiXeadtBjgYX1eVWM-E3VGDNtz4D6Rya/s320/dentonwharf.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea85QG0GZWZ8h7ARaNDDpi71AWDGcrhyvZA1Dx4Ry1BRX-fQFmd23CV0lS5IdjnygRQ2Z-TWYq6ErI6fCqWmHMIdSLn6xSEgVMp0AXbOS-H6pXiAQ14l_l_MBix8tBlu_WuJbpPHlgos7/s1600-h/tuckahoe+neck+meetinghouse,+denton.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385426231512848066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 229px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea85QG0GZWZ8h7ARaNDDpi71AWDGcrhyvZA1Dx4Ry1BRX-fQFmd23CV0lS5IdjnygRQ2Z-TWYq6ErI6fCqWmHMIdSLn6xSEgVMp0AXbOS-H6pXiAQ14l_l_MBix8tBlu_WuJbpPHlgos7/s320/tuckahoe+neck+meetinghouse,+denton.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Fri, 9/25: walked 2.2 miles; total miles to date, 55.58</div><div><br />Today our walk takes us through Denton, Md, population about 4000, located on the Choptank River. It’s the county seat of Caroline County, MD. Highlights include the Tuckahoe Neck Meetinghouse, built in the 1700s by a tiny and short-lived Christian sect called the Nicolites. It was eventually taken over by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), who absorbed most of the sect’s followers after the death of their founder Joseph Nicol in 1770. Like the Quakers the Nicolites were fiercely opposed to slavery, and the Tuckahoe Neck meetinghouse was a center of Underground Railroad activity.<br />This week’s news in Denton: the town council is going to slash the town budget by $280,000 for 2010, however they have approved a project to renovate Fifth Avenue, from the Royal Farms store at Market St, to the Food Lion Shopping Center along state route 404. They voted down a proposal to renovate the town hall or to build a new one.<br /><br /></div><div></div></div>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-87491756963638114312009-09-25T08:44:00.001-04:002009-09-25T19:24:28.665-04:00Made it to Maryland! Drive Gently, Everyone<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOO0F6g7OWsJAop8Ma-s16hnqafhcrXAzA4E-tpE9u-tiBSdgQs6mW3O0t4vJlvAS9sQdjBBKhWJYKXraSt7RREKu3WZCvo36vSg2ezgGJCFVUBXap409FkG-WnDo5Zk8OK9i2bJRg6fp/s1600-h/welcometomd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385386164234256706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOO0F6g7OWsJAop8Ma-s16hnqafhcrXAzA4E-tpE9u-tiBSdgQs6mW3O0t4vJlvAS9sQdjBBKhWJYKXraSt7RREKu3WZCvo36vSg2ezgGJCFVUBXap409FkG-WnDo5Zk8OK9i2bJRg6fp/s320/welcometomd.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsJkfo5b8fB-w1V5QXmn4jgLyljIT8ydtkxMDkSkPvqgHpFfPociJ4sn6W55MaQDz5hYX9L3vQY-bCCt6aV6iP3HvIqYani-zFduPOxU_1MeqUAp-55uzcHwsLsmKYSxg01DnDND1LcBS/s1600-h/stone1.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385386169955725730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsJkfo5b8fB-w1V5QXmn4jgLyljIT8ydtkxMDkSkPvqgHpFfPociJ4sn6W55MaQDz5hYX9L3vQY-bCCt6aV6iP3HvIqYani-zFduPOxU_1MeqUAp-55uzcHwsLsmKYSxg01DnDND1LcBS/s320/stone1.bmp" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJIURZBfHfuJk5gUiUcB-G6hgJzucHFw8_PUCjsc8l4sk2aYC25nrN7M7Vfrm3XV8oWJ8O_oUwgyKXYB5m4b5XMCcO8_iw-cSixl5a22qwhyKhL-4ipW2-7_LkN7gJA3OwS_LvLW0x2bz/s1600-h/stone2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385386176013412962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJIURZBfHfuJk5gUiUcB-G6hgJzucHFw8_PUCjsc8l4sk2aYC25nrN7M7Vfrm3XV8oWJ8O_oUwgyKXYB5m4b5XMCcO8_iw-cSixl5a22qwhyKhL-4ipW2-7_LkN7gJA3OwS_LvLW0x2bz/s320/stone2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Milestone #1: Maryland State Line. I estimate that I reached this milestone around 9/21/09, having walked 44.6 miles. In addition to being the boundary between Maryland and Delaware, this is the famous Mason-Dixon line. Generally thought of as the border between the North and the South, it was surveyed in the 1760s by Mr. Charles Mason and Mr. Jeremiah Dixon to settle a border dispute and determine once and for all the boundaries between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Not sure exactly where Delaware fits into this, but basically the Calverts of Maryland and the Penns of Pennsylvania both claimed to have been given parts of the land by the king of England, and apparently there was actually armed violence over this issue. Recent GPS data shows that Mason and Dixon, while accurate to within an inch in some places, were off by as much as 800 feet in others. Hopefully we can all live with this without breaking out our muskets.</div><div></div><div>The part of the line that runs North-South and separates Maryland and Delaware is 83 miles long. The part that separates Md and Pa is 233 miles long. The line is marked with 300-600 pound stones placed at one mile intervals. Every fifth mile is marked with a “crown stone” which has the Calvert coat of arms on one side and the Penn coat of arms on the other. </div><div></div><div>The Maryland State welcome signs used to say "Drive Gently" back in the old days. Apparently they don't anymore if that picture above is representative. But let's all drive gently anyway, so as not to scare any virtual walkers and their dogs.</div>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9122196920332662990.post-27597738402469333112009-09-25T08:43:00.000-04:002009-09-25T11:29:53.245-04:00Delaware: A Very Flat Place<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnfx5u7L-Sr11E9uHlvaq96AVCWGHfGC9bG_ttSuZl65PoaqpgWwlBKMFJYu-6YiDProbdVgY17buAlAG-4kGYY4hxoUwOrp24Rmp5yIfQfKnWJIP8IQntKtbWcVmsq6-LplcTPQrgNwe/s1600-h/redden.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385400155256904162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnfx5u7L-Sr11E9uHlvaq96AVCWGHfGC9bG_ttSuZl65PoaqpgWwlBKMFJYu-6YiDProbdVgY17buAlAG-4kGYY4hxoUwOrp24Rmp5yIfQfKnWJIP8IQntKtbWcVmsq6-LplcTPQrgNwe/s320/redden.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VRj2lwDpo5niKH3aZv_BgMdkce-kAtHHxmnGoJnQgxeAp0BDbBRZtmfVlr1DcjWy-R_8213kcgi6DINgjrOUdIPg8FCHR00jNpXqrMdr3OK3EdjQdXKLddEdOYwjYjUyNbSjSqHiHln9/s1600-h/delaware+farm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385385039514558994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 299px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VRj2lwDpo5niKH3aZv_BgMdkce-kAtHHxmnGoJnQgxeAp0BDbBRZtmfVlr1DcjWy-R_8213kcgi6DINgjrOUdIPg8FCHR00jNpXqrMdr3OK3EdjQdXKLddEdOYwjYjUyNbSjSqHiHln9/s320/delaware+farm.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrQxA1Q8Zsvp0ZUBMWkVfUhBJ-hAIAZgIMnhKij_sLxYJTF90WO8CwV98DI66XZSmDsmb7J5c0__zm4RtwA5Q7uFtBx4IahdepjTScc7IDqZMqB0Dda6kGPR1ScN1vXG_iHpqWtQ7UI54/s1600-h/delaware1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385385035262519490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrQxA1Q8Zsvp0ZUBMWkVfUhBJ-hAIAZgIMnhKij_sLxYJTF90WO8CwV98DI66XZSmDsmb7J5c0__zm4RtwA5Q7uFtBx4IahdepjTScc7IDqZMqB0Dda6kGPR1ScN1vXG_iHpqWtQ7UI54/s320/delaware1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbOUBtUibhRSASrX7h9jB04R5cW6bpBxFPQHflfrbiWKufi1uMLn_56bhJajMBGgCVnS0udnFzgrppkh5jPUE__Ad1BZ8c-Olsn47hdJiuTem1JiVda9Lg82ZnZpcliGPlg6whR-h57CI/s1600-h/delaware+road.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385385032594722306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 69px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbOUBtUibhRSASrX7h9jB04R5cW6bpBxFPQHflfrbiWKufi1uMLn_56bhJajMBGgCVnS0udnFzgrppkh5jPUE__Ad1BZ8c-Olsn47hdJiuTem1JiVda9Lg82ZnZpcliGPlg6whR-h57CI/s320/delaware+road.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>From here, we go on, virtually walking across Delaware. It’s a small, flat state which I personally have never seen the point of. It has always seemed to me that either the entire Eastern Shore peninsula should be Delaware, or the whole thing should just be part of Maryland. I'm sure it made sense to someone at the time. Anyway. Along the way we pass lots of farms, and pass through Redden State Forest, which has 11,000 acres and is popular for hiking, hunting and birdwatching.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>BethandChowderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04659988629616618649noreply@blogger.com0