Maryland Official Visitors Guide - 2017
Indulge All 5 Senses In Maryland
Jim Meyer 2016-12-08 04:45:00
SEE
THRILL YOUR SENSES
Light City Baltimore
1 Light City Baltimore
Let your eyes play along a city bursting with light. The first light festival in the U. S., Light City Baltimore will dazzle your senses when the harbor is turned into a carnival of electric sights. Experience the sea of smiles as children dance at the feet of an enormous illuminated peacock. Lose yourself in the whirling lights of art that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy—all driven by the spirit of creation and the vision of a community that shares its energy.
Fall foliage, Deep Creek Lake
2 Fall Foliage in McHenry
Feast your eyes on an infinite expanse of color as the forests of McHenry appear ablaze with the reds and golds of autumn. With each leaf reflected in the mirrored surface of Deep Creek Lake, it is a cosmos of hues—each leaf a star—crowned by the azure skies of Mountain Maryland. Named the best place to see the fall foliage by Travel and Leisure and home of the 50th annual Autumn Glory Festival, the memory of just one look will burn in your imagination for a lifetime.
TOUCH
1 Sand on Ocean City Beach
Close your eyes and feel the cool sand shifting between your toes, the brisk Atlantic waves washing over your ankles, and the disappearing grains tickling your heels as the waters rush back into the ocean. Sit back and enjoy the warm summer sun, balanced by ocean breezes carrying hints of spray. Then feel the sand give between your fingers as you carve soaring parapets, and the smile stretching your cheeks as you help your little one finish their first Ocean City sandcastle.
SUPERMAN hypercoaster at Six Flags America, Upper Marlboro
2 SUPERMAN: Ride of Steel 3D Hypercoaster at Six Flags America
Feel the butterflies rise in your belly as you touch the sky at the top of the first hill of SUPERMAN: Ride of Steel at Six Flags America. Experience the power of Krypton as you hurtle 205 feet toward the earth before peeling back at an eyewatering 73 mph. If the intense g’s of a modern hypercoaster weren’t enough to make you feel like a superhero, the Ride of Steel’s cutting-edge virtual reality slings you into battle alongside Superman over the skies of Metropolis. You’ll not only believe a man can fly, but that you can join him.
Living Seashore Touch Pool at the National Aquarium, Baltimore
3 Touch Pool at the National Aquarium
Plunge your hand into the crisp water of the Living Seashore at the National Aquarium and feel the world below the surface. Experience the smooth, hard shell of a horseshoe crab and the delicate pin-pricks of a spiny urchin. Stroke the rough, beveled back of a clearnose skate, then feel the smooth, soft skin of its belly. Run your hands along bobbing jellyfish— there is no sting, only the warmth of a new, deep understanding of these mysterious creatures.
TASTE
1 Maryland Oysters
Taste the clean, bright heart of the Chesapeake Bay in each plump and luminous Maryland oyster. Whether shucked straight out of the water and backed by a cold locally made beer on a working skipjack cruise, scalded over a camp fire, swimming in fresh cream and crisp scallions in a rich, homestyle stew, or prepared daringly in a mélange of spices by a master chef, oysters are the flavor Maryland was built on.
ROCK N’ FISH
Fresh rockfish from the Chesapeake Bay
PHOTOS: SAM BURCH, SPARKLEBERRYLANE.COM
2 Rockfish on the First Day of the Season
Prized for its fight and its flavor, the sweet, firm flesh of the rockfish (or striped bass) marries the flavors of the sea with the taste of the Chesapeake. Sliced fresh on the boat, it is a sushilover’s revelation. Bathed in lime, cilantro and razordiced jalapenos, rockfish is a sublime summer ceviche. Or try it Chesapeake-style, stuffed with prized crab imperial, slathered in a cream sauce and broiled to perfection.
HEAR
DEL-YEAH!
The Del McCoury Band performing at DelFest, Cumberland
1.DelFest
The delicate notes of mandolins leap between the faces of rolling Appalachian mountains joined by the driving energy of banjo, bass, and the occasional whooping chorus of “Del-Yeah!” can mean only one thing. DelFest, a three-day hootenanny in the hills of Cumberland, has quickly become a preeminent celebration of the roots and branches of bluegrass. Revel in the music of legendary performers, or find a sweet spot under the trees with new friends and old to make your own. At DelFest, the spirit of bluegrass breathes.
SAIL AWAY
Sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay
PHOTO: TODD PARKS
2 The Snapand- Clang of Sailboats
The crisp snap of flags dancing on the wind accompanied by the gentle clang and sweet ring of masts bobbing with the tune; waves licking the pylons of the pier and kissing the hulls of a waiting yacht; and the solo call of a soaring gull. This is the soundtrack of sunset on the Chesapeake Bay, a song made richer by its promise of setting sail with tomorrow’s tide.
SMELL
1 Thrasher’s Fries
The heady aroma of Thrasher’s French Fries, with its vinegar tang and bold bottom that fills the senses, has been as much a part of summer as sand, surf and sunshine since 1929. But before you let yourself go, drawn by the promise of that brown and gold cup overflowing with the world’s most perfect French fries, take a moment. There is an ever-shifting point where the salt notes on the ocean air just meet the siren’s scent of Thrasher’s wafting out over the Ocean City boardwalk. This is where summer lives.
SUMMER TREATS
Thrashers’s Fries on the Ocean City boardwalk
2 Steamed Crabs
Poems and volumes have been written about the exquisite taste of Maryland steamed crabs, but for locals, the smell is just as sweet. Pouring from the lid of a stainless-steel steamer, the mixture of blue crab, beer, rock salt and Chesapeake spices is a smell that brings people together. It’s the scent of summer with family gathered at your favorite crab house, laughing and remembering, or fall with good friends writing the stories you’ll tell next year. And it’s the smell of spice on your fingers that night, reminding you of a day done right, right here in Maryland.
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