02-22-2023 Primetime Living - Flipbook - Page 22
22 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, February 22, 2023
TRAVEL
Gotta get away! Quick easy trips for you and your family
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
S
ometimes you just need a change of scenery. We’ve all been stuck at home for
far too long and going somewhere interesting is just what you need. Here are
two suggestions, one going east and one going west, that are perfect escapes.
Dorchester Country
Just an hour and half from Baltimore,
across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge,
Dorchester County (seen above), the
Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage
Area, is filled with history and a long
heritage that is fascinating to explore.
You may have passed it traveling on
Route 50 on your way to the shore, but
it’s definitely worth a stop. Its capital,
Cambridge, is a good place to start but
there’s a whole lot more.
Before you set off on your journey,
visit Dorchester County’s easy to navigate website (https://visitdorchester.org).
Browse the downloadable brochures and
map out which spots you want to see.
Under the See & Do tab, you’ll find a
variety of self-guided tours to select from
that will take you all over the county.
After that, go to the Plan Your Visit tab,
then click on Brochures and Guides.
On the right-hand side of the page, you
can download whatever you need. You
may also want to download the Visit
Dorchester Audio Guide cell phone app.
Holly Gilpin, Director of Tourism for
Dorchester County, recommends starting at the Dorchester Visitor Center,
2 Rosehill Place, in Cambridge. There
you can pick up a Passport Guide that
highlights Dorchester County’s unique
heritage. “A visit here is very affordable,
around $20 a day. Most of the sites you
visit have either a very low or no entrance
fee. And you’ll discover so much about
both the county’s and Maryland’s history. One of my favorites is Cambridge
Cemetery where Thomas Holiday Hicks
is buried. When he was governor of the
state, he prevented Maryland from joining the Confederacy.”
Of course, the most famous resident
was Harriet Tubman. Start learning about
her at the Harriet Tubman Underground
Railroad State Park and Visitor Center
located just outside Cambridge. It is
brimming with multimedia exhibits about
her life. From there, you can take a selfguided driving tour of more than 30 sites
related to Tubman and the Underground
Railroad.
For more recent history, take the Pine
Street Walking Tour, the site of “one of
the most important battlegrounds in the
civil rights movement. For more than half
of the 20th century, the city of Cambridge
supported two bustling downtowns, two
hearts beating in the same body, pumping the lifeblood of commerce and culture through two distinct communities.”
Don’t forget to visit the murals on
the Mural Trail, created by artist Michael
Rosato. On the cell phone app, Rosato
describes the historic inspirations behind
his creations that included passages from
James Michener’s novel, Chesapeake.
And you won’t want to miss the
waterfront and lighthouses that line the
county’s Chesapeake border. If you prefer, instead of driving, take a biking tour.
Visit East New Market, learn about its
extensive history and its structures that
date back to the 19th century.
Drive to the Handsell Historic Site
in Vienna. There, you can “step into
an authentically built Native American
longhouse, stroll the grounds, and learn
about the variety of cultures that existed
there.
Food, of course, is always important.
Try the Suicide Bridge Restaurant for
fresh seafood, Blue Ruin for beer, wine,
and craft cocktails, El Cabrito Mexican
Grill for tasty Mexican fare, or High Spot.
You can even join a waterman and catch
your own crab feast.
And if you prefer to visit from the
comfort of your home, Visit Dorchester
“has videos of some of the best-known
places in the county.
• The waterfowl cam at Blackwater
National Wildlife Refuge
• Our three audio guides on the
Chesapeake Mural Trail, Downtown
Cambridge and Pine Street
• The Harriet Tubman Byway audio guide
• Videos from the Tubman Visitor Center,
including the 16-minute introductory
film, “Soldier of Freedom,” and virtual ranger tours. Plus, a brief virtual
tour of the Harriet Tubman Museum &
Educational Center.
Gotta get away,
continued on page 30