Last weekend, my wife and I joined some friends for a weekend adventure to the Great White North, visiting our neighbors in Canada for a few days of winery visits and good company. We left Maryland last Thursday, and the drive north was full of fall color and beautiful weather. The trip to Canada is only about six hours from our neck of the woods, so it was the perfect time of year for a fall drive. We stopped in…
I’m always on the lookout for a great place to have dinner with friends and family. Market Street in Frederick, MD has several fantastic dining options, but for this visit, I traveled to the north end of that busy street for a taste of French cuisine at Up on Market Bistro. As the name implies, the bistro (and attached inn) is styled in the classic décor and furnishings of a typical French bistro or brassiere found all over Paris. Brass…
I spent this past weekend down in sunny (and wet) Florida, visiting family and also attending the parent’s weekend at my youngest daughter’s college – the University of Central Florida. Back when I was a Florida resident, UCF was just a small commuter school (think the size of Hagerstown Community College), but over the past twenty years, it has grown by leaps and bounds, now boasting the largest university population in the state with over 70,000 students. The construction on…
The first week of August means only one thing in my small town. It’s carnival week! Yes, that cavalcade of carnies, questionably-maintenanced rides, deep fried food, inflatable trinkets, and colorful, live entertainment descends once again on my little town, offering a week of summertime entertainment to young and old alike. The carnival marks the wind-down of the summer season, when kids know school is just around the corner and older folks know another summer is almost gone, soon making way…
Living in a rural area in the summer is a magical time. Gardens are in full bloom, and all over the countryside, local fruit and vegetable stands are busy, presenting fresh and just-picked produce used in our favorite summer recipes. They may be a formal market, a lean-to on the side of the road, or even just a small table at the end of a driveway (where payment is made on the honor system), but no matter where you find…
Early June means a lot of different things here in the four-state area. The kids are getting out of school for summer vacation, farmers are busy planting their corn crops, seasonal farmer’s market sales moving into high gear, and one other annual tradition gets kicked-off for the summer months. The local carnival. Every summer, each small town or municipality features a week where the carnival comes to town. It’s a cavalcade of food, arcade games, questionable rides, and musical entertainment…
While spending these longer evenings on the front porch, my wife and I routinely bounce business or invention ideas back and forth off of each other, trying to come up with that “million dollar” business idea. Sometimes we’re serious, sometimes it’s all in good fun (one of her great ideas was a cat food that was just canned broth, named “Auntie Leigh’s Happy Lappin’ Cat Gravy” – just the name alone was worth seeking a copyright, in my opinion). I…
Yes, you read that right. After many years of absence, Hagerstown has finally rejoined the ranks of cities with a professional baseball team, which kicked off its inaugural season play on April 25th. A warm, Western Maryland welcome to the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars! The Boxcars play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), and independent league covering the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions of the United States. The league has been around since 1998, and its play is considered on-par…
For St. Patrick’s Day weekend, what could be better than attending a good ‘ol fashioned boxing match with a bunch of buddies? How about forty-one matches in one night? Yes, it was time once again for the annual West Virginia “Toughman” Competition, and this year, my friend’s eighteen year-old son was going to take his shot at fortune, glory, and a chance to win $14,000 dollars. How did he do, you may ask? Patience, Grasshopper, all will be revealed in…
I’m a big fan of live music events, but I generally either find the ticket prices appalling (for “big name” acts), the travel time excessive (it’s a bit of a jaunt to get down to Baltimore or Washington – or for that matter, even Hershey, PA), or the choice of acts and styles limited (you ever try to find a good jazz quartet in Hagerstown?) I’m happy to report that all of that is changing, thanks to Live at Hub…