Finding Frederick

Judy. One of the things I enjoy about our travels is how much our surroundings can change in such a short period of time. One week after stepping out of tropical heat where we were wakened by the sounds of howler monkeys and both lyrical and squawking birds, we were wrapped in sweaters in a tiny apartment on a main street, and waking to the sounds of traffic and shoppers. In the evenings, instead of being lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean, we closed our doors to shut out the sounds of partying below us. Believe it or not, it doesn’t bother us—it’s just an interesting change. 

Although Frederick, Maryland, was founded in 1745, it was an important crossroads for Native Americans and early settlers much earlier. It’s close to both Baltimore and Washington, DC, as well as to Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields. The Appalachian Trail passes near here, as well as numerous beautiful hiking trails. 

So it sounded like the perfect place to settle in for a month. 

Actually, we had contacted a Servas family in the area—their bio said they loved hiking—and their first choice for us to stay was Frederick. Ian and Cari even drove by the apartment we were looking to rent to make sure it was ok. And they’ve turned out to be terrific friends. Frederick is filled with sweet old townhouses and shops. Our place is over a shop, and was noted to be the home of Samuel and Amelia Weinberg, built in about 1850, and home to the earliest synagogue in Frederick.  Exploring the building, it’s easy to see how the family lived over their shop and where the storage rooms were. There’s even old hardware on the doors! The front windows open onto the busy street, and a door off the bedroom leads to a balcony walkway with a clothesline and a view of rooftops and balconies of other buildings. 

Home sweet home

The back porch

 

Drive out of town for ten minutes, and you’re in the lush, rolling hills of Maryland. It’s a charming place to be!

 

View from an overlook near the AT

Two days after our arrival, we met our niece Becky, her son Caleb, and her husband Tom for our first AT hike in the area. It included a beautiful overlook, and we had a wonderful time catching up. Shortly afterwards, Ian and Cari met us downtown for drinks and appetizers, then took us for a walk along Carroll Creek Park, a brick walkway following the creek through the city. It’s lined with restaurants for a few blocks, then opens up on one side to a huge city park. There are murals on some of the buildings and metal sculptures along the creek. One was even made by the family of some friends in Georgia. A sculpture that spells out "Frederick" in sign language welcomes the deaf population. There is a school for the deaf here.

 

 

A dream of ours is to walk a part of the AT in all 14 states through which it passes. We’d done Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, and our hike with family added Maryland. We’d heard about a flat hike along the C&O Canal, which is a national park, and also forms a part of the AT, so we hiked to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. It’s a beautiful hike along the Potomac, and a tasty crab cake sandwich in Harper’s Ferry was a good break before our return.

 

Harper's Ferry from the trail

Crab cakes! Remember when we were in Nova Scotia and couldn’t get enough lobster? Well, that’s where we are now in Maryland! Wegman's, the local supermarket, makes delicious ones to take home, and both reasonably priced ones and off-the-chart ones are available in restaurants. Yep, it's a once or twice a week thing for us.

Cari and Ian invited us to their home for dinner one night, and we had the real pleasure of meeting their talented and interesting kids. We immediately felt right at home. On our anniversary we drove around the area to explore towns, and finished up with a delicious dinner at Isabella’s, a Spanish tapas restaurant across the street. 

Another day we took the train into Washington, DC, to visit the new Martin Luther King and FDR Memorials, and to see the National Gallery of Art. Shockingly—and truly wonderfully—there were hardly any tourists, and we could wander freely.

 

Part of the huge FDR Memorial

MLK Memorial

There are only about two weeks left, and we still have a trip to Philadelphia to visit our dear friend Vishal for the weekend, a graduation party for grand-nephew Caleb, and more hikes. As always, we are running out of time. We didn’t see more than we did see, but we’ve spent time with family and friends, and made new friends. 

Lonely Planet lists the top ten reasons to go to Frederick. Number ten is because “it’s perfect.” Well, it may not be perfect, but you can see perfect from here.