Here’s Our Best & Worst Things From Maryland

Shae and I spent mid-October to mid-December 2020 in Maryland, the first state we feel we’ve completed since COVID hit. We’d spent time in other states in 2020 like Arizona and New Mexico, but didn’t get to fully explore those, so we’ll be heading back to those in the future.

We’d spent a day or two in Maryland in the past but that was it, so we didn’t really know what to expect of the state. It turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable couple of months, with a mix of mountains, beach and city in that time.

Here’s a list of our best and worst things from Maryland.

Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At

Stephen – This one’s easy – the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront. We stayed there for a month over Thanksgiving and loved it. We got upgraded to an ocean view room, it was in a great location and the staff were fantastic.

Shae – There is no competition. Hands down it’s the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront. Between the amazing staff and the beautiful view it might be one of the best places we’ve stayed at on the entire road trip so far.

Favorite Meal

Stephen – This is a tough one. I think my favorite was the seafood platter I got at Higgins Crab House in Ocean City, but an honorable mention goes to the Thai food from Thai Mekong in Baltimore as their som tum was delicious too.

Shae – I loved my lobster mac and cheese from Coastal Salt.

Most Disappointing Meal

Stephen – The burger I got from Brothers Bistro in Ocean City. It certainly wasn’t bad, but we had a lot of other good food in Baltimore and the burger wasn’t at all special.

Shae – The BBQ from Chaps Pit Beef wasn’t disappointing but it wasn’t very memorable either so I’ll list it here but I wouldn’t rate it as “disappointing.”

Favorite Free Activity

Stephen – Probably the hiking I did during our time in Frederick.

Shae – I loved spending time with Truffles and Stephen playing ball on the beach together.

Favorite Paid Activity

Stephen – The National Aquarium in Baltimore was fantastic; even though it was fairly expensive, it was definitely worth visiting.

Shae – The aquarium was incredible. But I really loved buying a bike for riding while in Ocean City. Truffles and I went out a few times together and that was definitely my happy place.

Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity

Stephen – The hikes Truffles and I went on in Frederick.

Shae – I loved that dogs were welcome at Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City on certain nights.

Least Favorite Activity

Stephen – I can’t think of anything particularly unenjoyable from our time in Maryland.

Shae – There wasn’t anything I didn’t enjoy while we were in Maryland.

Favorite Hike

Stephen – All of the hikes we went on while in Frederick were good, but there wasn’t one that stood out from all the rest as being particularly amazing. If I had to choose though, I’d probably go for the Chimney Rock and Wolf Rock trails at Catoctin Mountain Park.

Shae – I didn’t go hiking with Stephen and Truffles but we did a fair bit of walking around at the Antietam National Battlefield on a beautiful fall day.

Favorite Quirky Thing We Did

Stephen – Did we even do anything quirky in Maryland? I guess Truffles dressing up for a Halloween contest at a brewery might count.

Shae – We didn’t do anything particularly quirky but I think taking pictures of Truffles and Jack as elves at Winterfest probably counts.

Favorite Memory

Stephen – The ocean views in Ocean City.

Shae – One of my favorite memories was spending time talking with Katelyn from the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront about families and youth.

Funniest Moment

Stephen – I sadly can’t think of anything!

Shae – When I was out for a walk one morning (sadly without my phone!) I saw a gentleman on the boardwalk on what can only be described as an adult trike. On the back was a basket and he had a bird – in its cage (just swinging in his swing) – out for a bike ride. They had a tiny license plate on the cage that said “Born to Ride.”

Thing We Most Regretted

Stephen – Staying at the Home2 Suites Frederick. While the hotel itself was fine, the service was simply awful – here’s my review where I explain what happened.

Shae – Yup. There isn’t anything else I can think of other than that awful hotel experience.

Something We Missed And Want To See

Stephen – Fort McHenry in Baltimore was closed when we stayed there due to COVID. Having visited the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, I’m a lot more interested in learning about what happened at Fort McHenry.

Shae – I’d love to see more on the Harriet Tubman Byway, Fort McHenry and Assateague Island.

Our Biggest Surprise

Stephen – How much hiking there was available. I’d pictured all of Maryland being more like the Eastern Shore where it’s fairly flat, but because the western side of the state borders West Virginia, there are mountains available in the state too.

Shae – I’m always surprised at how happy I am near the water. I know I’m going to enjoy it but it always motivates me to be outside so much more often, smile more and walk more.

My Maryland Drinking Game Would Be…

Stephen – Take a drink every time you see their flag on something. People from Maryland seem to be more proud of their state flag than even Texans are of theirs.

Shae – Take a drink every time you see something branded or flavored with Old Bay. It comes from Maryland and it’s definitely a primary export there.

Summary Of Maryland In 10 Words Or Less

Stephen – Good hiking, good food, diverse landscape and interesting history.

Shae – Maryland is small but perfectly formed with ocean and mountains.

Maryland Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite

Stephen – Frederick, Baltimore, Ocean City. Writing them in that order was a little surprising to me, but I liked that there were so many hiking opportunities in Frederick.

Shae – Ocean City, Baltimore and then Frederick. But that’s really just because I love the city and the beach more than the mountains but Frederick was nice though.