Maryland Medley: ocean breezes, platters of fresh seafood, and slices of American history enthrall visitors to this mid-Atlantic crossroads

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Betsa Marsh

FROM HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL to crabbing along the Atlantic seashore, travelers to Maryland discover a tiny dynamo of a state that packs in the adventure. Each region orders distinctive fun, while some experiences, such as the state sport of jousting, seem to transcend time and even explanation.

In the heart of Maryland Baltimore City holds down the fort--literally. Fort McHenry National Monument preserves the site where Marylander Francis Scott Key witnessed a battle in the War of 1812 and was inspired to write the poem that became our national anthem. "The Star-Spangled Banner."

A successful attorney from Maryland's Frederick County, Key was on an American truce ship in the Patapsco River on Sept. 13-14, 1814, watching the British attack. He wrote "The Defense of Fort McHenry" as the smoke cleared, and Baltimoreans quickly set the words to an old British tune and performed it for the first time publicly at the old Holiday Street Theatre. It became our national anthem in 1931.

Key's original draft of the poem is in the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, the centerpiece of the "Looking for Liberty: An Overview of Maryland History" exhibit. Seamstress Mary Pickersgill sewed the 30' x 42' star-spangled banner of Key's poem. and it's easy to spot her little brick house near downtown's tourist-friendly Inner Harbor--the Great Flag Window in the new adjacent museum is the same size and design as the flag she made. Mary lived here with her daughter and mother, Rebecca Young, who, a generation earlier, sewed the Grand Union flag that rallied George Washington's troops in 1775.

George Washington slept, dined, and camped across the Maryland landscape, and he is immortalized in dozens of spots. Baltimore's Mount Vernon Cultural District is a popular stop for travelers and filmmakers, popping up in Sleepless in Seattle, Red Dragon, and Enemy of the State. No one can miss Mount Vernon's landmark--Washington atop a 178-foot white marble column, with 228 steps to a fabulous view, Begun in 1815 by Robert Mills, creator of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., the column was the nation's first formal, architectural monument to, the American hero.

Sleepless in Seattle also showcased another great B'more neighborhood, the maritime village of Fells Point. Annie, played by Meg Ryan, lived in one of the little row houses in this maze of cafes. bars, restaurants, and churches that has a feel and texture all its own. Favorite son Barry Levinson used the grittier side of Fells Point as the setting for his "Homicide: Life on the Street" TV episodes, transforming the old City Pier building into a police station. After cruising around the Inner Harbor and coming eyeball to eyeball with the aquatic world at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, it's an easy water taxi ride to Fells Point.

In compact Maryland, 42nd in size among the 50 states, it's just 28 miles from Baltimore to the capital of Annapolis. But the atmosphere is worlds apart. Annapolis is supremely proud that its entire mid-city is a National Historic Landmark, with more than 1,500 restored and preserved building. Its residents gloat that they have the country's richest treasure trove of 18th century Georgian buildings--100-plus compared to archrival Colonial Williamsburg's 88.

Annapolis' best first stop may be the Maryland State House. The domed landmark, built 1772-1779, is the oldest state house in continuous legislative use in the U.S. and the only one to serve as the U.S. Capitol, from Nov. 26, 1783, to Aug. 13, 1784. It was here, to America's first peacetime capital, that General Washington came to resign his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Armies on Dec. 23, 1783. His statue stands on the authentic spot in the Old Senate Chamber, dressed in a copy of his uniform. It was a "solemn and affecting occasion," one legislator recalled, after which Washington "bid every member of [Congress] farewell and rode off from the door [of the State House] intent upon eating his Christmas dinner at home."

The very comb that Washington used to prepare for his resignation speech is on display in the Academy Museum in Preble Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. There's also the key to Washingtons childhood home, Wakefield, his silver-and-gold shoe buckles, and a splinter of wood from his coffin. The Academy Museum is a cornucopia of ship models and memorabilia, such as artifacts from the USS Maine, which exploded in Havana Harbor, and a sled used by Admiral Byrd during his 1928-30 Antarctic expedition. The collection also spotlights items from the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in 1945, including the table, pen, and uniform worn by Fleet Admiral C.W. Nimitz.

John Paul Jones, who recommended a school for naval officers as early as 1777, is entombed in a darkened crypt beneath the academy's chapel.

Across the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis, the old fishing, crabbing, and shipbuilding towns of the Eastern Shore lure travelers with the siren call of boats, light-houses, and limitless crab cakes.