Maryland

In Talbot County, explore the unspoiled beauty and historic lore of Maryland's Eastern Shore. Talbot's charming and historic small towns include the waterfront village of St. Michaels, Easton, Oxford, Tilghman Island, and Wye Mills.

This spying the county is sponsoring a spectacular long weekend (April 29 through May 2) dedicated to three of life's best subjects: great food, line wine, and Maryland's Eastern Shore. Top chefs from all over the country joined by renowned sommeliers, will gather here to prepare meals "as breathtaking as the Chesapeake sunsets." The host chefs and vintners will dazzle festival-goers with their delectable treats, cooking demonstrations, wine seminars, and educational discussions. While you're visiting, stay at a luxurious country inn or resort, and allow some time for a host of appealing attractions: swing away at the Harbourtowne Golf Resort, browse through antiques shops and art galleries, climb aboard a skip, jack sailboat or bugeye, or take an ecotour of restored Poplar Island.

WORCESTER COUNTY

Located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Worcester is known as the "seaside county," where you'll find the year-round beach resort Ocean City and the famous wild ponies of Assateague Island State Park.

With a range of habitats--barrier islands, coastal bays, tidal wetlands, cypress swamps, fields and forests--it's not surprising that Worcester has more recorded bird sightings than any county in Maryland. This spring, celebrate the migration of warblers, shorebirds, and waterfowl as well as many nesting birds and raptors during the Delmarva Birding Weekend (April 24-25), which combines boat trips, canoe and kayak treks, and other expeditions. Read about this weekend and the county's spectacular birding at visitworcester.org.

Worcester is known for its more than a dozen championship golf courses and 100 miles of marked bicycle trails on flat country roads. Accommodations range from casual bed-and-breakfasts to charming inns on the National Register of Historic Places.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS

Founded in 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins is the oldest university press in continuous operation in North America and a great source of publications of special interest to naturalists. For example, Rock Creek Park, by Gail Spilsbury, celebrates Rock Creek Park, a resplendent wilderness retreat in Washington, D.C., conceived in 1902. Beautifully illustrated with fifty paintings and archival and contemporary photographs, the book tells the riveting story of this unique park's formation and preservation, focusing on how Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and other visionaries laid down precedents for its preservation. Located in the middle of our nation's capital, Rock Creek Park has managed to remain true to its original vision, the "permanent preservation of its wonderful beauty, and the making of that beauty accessible to the people without spoiling the scenery in the process."

Spilbury recounts the park's history and explores how its philosophy of landscape deeply influenced its remarkable degree of historic integrity over the past century. The book pays tribute to the Olmsted family for their contribution to urban and park planning throughout the United States.