A merryland for all - historic, recreational and cultural places for tourists to enjoy in Maryland - Advertising Supplement: Maryland's African American Culture

American Visions, April-May, 1993 by Patricia J. Bacchus

Somerset County, on the southern Eastern Shore, brings you to Crissfield and - just a ferry ride away - Smith Island. Located in the Tangier Sound along the Chesapeake Bay, the island's way of life has changed but little with the passage of time.

However diverse your family's interests, Maryland can accommodate them. High range or low, mountains or seashore, cold or hot, Maryland sings the gamut. From the depths of winter through early spring, you can full-tilt boogie - or merely waltz - down mountains on skis. Along Maryland's northwestern reaches, in McHenry up near Garrett County's borders with Pennsylvania and West Virginia, is the Wisp Golf/Ski Resort area, with 23 slopes, trails totaling 14 miles on 80 acres of skiable terrain and an average of 82 inches of snowfall each year. The rest of the year up this way is also splendid, with Deep Creek Lake full of bass and pike, a challenging golf course, 30 miles of trails and mountain bikes to handle them, and five nearby state parks with bear, deer and ducks.

Don't like the mountains? Try the beaches. Try Ocean City, Maryland's only seaside resort community. The 10-mile stretch of beach offers all the water sports imaginable, but don't let your imagination stop there! The seaside town has two full-scale amusement parks, go-cart racing, water parks and slides, family theaters and musicals on stage.

Whether subtle or overt, soft or loud, Maryland is a land of special treasures and pleasures. A visit here explains why, many years ago, National Geographic summed up the state as "America in minature."