On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key was watching a battle that was part of the War of 1812 at Fort McHenry and it was this battle that inspired him to write the Star Spangled Banner. Just 6 short years until it's Bicentennial Celebration. Don't forget, Maryland is the state that provided the land for the nations capital. So, you can imagine the amount of history that must be tucked around every corner. The Capital Region will be a great place for you to explore.
Our first stop in Maryland is Baltimore. Do you remember the game of Monopoly and the B&O Railroad spot? I'm 38 years old. I've played Monopoly no less than 100 times in my life and I never knew B&O was real! Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is hosting Kids Fest 2008 on September 13 & 14th. I will send you a $5 Starbucks gift card if you can be the first to give me the history of the other three railroads. What were they? Reading, Pennsylvania and Short Line?
Some of the larger attractions in Baltimore include the Ravens football team, the Orioles Baseball team and numerous golf courses to enjoy a round of 19. Or, visit Inner Harbor where you can go to the National Aquarium or the Maryland Science Center.
If we travel over to the Eastern region of Maryland, I get the feeling we're going to be hitting quaint small town after cute small town that all have tons of history. I picked Ocean City to stop in. They have Sundae in the Park, right up Claudia's alley. We're going to slow down our pace and enjoy the Boardwalk, stroll the beach and forget our diets!
That's not all there is to Maryland but that's all I'm covering here today. I hope you will join in and tell us what you love about Maryland.
Fun Facts for Maryland are: the state flower is the Black-eyed Susan, the state dog is the Chesapeake Bay Retriever and the state bird is the Baltimore Oriole.
All Marylanders report to the Deck on THURSDAY, July 24th to tell us what makes Maryland the Taste of USA!
3 comments:
Reading Railroad background:
Reading Company a name remembered mainly as a railroad, was in its heyday a multifaceted industrial giant. Originally established as The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P & R) in 1833 to transport anthracite coal, the pioneering 94-mile line evolved into a mighty corporation serving eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
http://www.readingrailroad.org/reading/rdg_history.html
The Pennsylvania Railroad:
founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the US throughout its 20th-century existence and was at one time the largest publicly traded corporation in the world. At its peak, it controlled about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of rail line. During its history, the PRR merged with or had an interest in at least 800 other rail lines and companies. The PRR corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row. The budget for the PRR was larger than that of the U.S. government and they employed approximately 250,000 workers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad
Finally Short Line: Actually was set to be titled NY Central RR but was owner to many shortlines so they just called it Short Line
There was no real Short Line RR!
Pass the Starbucks card along to some unsuspecting person behind you in line.
Yay Heather! Someone at my local Starbucks will have a treat on Saturday. I will be sure to tell them it's from you.
Thanks for playing.
Cheryl,
Thanks for the challenge!
I was suprised to see that ShortLine was real like the others. That is a nice bit of trivia to have in my pocket.
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