Road Trip Ideas – Maryland Travel Stories

African American Heritage Sites in Prince George’s County MD – The List

20161228_165007570_ios It’s funny how a small project for my blog has grown into a real journey. It started with the idea to visit every African-American Museum in the state of Maryland (MD). I spent time on Google and a few travel sites and collected a list of 14 museums and 1 point of interest. It’s a small list but I was only searching for museums.

My first visit from the list was the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center in North Brentwood, MD. I found a brochure on the information table at the center, “Maryland’s African-American Travel Guide” and thought … why not. I’ll expand my list to include all the places in the brochure.

20180325_173042692_iOS I visited Abraham Hall in Beltsville MD and learned about the Black History Program that operates there. The staff introduced me to two other heritage sites in the county they help manage (Ridgeley Rosenwald School and Dorsey Chapel).

My visit to the Ridgeley Rosenwald School in Capitol Heights, MD has expanded my list even more. I found another brochure, “African American Heritage Sites in Prince George’s County“. There are 17 sites and I’m adding 2 points of interest for the county.

Here’s the list:

Abraham Hall (Beltsville MD)
Belair Mansion (Bowie MD)
Blacksox Park (Bowie MD)
Cherry Hill Cemetery (Riverdale MD)
Columbia Air Center (Upper Marlboro MD)
Dorsey Chapel (Glenn Dale MD)
Holy Family Catholic Church (Mitchellville MD)
Mount Calvert Historical & Archaeological Park (Upper Marlboro MD)
Northhampton Slave Quarters & Archaeological Park (Lake Arbor MD)
Poplar Hill on His Lordship’s Kindness (Clinton MD)
Queen’s Chapel United Methodist Church Site & Cemetery (Beltsville MD)
Ridgley Methodist Episcopal Church & Cemetery (Landover MD)
Ridgeley Rosenwald School (Capitol Heights MD)
Riversdale House Museum (Riverdale Park MD)
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (Laurel MD)
St. Paul United Methodist Church (Oxon Hill MD)
The Charles Duckett Log Cabin at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums (Upper Marlboro MD)
The Black History Program at Abraham Hall (BHP@AH)
African American Heritage Preservation Group of Prince George’s County

Thank you for reading Maryland Travel Stories!

Maryland Museums Preserving African-American History & Culture

maryland-museums-preserving-african-american-history-culture Yesterday, I shared a post from CBS DC. The article is a discussion on African-American Museums in Maryland you can visit while you wait for the crowds to shorten at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. The article said there are over a dozen African-American museums in the state. The article doesn’t list all the museums. I was curious so I did some research. Here’s a list of the locations I found:

1 – Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center, North Brentwood, MD (Prince George’s County)

2 – Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Baltimore, MD (Baltimore City)

3 – Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park, Olney, MD (Montgomery County)

4 – Howard County Center of African American Culture, Columbia, MD (Howard County)

5 – National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Baltimore, MD (Baltimore City)

6 – African American Heritage House, La Plata, MD (Charles County)

7 – Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD (Anne Arundel County)

8 – African Art Museum of Maryland, Fulton, MD (Howard County)

9 – Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, Cambridge, MD (Dorchester County)

10 – Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Cambridge, MD (Caroline and Dorchester Counties)

11 – Doleman Black Heritage Museum, Hagerstown, MD (Washington County)

12 – The Button Farm Living History Center, Germantown, MD (Montgomery County)

13 – Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, Baltimore, MD (Baltimore City)

14 – Josiah Henson Park, North Bethesda, MD (Montgomery County)

15 – Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture

My travel bucket list just keeps growing. Thank you for reading Maryland Travel Stories!

Maryland Ice Cream Trail Information

dreamstime_s_29193986 - Ice Cream — © Sunguy | Dreamstime.com – Ice Cream Sign And Tent Top Isolated.

I updated my Maryland Ice Cream Trail page. I added a plan to cover all nine creameries in three weekend trips and a map for planning. Let me know if you have any questions.

What’s the Maryland Ice Cream Trail? Maryland has nine dairy farms that offer fresh ice cream. Together, they make up the Maryland Ice Cream Trail. Visit each creamery and get your trail passport stamped. The program runs during the Summer and ends in September.

We visited all eight of the creameries on the 2015 trail. We limited our visits to two locations for 2016, Kilby Cream (our favorite) and Woodbourne Creamery (new to the trail for 2016). We will re-visit all the creameries for 2017. Fun times on an ice cream road trip!

Thank you for reading Maryland Travel Stories!

Rest Stop Bathrooms and the Curse of the Low Power Hand Dryer

dreamstime_xs_48754288 - Public Bathroom I’ve been on several road trips in the last few months including an 18 hour trip to Florida. I enjoy road trips. I listen to audio books during the drive and the view on scenic roads can be relaxing.

One side effect of a long drive is occasionally, you feel the call of nature. Suddenly, those information signs along the road become important to read. You begin the search for a rest stop, truck stop or some other place to grab a snack and use the facilities. A common ritual on a road trip.

My problem is this. I’ve noticed more and more of the public bathrooms don’t have paper towels. All you get are hand dryers. Most of the time, it’s a low power hand dryer. I can honestly say that low power hand dryer are good for nothing but building frustration.

Now I get it. Paper towels add to landfills. Plus, businesses can save money by not suppling them. My complaint is this. You can’t blow your nose or wipe something off your shirt with a hand dryer. There are times when you need a paper towel in a bathroom.

These low power hand dryers are not working for me. I decided I need a solution for my road trips. Kleenex hand towels to the rescue! I buy a box at the start of the trip. I grab a couple towels before getting out of the car and put them in a pocket. If the bathroom is out of paper or has a hand dryer, I’m covered. I simple reach into my pocket.

I know some of you will think this is no big deal or even silly. My view, it’s a less stressful road trip!

Thanks for reading the Maryland Travel Stories!