Maryland USA
Destination Guide & Hotel Reservations
Founded as the sole Catholic colony in strongly Protestant America, and isolated as the
northernmost slave state, MARYLAND has always been unusual. Within its small,
irregularly-shaped area, its attractions range from the frantic, boardwalk beaches of Ocean
City to the sleepy fishing villages of the Chesapeake Bay , and the bustling
urban center of Baltimore to peaceful Appalachian hill country. Once one of the
world's most productive fishing areas, Maryland's Chesapeake has recently been brought
back from the brink of complete annihilation due to pollution and overfishing. Its
abundant oyster stocks are a thing of the past, but legendary soft-shell blue crabs
and sweet rockfish are more plentiful than ever, and now support a diverse, decentralized
economy, buoyed by the hundreds of weekend boaters who cruise from one to another of its
colonial-era towns.
Maryland's heritage isn't quite as obvious as Virginia's, with nowhere near as many
historical sites, but it boasts plenty of firsts for the United States, including the
first Catholic Cathedral, gas-lit street and telegraph line between Baltimore and
Washington DC. Kent Island on Maryland's Eastern Shore was the third permanent
English settlement (behind Jamestown and Plymouth Rock) in 1631. And during the War of
1812, the British forces attempted a last-ditch effort to wrest back the colonies, in
which they burned down much of Washington DC and moved onto the shipyards of Baltimore. In
a valiant battle, they were staved off at Fort McHenry ; the fort's resistance
inspired an onlooker, Francis Scott Key, to write the words to the United States' national
anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner .
Maryland's largest city is the busy port of Baltimore , a quirky and engaging
metropolis with a revitalized urban waterfront, thriving cultural scene and eclectic
neighborhoods that characterize its diverse residents. Western Maryland stretches
over a hundred miles to the Appalachian foothills, its rolling farmlands noteworthy
chiefly for the Civil War battlefield at Antietam . Just twenty miles south of
Baltimore, along the Chesapeake Bay, picturesque Annapolis has served as Maryland's
capital since 1694. Some of the state's most worthwhile destinations, from the pretty
fishing and yachting town of St Michaels to the untouched wilderness of Assateague
Island , are across the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern shore, connected to the rest of
the state by the US-50 bridge but otherwise still a world apart - except for the sprawling
resort of Ocean City.
Reserve a Hotel Room in Maryland USA
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