Fare thee well, Mary Land

Done laid around, done stayed around
This old town too long;
Summer's almost gone, winter's coming on.

Done laid around, done stayed around
This old town too long;
And it seems like I've got to travel on,
And it seems like I've got to travel on.*

Even in my acceptance of expecting the unexpected and in my wildest paranoid daydreams did I ever expect to spend almost a month headquartered in western Maryland. In retrospect, however, I can only describe the outcome, despite being, perhaps, suboptimal relative to my initial Astral Nomads fantasies, as delightful. In a sure sign that we have exhausted the sightseeing cornucopia of local and near-local attractions, yesterday we went to the Hagerstown Premium Outlet center. If there's something that Wendy and I both abhor, it's shopping. But Wendy had lost her Opium, we think in the 'Otis on the Rolling Austro-Hungarian Bellhop Cart' episode and I needed some aftershave. Ergo, Perfumania! We rode around on some very rural roads (yes, there were cows) first so it wasn't a total loss. But I think we're both getting ready to say good-bye (and thanks!) to western Maryland.

The amount of sites to see, most within a relatively short drive, is truly staggering (here's a little recap, including shameless self-promotional links to the writing they inspired, well only a little shameful. Ha! ):

• Gettysburg National Battlefiled
• Harper's Ferry National Historic Site

Harper's Ferry, 2010

• Cunningham State Park
• Catoctin Mountain National Forest

Wolf Rock, 2010

Hogg Rock Vista, 2010

• Antietam National Battlefield

Zouave Ghost at Antietam Creek, 2010

Snavely Ford Trail, Antietam Creek, 2010

• Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Park
• Crystal Grottoes Caverns
• Ocean City
• Assateague National Wildlife Preserve

Assateague, 2010

• Assateague State Park
• Historic Downtown Hagerstown
• Historic Downtown Frederick
• Washington DC

Brunswick Line, 2010

• Washington Monument State Park
• Appalachian Trail

It's almost seems like a lifetime ago that I pulled off of I-81 for some gas (petrol) and the Eurovan wouldn't start up again. I finally got news yesterday that the replacement engine is in and running. I could have picked it up this morning but I asked the dealership to hold it and test it for one more day. Last thing I want to do is find out as much about Roanoke VA as I now know about Hagerstown MD. No knock against Roanoke, but we want to get to Florida to cook a turkey for Wendy's dad by next Thursday. The repairs would have been done earlier but the engine sat on the parts supplier's shipping dock for almost a week due to some paperwork snafu. Insurance companies are highly competent when it comes to collecting premiums, not so much when it comes to processing claims.

So today we're just going to chill and get ready to hit the road again tomorrow morning. We're going downtown to do a last load of laundry at the Universal Laundry and catch some Afghani Kabobs at this Afghani restaurant that we've been meaning to go to but just haven't been able to squeeze in. In terms of downtown dining in Hagerstown: Rocky's Pizza (incredible sauce, these guys must be from the NYC metro area), Bulls & Bears (American bistro with good food and a chubby chef), and Schmankerl Stube (very authentic Bavarian) are all very good.

Seems almost weird to have mixed emotions about leaving Hagerstown. The place kinda grows on you. But, for the Astral Nomads, it's time to travel on....................

-Gerry

(if you're jonesing for Wendy's photos, she publishes the ones's that did not get on this blog at:

Shuttering Heights )

*Gotta Travel On (Paul Clayton) Dylan's version in on Self Portrait