Last Saturday, we visited the largest, permanent, model railroad display in the mid-Atlantic, owned…read moreby the Baltimore Society for Model Engineers. The Society was founded in March 1932 and is the oldest exclusively model railroad club in the United States. They maintain 2,500 square feet of model railroad displays of steam and diesel freight and passenger trains and trolleys, plus so much more. It was fun to see all the parts of the display - it really gives you a glimpse into the history of railroading. It is not easy to find, as the doorway is tucked into the left front center of the building and the society is located on the third floor with no elevator. The display is normally open on the second Sunday of each month, except May.

These gentlemen have been around 81 amazing years. Great family environment with extremely…read moreknowledgable guys working. Displays are very detailed and even showcase popular Baltimore landmarks.

This unassuming vineyard is worth noting! They have a small tasting room with a few tables, so…read morenothing fancy. However, they have wonderful wines. On top of that, they're about to become the first Maryland winery to have kosher wine! I'm happy to support this vineyard and am excited for what's to come for them.

Visited here for our first time on a Saturday during Memorial Day weekend, spending the day picking…read morestrawberries and then visiting wineries in the Mt. Airy area. Setting is beautiful, shaded tables spread widely on a hillside lawn next to vineyards. We purchased one tasting flight. Servers climbed the hill carrying one bottle at a time to pour each glass! Every wine we tasted was good, and the servers were lovely, friendly and warm.

We are long-time members and things have changed consistently at Black Ankle and always for the…read morebetter! The vineyard always will be a beautiful place to enjoy great wine, people watch, enjoy well behaved dogs, and break bread with friends and family. The creation of the patios through and beyond the pandemic was a great move. The vistas never disappoint, the charcuteries boards with fresh baked bread have always complimented the wine well, the food trucks and various vendors have always been fun, but a piece was missing. That piece has been added! We were pleasantly surprised to find The Terrace Kitchen by Chef Tony Castellon delivering an elevated menu with options from homemade chocolate chip cookies to The Amalfi Toast featuring a personal fav boquerones. There are options on that menus that are to die for including veg options as expected. Note: There are chilled vegan options inside ask the desk. We enjoyed the Mediterranean inspired with Japanese twist Char-Siu Skewer with ponzu aioli, and lemon wedge dipped in a (chili, paprika, cumin dust?) was perfect to balance out the skewers. Damn tasty lamb and beef the squeeze of the lemon and spice perfected it. The Crispy Potatoes were a delight, not too heavy or greasy, nice char, and full of flavor delivered by the lardon, green onion, and melted Gruyere . Very satisfying, would order again. The Amalfi Toast is a do not miss IMO. For the uninitiated, boquerones are Spanish white sardine filets cured in acid then packed in olive oil. Unlike the premium salty boney tinned sardines available in the US, the result is a delicate cured white sardine filet over toasted focaccia coated with whipped buffalo milk garlic butter and fresh herbs. Outrageous food my friends, just delicious. Thank you Chef! Your CA roots are showing. The chocolate chip cookies were very good. We missed the duck taco special on the board which I would have tried no matter what. If it was a confit duck taco, well IYKYK. So kudos to Black Ankle Vineyards and Chef Tony Castellon. The future is bright with this new partnership. Looking forward to returning more often to catch live music and enjoy it all. P. S. Heather Aubrey Lloyd performing solo on guitar and playing many 79's and 80's covers was a great addition to our experience. Please tip these performers, you can hit her up on her website if you did not bring cash: https://heatheraubreylloyd.com/tipping

Representing the DMV runner-up to out of town pick for letter B for 2025, B is for Black Ankle…read moreVineyards. My girlfriend & I visited Black Ankle on a Saturday in September 2025. We were out somewhat in this direction, and there was a Meetup group going here, so we thought to check it out as it's rare we ever go to a winery as it's normally out of the way, more likely of an occurrence when on a vacation. We took some crazy back roads from where we were in western Howard County, through Carroll, & into eastern Frederick County, where Black Ankle is. We went to the bar inside to get wines. I got a white wine; I think Chardonnay, and I think my girlfriend got a sweeter Rose or something like that. Both were delicious, but we preferred our own more. We sat outside in a nice patio area. We were in the hot Sun on that sunny day, but that was cool with me. We learned of a tour going on, which we got in on. The tour guide who wore an Italian flag bowtie was entertaining and informative. We walked around the vineyard, going inside the cooled storage areas, centrifuge area where the wine is mixed, etc. We even saw some of the old wines they had made from years earlier. We saw sheep dogs, which protect the vineyard from pests, which were cute. Overall, this is a high quality winery with plenty of nice outside & inside seating.

WOW!! This event has changed since the last time we were there. It's much larger now and not…read morefamily friendly like it used to be. First thing I noticed was they "ran out " of handicap parking spots!! Not off to a good start?! They then send you to the next row which is a good large field away & find a spot. I'm sorry but I can't walk that far and I need to be dropped off. That's fine, and as we pass the designated handicap parking lot I notice that it's not full and there's plenty of parking available for the handicap. My placard displayed in window. They aren't using them now because they are waiting for a group!!?? Ok. 1/5 for NOT being handicap accessible. Train the people to address the situation and offer to let them be dropped off..they didn't. They only said go to the end of the row and park. My husband said my wife is handicapped and she can't walk that far and the guy replied something like well it's full and you have to go, keep traffic moving !?!? Where are they going? Way down yonder in the far pasture and they might be here before dark. Very disappointing for a state run affair on a day dedicated to military and first responders would be so unorganized. From running out of handicap parking spots (lie-from volunteer) and run out of drinks before an hour had passed. Second, found one of my favorite foods! Açaí bowl. Can't drink on an empty stomach, no hangovers here ! Overall I think this event was oversold on tickets and the vendors were not prepared for for the increase in number of people. The lines were very long at lunch time which is when we were there and I noticed right after they were done everyone disappeared. I also noticed for such a large outdoor event they didn't have any water stations. If you were thirsty than you bought water or something else. I wanted water. I did find some cute gifts for my mom & some other ideas for my crafting. Despite the heat, crowds, long lines, miscommunication and everything else I had a decent time. But I can always make something boring into fun:-). Maybe next year will be better?!

*Secret Garden Arts, Music and Wine Festival Review*…read more I visited a few days ago for this festival! I only recently heard of this event but glad I attended. It was a decent size crowd (not like the Linganore Reggae Festival) but that was a good thing (for me at least). This was my first "big" event since pre-covid! There was a line to get into the festival so word of advice - go early. Even though it was starting at noon, I'd suggest going at least an hour before so you're not in the line for too long and you get to pick your spot to set up. There's folks directing you where to park! They will scan your tickets and check your bags, lawn chairs and other belongings for contraband (weapons, drugs, outside liquor)! You're allowed to bring non-alcoholic beverages and food but no liquor! Don't bother because they thoroughly check and I saw lots of liquor being confiscated!!! There were two wine vendors there - Dejeon and Basignani. Your ticket gives you tastings to both. I only got to try Basignani and I loved the sangria so I ended up buying two bottles of that to share with my group. The reisling wasn't bad either, but it wasn't enough for me to get an entire bottle. Most bottles are $17 and there were some $30 bottles. There were some food trucks but the lines were super long. My group and I brought our own food - saves time and money. Tents are allowed but again if you want to be closer to the stage, go early! There were some art, cigars, hookah vendors. There's some indoor restrooms near the gate but mostly porta-potties! While I saw some kids here, I personally don't think this is a kid friendly event (at least not younger kids - under 12). There's nothing really for kids to do here! Overall, it was a good time! I would attend again in the future.

My husband and I had a great time visiting Baugher's today! It was their first day of the season…read moreand because it was a Friday afternoon, it wasn't too busy. We ended up picking a basket of our own strawberries. The lady who rang us up in the market and explained the process was friendly and helpful. The gentleman who drove the tractor to and from the field did a great job explaining the picking process and which strawberries to pick or not to pick. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to take the tractor to and from. Afterwards we visited the petting zoo and fed the animals two bags of food which we purchased from the market. They were sooo cute! The one goat was so funny and his name should be "Shadow" since he followed us around the whole time! He can be seen in our pic feeding the duck. He was so funny! The animals were all friendly and super cute to hang out with for a bit. Feeding the goats up on the structure via conveyorbelt was so fun and entertaining! I highly recommend visiting and plan to be back in a couple months to pick peaches and nectarines!

Me and my grandchildren attempted to pick apples today. First, we waited about 20 minutes for a…read moretractor to take us to the field even though there was a short line. There were no indoor bathroom facilities and the Spot a Pot was very dirty. Then when we got to the field the majority of the apples were either split or rotten. We were not allowed to pick from the first few rows where there seemed to be good apples. We had a difficult time finding enough apples to fill the small peck bag. It was a total rip off to charge people $15 a peck when there were very few good apples to pick. Most of them that weren't split or rotten were a little larger than a ping pong ball. This is the second year in a row that I am very disappointed. I won't be back.

Had the opportunity to take an out of town guest on The Historical bike tour of Frederick…read more... Learned so many historical facts and saw so many historical sites; it was amazing!! We also had the pleasure of meeting Mimi (Managing Partner) , who is wonderful. All focus is making their clients comfortable and appreciated. Will definitely return! Had a blast.

We were a party of nine on a beautiful September day. All of us have never ridden an electric bike…read morebefore and some of us were very nervous. The staff at Pedego were extremely helpful in getting us ready. They adjusted seats and for me that was at least three times before we finally settled on the lowest position possible. The staff provided us instruction and encouragement. You just can't rate someone on that. I'm sorry I don't remember his name, but he kept telling me that I'll be fine and you never forget how to ride a bike. He said it multiple times. You know what? He was right. We had a fantastic time and I didn't want to get off the bike when we got back. We decided to do our own tour with a provided map from Pedego. We did have to go out into the street a small amount of time. Our first stop was the historic Mt. Olivet Cemetery where you will find famous inhabitants like Francis Scott Key. The cemetery was the perfect place for us to acclimate ourselves. I kept thinking if I fall, at least I will fall on grass (or a headstone but I think I'll hit grass first). But luckily, none of us fell. The cemetery was flat with a wide road and only a couple of cars. When we felt comfortable, we made our way to Baker Park and found a covered bridge. We rode along Carroll Creek park and then headed back to Pedego after two hours. The bikes are heavy but with the pedal assist, you will not tire out as much. LOL. I loved being able to actually look at beautiful Frederick without having to do too much work. I think anyone who knows how to ride a bike will do fine on an electric bike. You might like it more than traditional pedaling! Bring your own helmets if you have one. There is a small bag attached to the bike if you have a water bottle or other small items that you want to bring along.

Nothing beats a brew-and-history tour! Glenn was incredibly knowledgeable and made for an…read moreexceptional tour guide. Each brewer had a unique story -- and, of course, the beer was fantastic!

Had a fantastic time on the Hanover Ale Trail this weekend with Brewery Tours! Glenn showed us…read moresome stops we've never been to, dropped some interesting beer history knowledge - even for this non-beer drinker! Plus, the brewmasters at the sites gave us tours of the brewing area. Huge shout-out to Sign of the Horse Brewery - Hanover, Something Wicked Brewing Company, and Public House At The Markets. If you like craft beer, good food, and a touch of history - both beer & local - this is the tour for you! What a great way to support local, enjoy a day with friends, and, most importantly, do so safely! An awesome idea for out-of-town guests too!