My husband is a Frederick, so we absolutely had to make a quick trip to Frederick, Maryland to check it out. Chock full of history, The National Road meets several north/south routes at the intersection of Patrick and Market Streets in what is now the historic district. The town has long been a crossroads of American history, playing important roles in the American Revolutionary War as well as the Civil War. No doubt the proximity to so many war-time battles has contributed to the town being considered the birthplace of battlefield medicine and home to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine Battlefield Medicine.
The historic district is nice with lots of shops and restaurants, but the star of the show is the lovely, picturesque Caroll Creek Linear Park, created as a flood control project. The 1.5-mile park is not only a beautiful walk but is a treat for any art and/or nature lover. It didn’t hurt that we picked an absolutely beautiful day to visit. We shared a charcuterie board at The Wine Kitchen and sat under a charming high-top umbrella made from plants. We had a cool breeze, great service, and a delicious lunch. We visited this spot early in the pandemic and this was the only time I ever saw cute little mask bags distributed, solving the problem of where to stash the mask while you eat.
Putting some miles on our car this pandemic year, we have discovered that truck stops often have the best restroom options along the way. But one recent truck stop was really exceptional. We had missed our attempt at a somewhat healthy fast-food lunch when the spot we picked was completely closed. So back on the road with limited options, my iExit app revealed our best bet seemed to be an exit not too far ahead with a bunch of fast-food outlets.
It was that and so much more. White’s Travel Center in Raphine, Virginia touts itself as the “East Coast’s Largest Travel Center” and has been in operation for more than 50 years. Located just off I-81 & I-64, or the more scenic U.S. Route 11. They have a huge travel store, urgent care center, pet grooming shop, dentist, chiropractor, dermatologist, pharmacy, business and mail center, fitness facilities, laundry, barber/beauty salon, movie theater, AND room for more than 750 big rigs. I needed a drone to get a good pic.
The food court had lots of options, but one was Popeye’s, so we figured it was karma that we abandon any healthy-lunch thoughts and go for their delicious chicken sandwich.
White’s is a member of the American Truck Historical Society (who knew?) and of course, offers the full spectrum of truck-related services. The place is so spread out, they even have a shuttle to get around when your long-hauler is parked.
Just another pandemic-year adventure.
Who can ever doubt the magic for a toddler discovering the joys of bubble-blowing!
I can’t resist using these darling pics as my favorites for the Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Favorites: https://weeklyprompts.com/2021/05/22/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-favourites/
Proving, once again, you don’t have to travel far to have precious experiences and new discoveries!
Clearwater Beach will always have a place in my heart. Growing up in the Tampa Bay area it was the go-to public beach. I have fond memories of walking through the soft sugary sand to the harder wet tide line, covered with live coquinas as far up and down the beach as you could see. The multicolored tiny shells could be seen glistening and wiggling their way back under the sand by the thousands. Spanish settlers used them as a building material and locals cooked them up for a savory broth. Sadly today, there are none in sight.
We loved going into the historic wooden Palm Pavilion for hand-dipped chocolate ice cream cones so cold they had crystallized bits of ice. The best. As kids, we would dive under the warm gulf water and bring up large shells, and at night the family would take a walk and we’d fish off the small pier near the Pavilion. I loved the pier at night. We never caught much, but the salty old guys who were regulars would sit at the end, shark fishing. Our Abuelo would get them talking and we could count on some good stories. Seems like they caught more mean-looking catfish than anything else. It was always an adventure.
Besides reeling in the occasional fish, off that small pier, we accidentally caught a squid and saw lots of marine life, including sharks, stingrays, and one night – a huge manta ray.
A generation later, I would return to the beach for many summers with my daughter for a family girls’ trip. My mom, sister-in-law, and two nieces rounded out our gang of six. We choose the Old Clearwater Beach Hotel for its perfect location and beautiful beach. The beach was still quiet enough that the kids could feed the seagulls without retribution. Most things were as I remembered, but the coquinas were disappearing and the little pier covered more sand than water.
We just had a pandemic-delayed celebration for my mom’s 90th birthday, returning to the area where so many good memories were made. The good news is the beach-front Rockaway Grill and Palm Pavilion are still there. The 1926-era Pavilion barely resembles its former self, with former changing rooms gone to make way for a restaurant. The Old Clearwater Beach Hotel faded away long ago and was demolished to make way for a new resort, the Sandpearl. Choosing that hotel for our stay guaranteed at least we had the same nice beach, great location, wonderful memories to recall, and incredible gulf coast sunsets. The little pier is gone, overshadowed by its much grander sister-pier (Pier 60) farther down the beach.
I tried to find out what happened to the little pier and it’s like it never existed. I was beginning to doubt my own memory. I finally found a YouTube clip from 2012, explaining the final removal of what they called the Mandalay Pier, which was partially removed and only over sand at that point. Progress?
I miss that pier.
