FROSTBURG, MD

Shortly after returning from Jamaica, Yolie turned the tables and surprised me with an overnight trip to Frostburg, Maryland. Frostburg is a three-hour drive into the picturesque mountains of Western Maryland. The trees were just beginning to change colors on the early Fall day, and there was just a little chill in the air. The drive was a pleasant one except for us nearly being flattened by a lunatic 18 wheeler on I-70. We love living in Annapolis where the ocean is a mere 2-1/2 hours to the east and the mountains a likewise 2-1/2 hours to the west. The reason we went to Frostburg was a surprise birthday gift from Yolie. It came as a real surprise to me because it was now October and my birthday was in July…lol. She had arranged for us on this day to take a scenic rail bike ride. It’s hard to describe what is a rail bike, so please check out the pictures below. The company that runs the operation, Tracks and Yaks, does a great job and we had a fantastic time. If you find yourself in Western Maryland and are looking for a fun thing thing to do, then please give this a go. You won’t be disappointed!

Once we were done riding the rails, we headed back to our overnight lodging, the Hotel Gunter, which was a very cool historic hotel on Main Street right in the middle of town. The hotel accommodates both short term visitors as well as long term tenants. It also has a jail cell in the basement along with a sort of museum. There’s also a restaurant and speakeasy in the hotel, but they are currently closed. That’s a real shame because they look to be wonderful spots to hang out in. Regardless, we loved the Hotel Gunter and would surely say there again. Since it was dinner time, we went exploring for food and drink. Our first stop, LG’s Pizzeria and Pub, was a short walk down the hill from the hotel. LG’s offers some terrific hand made pizza along with great locals to chat up, like Mandy. Meanwhile, behind the bar was Brandon, who anticipated our thirst needs while giving us good advice regarding the menu. Over the evening, Brandon, or you can just call him BDash or B-, elevated himself onto my Mt. Rushmore of bartenders, joining Irv and Carlos

in Maryland and Lola in Tennessee.

After having a couple of cocktails and beers along with the scrumptious pizza at LG’s, we headed back up the hill to the Deep End Brewhouse and Taproom. BDash (or is it B-) told us to ask for Sully and to tell him BDash says “Hi”. Just before identifying Sully, Yolie realized that she left her bag back at LG’s. Although the distance there was relatively short I wasn’t relishing the idea of going down and then back up that hill, which seemed to be getting steeper and steeper with each round of drinks. Soooo, the perceptive Sully jumped in and offered BDash a free shot if he would run the bag up the hill to us. BDash grabbed the bag and was at the Deep End before we could even finish our first drink. It turned out that BDash conveniently was done his shift at LG’s, so he settled in with us all the way through Sully’s ‘last call”. We had a great time at the Deep End! We learned that: affable Sully is more chemist than bartender; the Deep End is THE spot for music, sharp bartenders like Sully and Zoe, and a welcoming meeting place for the friendly and quirky locals; and that BDash is one smart young guy with some “interesting” hobbies. All in all, we had a fabulous time in Frostburg and we look forward to bringing some peeps with us to enjoy the town and to meet our new friends there.

P.S. Our last article was about our recent visit to our Jamaica ‘home”. We have been to Jamaica many times and we have lots of good friends there who we stay in regular contact with. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they recover from Hurricane Melissa. Tourism is critical to all of them and to the country as a whole. We’ll be heading back there again in a few months, and we encourage everyone to visit Jamaica and make it your “home”, too. One Love… Once again, we thank the Lord for safe travels!