My Maryland!
By Bernadette A. Moyer

Some of the best things about Maryland is that we have it all here, literally known as “America in Miniature” because so much is here in our 10,460 square miles of land and water. We have the ocean and we have the horse farms and we have the best crab cakes you will ever eat.

Our state is diverse with ethnic groups of every origin. Maryland is also called the “Free State” because of Maryland’s long tradition of political freedom and religious tolerance. There is money here and part of Maryland is so close to Washington D.C. that many end up living here who are involved in politics.

Annapolis Maryland is the capital of Maryland and the county seat of Anne Arundel County. And Annapolis is known as “America’s Sailing Capital” and home to the United States Naval Academy.

Marylanders are proud of their home grown corn and tomatoes. The annual Preakness is held here in Baltimore for 140 years now and is the second leg of the Triple Crown after the Kentucky Derby and before the Belmont Stakes.

Baltimore City, Maryland is the home of the professional baseball team with the Baltimore Orioles and with professional football in the Baltimore Ravens; we have two state of the art stadiums with Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Stadium. Oriole Park recently won yet another award as the #1 baseball stadium in the league because of its design.

The Inner Harbor in Baltimore City continues to be a tourist destination with a water taxi system and paddle boats among other water vessels. The views from Harbor East include beautiful homes, walkways, docks, piers and boats.

Little Italy retains its “old world charm” with many fine Italian restaurants, pizzerias and bakery. The brick sidewalks and tight little streets are home to several Catholic Italian festivals every single year.

We are not without great theater and museums either with The Baltimore Lyric Opera House, The Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art. Currently the series VEEPS and House of Cards is being filmed here in Baltimore. Classics movies like Diner, Tin Men, Cry-Baby … And Justice For All and many more have been filmed here in Maryland.

Today there are currently 55 colleges and universities in the state of Maryland. Top ranking schools like University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Towson University and Goucher College are not just home grown favorites but draw students from across the country and internationally.

We have really good hospitals here too with Johns Hopkins Hospital, University of Maryland Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and others. People come from all over the world for Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Maryland has been home to many famous people like Cal Ripken Jr, Michael Phelps, Jada Pinkett Smith, Toni Braxton, David Hasselhoff, Edgar Allan Poe, Montell Williams, Linda Hamilton, Tom Clancy, Frank Zappa, Barry Levinson, John Waters, Frank Perdue and others.

But it really is about the everyday people that make Maryland so special, people that have that balance of pride and humility and most have a desire to succeed and to do better for themselves and their families.

My husband was born and raised here; he has lived in Baltimore City and now resides in Baltimore County. After 35 years he retired from the City of Baltimore. Like most native Marylanders he is proud of his home teams in the Orioles and Ravens and a huge fan of both teams. He is Maryland through and through.

Me, I am a transplant from Pennsylvania but have called Maryland “home” for over 32 years now. We are well travelled and we have flirted with moving out-of-state but truth is that my Maryland is our Maryland and we are happy here and then again why wouldn’t we be with a tagline like “America in Miniature” we believe that we have the best of all worlds and we have it all here in Maryland!

Bernadette on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bernadetteamoyer
NEW BOOK! Along The Way available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Photo by my friend, author, artist, photographer, beloved teacher and
fellow Marylander Rus VanWestervelt