Category: Maryland

Big Cork Vineyards

On By CandeeIn Beer & Wine, Maryland, Wineries & VineyardsLeave a comment
A BIG TASTING…we enjoyed our tasting experience at Big Cork.

Unfortunately I didn’t catch (or I don’t remember) the name of the gal who did our tasting, but she was really friendly and fun. She did a great job by guiding us through each wine by first telling us about it, and then giving us the opportunity to ask questions. I typically learn toward reds, so several of the whites totally caught me by surprise. The first being the 2019 Chardonnay. Don’t quote me on this, but I think she said that it wasn’t oaked, or maybe it was only in oak for a short period of time. It was yummy–I caught the taste of apple on my palette, and I thought the acidity was perfect. I would drink this all summer long!

I found all of the red wines to be tasty, with the exception of the 2017 Barbera, which I would rate as a solid okay. I felt the nose to be a off-putting, and the taste was unremarkable. With that said, I’ve never tasted a Barbera wine (to my knowledge) before, so I would be open to trying it again.

My second surprise was the Russian Kiss. The name sounds intriguing, right? I couldn’t necessarily pick out the flavors written in the tasting notes, but it was fruity with only a hint of sweetness (.5 RS). It was really nice.

  • I love the little BIG glasses!
  • A beautiful day and a beautiful view…
  • A Fun Memory! (This still makes me laugh!) Jen–I was so glad that you laughed, too!
Trying something new…2019 O’Fim. In Portuguese, O’Fim means, ‘the end,’ and I agree, this cheeky little wine would make the perfect ending to a great meal or evening.

Our friend, Andrew, is a member at Big Cork, and he graciously purchased two bottles from the member-only black label wines. We enjoyed a bottle of 2016 Cabernet France Vinter Select, and a bottle of 2016 Petit Verdot Reserve Select. Both were amazing, and after much debate I think the PV was my favorite of the day!

This was my first visit to Big Cork, and I definitely plan go back. We were there for several hours, and we laughed, carried on, and had a great time. The staff was friendly, the wine was wonderful, and both the tasting room and the covered patio area were comfortable and inviting.

Mystery Walk Challenge

On By CandeeIn Animals & Birds, Maryland, Nature, United States, West VirginiaLeave a comment

It had been in the mid-90’s for days, and this week’s upcoming forecast was going to be more of the same–hot! It’s been really hard to get a walk in the extreme heat, so I came up with a challenge for the week, which I proposed to Debbie on Sunday. I suggested that we take turns Monday-Friday, planning and surprising the other with different walking locations. The rules–shade after 5:00 p.m., and we needed to walk a minimum of 2 miles (which would also fulfill my ongoing Camino Coronavirus Walking Challenge). She accepted and we had a great week!

Monday–Debbie opted to go first and we headed to the Hagerstown City Park, which is located in Hagerstown, M.D. We’d both been there before, but it had been a long time since our last visit. It was still hot, but there was a cool breeze and we were in the shade for the majority of the time. The park is home to many types of water foul, including swans and several varieties of ducks and geese.

Birds, birds, birds!
Are we in London?
Hurry up and take the picture–there’s no shade!

Tuesday–I picked Spruce Pine Hollow Trail for my ‘shade walk.’ Debbie had never been here before, which surprised me, because it’s so close to where we live. It was shady which kept the sun from beating down on our heads, but it was hot & HUMID! The best part of this hike was that it was a NOHOT, which in my lingo means: No Humans on Trail! As you can probably tell by the exclamation marks, this is my favorite kind of hiking!

Wednesday–It was Debbie’s turn again and she took us to the Yankauer Nature Preserve. The back end of the Preserve is situated high on the banks of the Potomac River, offering a nice overlook. Again, we enjoyed another shady location, and we scored another NOHOT!

Thursday–It was my turn again, but we had previously made plans for the day, including a road trip to Debbie’s favorite liquor store in PA (Yes, it’s true, she has a fav! LOL!), and lunch with my sister, Missy. On the way home, we stopped in Williamsport, M.D., so we could meet the requirements of the week—walking in shade!

They had a nice French selection! LOL!
Always fun with my sissy!
Plenty of shade…

Friday–Debbie opted to stay local for today’s walk and she took me to Poor House Farm. We’ve been here many, many times over the years, but today offered a surprise…the hilltop trail was lined with wine berries, which are an edible invasive related to raspberries. We filled up two water bottles with berries as we walked.

Delicious!

Saturday–Not much of a surprise, but I was really excited about the wine berries, so we went back to get more, and this time we came armed with buckets! We walked and picked for almost two hours…yes, we were in the shade!

Finding the 1/2 Way Point Marker on the C&O Canal, Maryland–

On By CandeeIn MarylandLeave a comment

Several years ago, my friend, Tom, and I biked the entire length of the C&O Canal, which runs 184 1/2 miles from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) and Cumberland, Maryland. We had a lot of fun and we enjoyed the conquest, but we were left with one disappointment…there wasn’t a 1/2 way marker along the trail. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but we were really bummed. Many long distance trails have 1/2 way markers and we wondered why this one didn’t.

We’re both members of the C&O Canal association and we have volunteered for years as ‘Level Walkers,’ which is a fancy way of saying that we were assigned to a section of the canal towpath to pick up trash. Tom eventually became involved in the leadership side of the Canal Association. In one of the meetings, Tom brought up the idea of installing a midway point marker. His idea was met with enthusiasm, but it was explained that since the C&O Canal was park of the National Parks system, it could be a long, drawn out process to get the marker installed. Additionally, the marker would look like the other mileage markers on the trail. In other words, no bells and whistles! We were okay with that, we were just happy that his idea was being considered. In the end, they were right, it took time and it was plain, but it was finally installed during the summer of 2019.

We set out from McMahon’s Mill and took a right on the canal trail, paralleling the river. The weather was overcast creating an almost mystical quality on the water and the surrounding area.

Unfortunately people feel the need to destroy the natural setting with graffiti. My son was really tempted by this rope leading up to the cave…
We walked for a total distance of about 8.3 miles (round trip) to see the marker…it’s small but meaningful! I’m so happy that future through riders and hikers will be able to see this on their trip along the canal!