Maryland Attractions

Wild horses, and amazing beaches are what is in store for visitors to Assateague Island – just off Maryland and Virginia's eastern seaboard. This is actually a lengthy barrier island that is 37 miles long and visitors to the site find beautiful coves and bays, plus it's abundant marshes provide an excellent haven for various birds and wildlife. The island was actually connected to Fenwick Island until a hurricane in 1933 changed its landscape forever.

Visitors to this beautiful island will find some excellent features to Assateague Island, which was designated as a National Seashore in 1965:

• Campers will find some excellent camp sites both along the Seashore and in the State Park, and the scenery is absolutely amazing...

One of the most notable landmarks in the country is the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, . It's one of the best waterfront developments of any harbor worldwide, and is situated at the Patapsco River's northwestern branch. This area is not just the waterfront, but it extends between President, Camden, Conway, Lombard, and Green streets.

Visitors to the Inner Harbor will find plenty of exciting places to see and things to do that include:

• One of the great places to spend the entire day is the National Aquarium that is home to more than 16,000 assorted fish and other marine wildlife.

• Sea-lovers will enjoy the a sail that is a two hour cruise of this beautiful harbor aboard a magnificent 44 foot ketch or a speed boat ride along the harbor...

When visitors arrive in Baltimore, the first stop on the agenda should be the National Aquarium. This is by far the most amazing aquarium anywhere in the world with over 16,000 creature from fish to dolphins to turtles to penguins; no one can possibly leave without being amazed at the hundreds of meetings in their incredible settings and all the creatures in this facility.

Some of the remarkable areas of the National Aquarium include the following:

• The Dolphin show has some of the most remarkable Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins that are amazing creatures.

• The Wild Extremes of Australia contain crocodiles around the pond, a lorikeet flock, lazy lizards, or flying foxes – an amazing assortment...

When the Light Street and Pratt Street Pavilions joined to form the Harborplace in Baltimore, Maryland, it became one of the highlights of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, which opened in 1980. These are a pair of two story pavilions where every day is a festival and there's plenty to see and do while spending time at this great location on the harbor.

Some of the great stores, dinners, and things to do in this marketplace include:

• Shoppers will find the best buys from assorted stores that include various accessories, bath and beauty supplies, jewelry, clothing, shoes, electronic equipment, music, books, house ware items, and more specialty items than the average shopper can even remember.

• Everyone get hungry (shopping and sightseeing does that), and there are some excellent places to eat such as the Cheesecake Factory, treat sea food places, Italian, Asian, Irish, even some great ice cream; and many more places that visitors could eat here every day for a month and not go to the same place twice...

When the interest spans between astronomy, biology, and physics, the Maryland Science Center is one of the places in the Baltimore Inner Harbor area that the traveler absolutely has to stop and spend some time viewing their great exhibits. This excellent museum opened in 1976 and is a three story building that continues to have some fascinating hands-on exhibits that every visitor will find fascinating.

Some of the memorable exhibits in the Maryland Science Center include the these great displays:

• Budding Paleontologists will be fascinated with the Dinosaur Mysteries that include full scale dinosaur models, and guests can even participate in a mock "dig".

• Newton's Alley has some exceptional demonstrations of physician science including an "inertia table" and a "Bernoulli blower" – check it out...

One of the most beautiful capitals in the U.S. is Annapolis, Maryland, and the Annapolis City Dock is a great place for visitors to spend some time and experience a variety of activities. This doc is at the center of the Historic District and it has a lot of the original buildings from the 1700's when the city started booming. Actually the skyline has changed little over the past 250 years, and it's a great place to visit.

Some of the activities that are available at the Annapolis City Dock include:

• The U. S. Naval Academy has stood proudly in this excellent historic district at the end of King George Street that has some excellent displays at the Visitor's Center including the Freedom 7 Space Capsule that was flown in 1961...

The heart of the U.S. Navy resides at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. This excellent academy opened in 1845 and over 60,000 students have graduated over this 165 years. This academy is one of the oldest academies in the U.S. for the military, and resides on a beautiful 338 acre campus that was formerly Fort Severn at the convergence of Chesapeake Bay and the Severn River. A Bachelor of Science is awarded to over 1000 graduates each year.

here's some great things to see at the visitor's center and around the United States Naval Academy, which include the following:

• When touring the Visitor Center, be sure to see the Freedom 7 space capsule that was flown by Alan Shepard in 1961...

Overcoming the destruction from Hurricane Isabelle in 2003, the Annapolis Maritime Museum has come a long way to restore their exhibits and return the museum to normal operations. This unique museum is dedicated to protecting and celebrating the heritage of the Annapolis area and it's maritime excellence. The town of Annapolis was founded in 1695 and has a fascinating and rich history and visitors to this center can learn about the maritime history of the area.

There are a number of things to do at the Annapolis Maritime Museum including:

• There are a number of piers at the museum that allows access for fishing and crabbing in the Bay waters.

• Beach lovers will enjoy spending some relaxing time on the small beach – enjoy just sitting in the sun or building a sandcastle near the shore...

One of the great places to go in Annapolis is the Chesapeake Children's Museum that is a fantastic entertaining and learning facility for the kids. The museum was started by an idea in 1992 when a group of locals decided they needed a facility to hold activities and events for children in the area. From a variety of local events, the seed was planted and an excellent museum for children blossomed and grew into the facility it is today.

Over a thousand visitors come every week to see the special programs and events such as:

• Be sure to see the Bay Window that features wildlife from the land and sea that are indigenous to this Chesapeake Bay area.

• The Hard Hat area teaches children about construction and transportation and is one of the most interesting – and fun – for the preschoolers...