NARRATOR: "Destination Maryland" is produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism.

In Maryland, you're welcome.

TONY: You're gonna find out pretty quickly that this episode is all about exploring some of the more unique things to do in the state of Maryland.

We're gonna be peddling on rail bikes.

Traveling to one of the biggest bluegrass festivals in the country.

Playing games in heavy machinery.

And of course, viewing some of the state's most breathtaking scenery.

You ready?

SARA: Yes, I am very excited to explore even more of your home state.

TONY: Let's go.

We're in the rugged mountains of western Maryland, which is perhaps the most scenic site of the state with mountain views, gorgeous hikes, and historic towns.

SARA: But nowhere else in the state can you do stuff like this.

(beeping).

TONY: Let's backup.

My name is Tony.

For the past ten years, I've been a travel videographer.

Now, I'm back home in Maryland and I'm showing my girlfriend, Sara, everything I love about this state.

SARA: So, a little about us.

We love to eat.

That is one of the juiciest oysters I've ever eaten.

We love trying new things, even when it might scare us.

Okay.

We're fine.

And we are so excited to explore Maryland with you!

(theme music plays).

TONY: Before we kick off this adventure, we need to check in to the Wisp Ski Resort, which is tucked away in the mountains of western Maryland.

SARA: Do you even check in to a hotel if you don't immediately flop on the bed?

TONY: So, I brought you to Wisp because this place is full of outdoor activities.

There's a mountain coaster, there's the obstacle course, and ziplining.

And then depending on the time that you get here, there's like skiing or you can go out to Deep Creek which is just right over there, and get a boat.

So, we're gonna do some fun things today.

SARA: This course is called the Spider Monkey Challenge.

Towering over the adventure park, it's one of the first things you'll see on that side of the resort.

This is great exposure therapy before we tackle the zipline course on top of the mountain which reaches 90 feet above the ground.

MAN: You know how to tighten these ones through?

So, to tighten them, you grab... SARA: Okay.

We're fine.

This is fine.

Tony's gonna hate this.

TONY: This is actually not that high.

SARA: This is fine.

Everything's fine.

You're hooked into a harness.

TONY: Even though I'm afraid of heights, this isn't too bad.

(screams).

(laughs).

TONY: Well, she's having fun.

(sighs).

This is the part I'm least looking forward to.

Here we go.

(laughs).

Woo!

SARA: You did it!

(laughs).

Were you shaking as much as I was?

TONY: The start I was, but it's not as bad getting through it.

But for someone scared of heights, that, uh... (sighs).

Gives you a little rush.

I think this is about the perfect height for someone that's like a little bit nervous around heights.

I was scared but like I feel accomplished.

SARA: Nice.

TONY: My heart is racing, I'm sweating more than I thought I would be.

But I did it!

I think I took a little bit of guts to build up to that zipline and then once he started shaking it, I was like, "All right, I just got to go."

And I will say, this is probably the perfect height for someone to try that's a little afraid of heights.

And there's other stuff to do near the bottom of the mountain if heights aren't your thing.

SARA: Oh!

TONY: There you go.

SARA: The Spider Monkey Course can be found near the entrance of the park.

But if you're looking for a little bit more adrenaline, then you have to make your way to the top of the mountain.

TONY: What do you think of our activities so far?

SARA: It's been super fun.

Everything has been really exciting to go on.

It does not hurt that the backdrop to this place is absolutely stunning.

TONY: Gorgeous, yeah.

SARA: Very beautiful.

(camera clicking).

How are you feeling?

TONY: Good!

MAN: Yeah, this one's a really short zip.

TONY: This one's, uh, get you... MAN: Has anyone here... TONY: Get you loose to it.

MAN: Done ziplining before?

CHILD: I have.

MAN: Where'd you do it?

CHILD: Um... MAN 2: About, about five minutes ago.

MAN: Oh, well... SARA: That's what I said!

(laughter).

MAN: You're ready to zip.

SARA: Okay.

Wait, hold on to this one?

MAN: You can hold on to the yellow.

SARA: Yellow, okay.

MAN: If you want to hold on to something, yellow's the safe one.

SARA: Just to start.

MAN: The blue will break you.

SARA: Oh good!

Okay.

Woo!

Oh, my God!

TONY: Woo!

(laughs).

Woo!

SARA: How are you feeling after that first one?

Confident?

TONY: Confident.

SARA: He was in fact... NOT confident!

SARA: But for context, each one of these obstacles does get a little bit more challenging and a little higher in elevation.

TONY: Huh.

Woo!

(screams).

MAN: That was good or no?

SARA: That was good.

How are you feeling after number two?

TONY: A little bit more confident.

I had a smoother, smoother landing this time.

(laughter).

TONY: Landed on my feet a little bit.

Getting outside your comfort zone can be daunting and I may look like I'm struggling, but this was a blast.

SARA: Currently standing on the highest platform which is about 90 feet.

TONY: 90 feet.

And it feels like 90 feet.

(laughter).

MAN: Feels like 125 feet.

You got this!

SARA: Woo!

(screams).

Oh, my God!

As we were zipping along, I was so glad to know that we were with trained professionals.

(imitating bird calls).

(imitating bird calls).

MAN: If I give someone a thumbs up from a long ways away, they're not gonna know.

MAN 2: Yeah, I hear 'ya.

MAN: You just... (imitating bird call).

SARA: No, actually they were a lot of fun to be around and made the experience even more enjoyable.

TONY: Ah!

♪ ♪ TONY: Where's the, where's the rope?

MAN: There's the rope.

TONY: Woo!

Woo!

If you've ever wondered what it's like to soar through the air, then you have to try this.

The course has five ziplines, each one increases in height or length, starting from 185 feet long and ending at 405 feet long.

MAN: You can just walk off backwards.

SARA: All right.

MAN: Kind of like walking off the plank like... MAN 2: Straight.

CHILD: But like you have to... (sighs) (screams) (sighs) SARA: Trust and believe.

TONY: Trust and believe.

Woo!

MAN: There we go.

TONY: Ziplining was such a rush.

But as if that wasn't enough, now we're gonna hop on a mountain coaster.

This is a little bit more relaxing than the ziplining.

It feels good to just kind of sit down and chill for a little bit.

SARA: Heading up the mountain coaster right now.

Very excited but this incline up here looks really steep so we'll see.

And then I'm planning on just pushing this down all the way.

It is self-operated so you can push it down to go, pull it back up to stop.

I am planning on doing a full send, pushing it to the ground.

Here we go.

(squeals).

Oh, my gosh, that was really fast.

Really fast.

Woo!

(gasps).

(screams).

TONY: Here we go.

SARA: Woo!

Oh, my God.

TONY: Ooh, that's a big turn.

Oh, that's a big turn!

(screams).

SARA: Oh, my gosh, that was really fast.

Really fast.

(screams) SARA: Woo!

How was that?

TONY: Went full speed the whole time.

This area around Deep Creek is popular year-round for outdoor activities.

And it's just under three hours from Baltimore.

Not gonna lie, it feels good having my feet on the ground.

I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be, but my, my legs are a little bit Jell-O right now.

SARA: Yeah, 'cause I think it's things where like if I'm in charge of it, like the obstacle course, it's a lot harder.

But if I can put my faith and trust into the hands of some ropes and a zipline or a mountain coaster, I'm able to relax a little bit more.

But the whole day was absolutely incredible.

TONY: Yeah, it helps having someone go first.

But now, we're hungry.

SARA: So hungry.

TONY: So, we're gonna go and get some food.

Lucky for us, Mountain State Brewing is no more than a five-minute drive from Wisp.

SARA: Cowboy Caviar.

Beans, pepper, onion, black-eyed peas.

Mmm.

I actually really like that.

Very refreshing.

The ingredients kind of scared me but all together, it is delicious.

TONY: I like that.

SARA: I knew you would, cheesy.

TONY: Anything with, anything with cheese is a win for me.

SERVER: There you are.

SARA: Amazing, thank you.

SERVER: You're welcome.

SARA: This is the Apple Butter Pulled Chicken, wood-fired sandwich.

Don't really know the best plan of attack for eating this.

But, it's gonna be messy so we're just all gonna live with that.

Has fresh green apples on it and apple butter sauce over the top.

TONY: So, this is the Fire on the Mountain, and this is the best seller here.

It's got pepperoni, peppers, and sausage.

Oh, yeah.

SARA: Really good?

How does it hit after a full day of adventuring?

TONY: Obviously, I'm hungry.

But, this slaps.

(laughter).

♪ ♪ TONY: So, I can't have you visiting Maryland without at least going on one hike.

So, today we are going to Swallow Falls which has four waterfalls.

SARA: Ooh!

TONY: And it's only a mile loop, so I know you'll like that.

SARA: I do like that.

I like to hike and I like to be outdoors but, you know, a mile.

TONY: A mile is nice.

SARA: That's, that's hard to beat.

TONY: With the views.

SARA: With the views!

TONY: To tell us more about the State Park, we're meeting with Donnie.

He's been a Park Ranger here for 17 years.

Donnie?

DONNIE: Yes.

TONY: Nice to meet you.

DONNIE: Nice to meet you.

TONY: Donnie's job is not only to ensure visitors are safe but also preserving and protecting the plants and animals in the park.

DONNIE: The Swallow Falls is a sensitive management area.

We have about a mile and a quarter of designated trail.

We have the tallest waterfall in Maryland.

And then we have Upper and Lower Swallow Falls which are on the Youghiogheny River.

In 2020, we got 650,000 visitors, which is our highest ever.

So, it is kind of a fine line trying to keep people, you know, on the trail and not stomping through the woods, and just to enjoy the beauty of this scenic park.

(birds chirping).

TONY: Donnie recommended we do the loop clockwise, which would take us directly to Muddy Creek Falls first.

SARA: Walking up to the first waterfall on the hike and it's just supposed to be the, or it is the tallest waterfall in Maryland.

You can already hear it.

TONY: Mm-hmm.

SARA: So, I'm very excited to see what this looks like.

(water rushing).

So, this is actually beautiful.

I never would have thought that you could find something like this here.

♪ ♪ TONY: The height of Muddy Creek Falls is about 53 feet.

It's also really easy to reach.

♪ ♪ A little bit tricky.

(water rushing).

SARA: So, this is a really cool hike because it's only about a mile in length but it's really adventurous still.

With the waterfalls, and like the cliffs you can look over, and the changes in terrain, and the rocks you can climb over.

Not to mention these trees and these sounds of nature, I could stay here all day.

But, Tony made me get in the car because he had something to show me in Frostburg.

TONY: Frostburg is another one of those scenic mountain towns in Maryland.

Founded in 1812, this city started as a booming mining town.

And the Frostburg Train Depot connected the community to the Baltimore, and Ohio, Western Maryland, and Pennsylvania railroads.

The Depot was restored in 1989 and is once again a unique transportation experience.

Today, we're at Tracks and Yaks at the Frostburg, Maryland Train Depot.

But, we're not getting on a train.

SARA: Instead, we are getting on some rail bikes.

TONY: Tracks and Yaks is a unique, nonstrenuous activity that allows us to travel along the Great Allegheny Passage.

ADAM: The track we're going on is a combination of two old railroads.

TONY: This is Adam.

He's the man in charge for Tracks and Yaks and he's explaining how the rail bikes work.

ADAM: It's the oldest, it was built in the 1850s.

And it's also the steepest.

Most of our, our trip today is in a downhill descent.

Which doesn't sound like a whole lot, uh, but for a railroad it's significant.

TONY: Okay, Adam gave us the rundown, let's head down the mountain.

♪ ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪ ♪ Oh-woah ♪♪ (imitates train chugging).

♪ Oh-woah, woah ♪♪ SARA: It probably doesn't look very fast, but it feels very fast.

TONY: It's pretty easy 'cause it's like all downhill, so like you don't have to do a lot of work.

We're not even, we're barely peddling right now.

SARA: Yeah.

TONY: And you just get to take in all the views and just coast down the train tracks.

SARA: And you get a free blowout.

(rattling).

This might sound weird, but it kind of feels like you're being like transported back in time.

'Cause you're riding on this railroad, you're going through all these really old, small towns in the countryside.

TONY: Mm-hmm.

SARA: And it kind of feels like a time machine almost.

TONY: Yeah.

SARA: Woo!

The entire length of the journey was about 15 miles.

But honestly, this was so much fun that it flew by.

So, that was a really amazing experience.

The whole thing was super fun, the staff was incredible.

I was actually surprised at how relaxing it was.

It was so nice to just like sit back, lightly peddle on the railroad, and be immersed in the beautiful mountainside of Maryland.

TONY: And Cumberland is the next destination on our travels.

SARA: We've arrived in Cumberland and I just love how charming this town is.

TONY: Cumberland is nestled in one of the few natural and passable cuts in the Allegheny Mountains of western Maryland.

And it's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

But, as much as we'd love to stay here and explore, we need to head to DelFest.

DelFest is one of the largest bluegrass festivals in the country.

SARA: And for a festival venue, this has to be one of the most beautiful backdrops we've ever seen.

TONY: DelFest happens here at the Allegheny Fairgrounds every year.

It celebrates the legacy of bluegrass pioneer, Del McCoury, and features some of the biggest names in bluegrass and roots music.

Sara, do you know anything about bluegrass music?

SARA: I know nothing about bluegrass music, but... TONY: Me neither.

SARA: I love live music in general and I'm really excited to see these amazing artists and maybe I'll develop a newfound appreciation for the genre.

(bluegrass music plays).

SARA: Del yeah.

TONY: Del yeah!

SARA: Del yeah!

TONY: You excited to check out some of this stuff?

SARA: So excited.

Mostly for the food right now, I'm not gonna lie.

TONY: Definitely.

SARA: 'Cause I am really hungry.

But then once my hunger's satisfied, I'm very excited to dig into this really exciting bluegrass music.

(bluegrass music plays) SARA: Let's get some food!

(bluegrass music plays) SARA: Ah!

TONY: So, I know I mentioned DelFest is the biggest bluegrass and roots music festival in the country, but it's kind of crazy how many people are here.

And this was day three of a three-day festival.

I mean, just check out this crowd.

♪ Tomorrow, I'm gonna love you ♪ ♪ Like there's no yesterday ♪♪ TONY: I'm gonna say like this for a concert venue has to be the coolest backdrop though.

SARA: Yeah, it's beautiful.

TONY: Like, the mountains right there.

SARA: It's really beautiful.

TONY: Really beautiful.

I hadn't heard of Del McCoury before coming here.

But I'm not gonna lie, I was eagerly anticipating his band to get on stage.

I mean, the man has an entire festival named after him.

So, I knew the music would be good.

DEL: You know what, the DelFest audience is the best audience in the world!

(cheering).

(bluegrass music plays).

SARA: DelFest was super fun!

It was a great like festival, the vibes were immaculate.

Everyone was super friendly and I think everyone was just like really excited to be there.

And I just love live music, I feel like it brings all different people from all different backgrounds together for a big celebration.

TONY: With DelFest wrapping up, it's time to head a little further east over to Hagerstown to do something truly unique in the state.

This is Heavy Metal Playground.

It's one of the few places in the country where you can operate heavy construction equipment like it's a sandbox toy.

(honking).

SARA: Hi!

MARK: Hi Sara, I'm Mark.

SARA: Sara, nice to meet you.

MARK: Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too, welcome to Heavy Metal Playground.

SARA: Thank you.

MARK: Have you ever done anything like this before?

SARA: Never in my life.

TONY: Mark started Heavy Metal Playground after years of operating these machines himself.

MARK: So, the way it works is, we have radios inside the machines.

SARA: Okay.

MARK: And we talk to you one-on-one.

Then you move on to some activities like digging in the dirt.

We do tire stacking.

We do a basketball game, we put basketballs in the bucket of the machine, you spin around, drop into a tire.

SARA: Okay.

MARK: And then you get to drive through the obstacle course.

SARA: Cool!

MARK: Around barrels and race people.

SARA: Awesome.

MARK: They're gonna stack tires down and practice.

SARA: Mark gave us the rundown of each obstacle and how the challenges work.

MARK: After they stack the tires and they get them lined up, that's when we introduce the horn.

We say the horn is the trash-talk button.

That's how you trash...

So they'll honk back and forth, honk back and forth.

(honking).

SARA: Before Tony and I got to drive, we got to see how other guests performed.

(beeping).

Yay, honk your horn!

TONY: Woah!

(cheering).

(honking).

WOMAN: It was so much fun.

MAN: Come back for a rematch.

WOAN: I would definitely recommend it.

MAN 2: So yeah we're definitely gonna, yeah... WOMAN: Yeah.

Oh, yeah!

MAN: Definitely gonna have to come back for a rematch.

TONY: Now for the fun part.

Sara and I took turns.

So, let's see who the better driver is.

MARK: So, left hand back raises your bucket.

Go ahead and left hand forward now, that lowers your bucket.

(thuds).

MARK: Did it make a noise?

Right hand, right.

So that rotates the cab.

Go ahead around.

Go as fast as you want to go!

Come on.

Go quick.

There you go.

Go around a couple times just for the fun of it.

(laughs).

MARK: Now right hand, left will close the bucket.

Good.

Right about there.

Open your bucket right hand, right.

Right hand, right.

Open it up.

Dump that dirt out.

Full cloud of dust is going to hit Tony too.

That's what we're going for.

Get Tony dirty.

Right there is good.

Now you're going to come back with your left hand as hard as you can and hit those tires.

Ready.

Go.

Smack them!

Nice hit!

Alright stop.

Right hand, right and stop.

Whenever you're ready.

That's your left.

Are you on your left still?

Oh!

Close.

Close.

There it is!

Honk the horn.

You got to honk the horn.

There you go.

(honking).

Spin around, and you can honk at the same time.

There you go.

That's the victory lap!

(honking).

Pull back and hold.

There you go!

Keep going.

You got it.

See that wasn't bad there You go forward a little bit, and cut.

Forward a little bit, and cut.

There you go.

SARA: Send... TONY: Sara's behind me right now and she's going first and she's crushing it.

And I'm kind of nervous 'cause I don't think I can do that well.

(groans).

MARK: Look at you!

You've done this before haven't you?

Yeah, Come on.

SARA: That was so fun.

MARK: Isn't that cool?

SARA: Yeah.

MARK: You had the short version.

SARA: Yeah.

TONY: Too much hotness going on in there.

How was it?

SARA: So fun.

SARA: You ready?

TONY: Yeah.

Now it's my turn and needless to say, it did not go as smoothly as it did with Sara.

(beeps).

(laughter).

(beeps).

(beeps).

SARA: Woo!

(beeps).

MARK: Nicely done.

TONY: I said, of course, you'd be good with your feet.

SARA: I am a monkey with my feet.

MARK (over radio): Nicely done.

Look at you!

Look at you.

TONY: Mark and his team do a great job providing instructions and creating a fun competition throughout the entire course.

Heavy Metal Playground was a lot of fun, but we need to get some food and there's one spot I've been wanting to try in the area.

This is Pretzel & Pizza Creations, and aside from the obvious menu items, I hear they have really good crab dip.

SARA: Oh yeah!

Ooh, that's good.

TONY: That's that crab dip, baby!

SARA: That's that crab dip, baby.

You can taste the crab, taste the Old Bay.

It's warm, it's comforting.

This is like the perfect...

If you're sad, or if it's raining, or even a celebration meal.

(laughs).

It's good for all occasions, it's delicious.

TONY: Let me try the dip.

SARA: See if the Marylander approves.

TONY: Crab dip.

(laughs).

SARA: Mmm.

They use the same dough for both the pizza and the pretzels.

So, it doesn't taste like a pretzel dough, but it is very like buttery and soft and it's a really good base for this delicious cheese and meat that are on top.

TONY: So Sara, what was your favorite part of the trip?

SARA: Literally the whole thing.

There was so many firsts for me on this trip.

My tippy-top favorite parts were probably Heavy Metal Playground, that was super fun.

Ziplining today was also scary at first, it got my heart pounding but that was also a great time as well.

TONY: Tracks and Yaks was a lot of fun too.

But yeah, again ziplining was probably my favorite part of this trip.

Just 'cause I got over a little bit of my fear of heights.

SARA: And I feel like everyone we met was amazing.

TONY: So fun.

SARA: People in this part of the state seem to love their home very much.

TONY: Mm-hmm.

SARA: And that came across very clearly, and made visitors, like myself, feel super, super welcome.

TONY: This was just a great adventure for us.

SARA: Yeah, and I think there's even more that we can explore next time.

TONY: Western Maryland, episode one, take two.

(snaps).

SARA: Heavy Metal Pray, Playground...

Probably Heavy Metal Play... (laughter).

SARA: Probably Heavy... Stop looking at... (laughs).

Bedtime.

(laughs).

NARRATOR: "Destination Maryland" was produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism.

In Maryland, you're welcome.