February 6, 2025 • 23 mins
I’ve had a few different conversations on this podcast with different areas in Maryland. It’s the state where I live and work, so it makes sense. I have my own personal biases about what places are the best to visit in this state, and what locations would make great vacation spots. For me, most of those places are near the beach or somewhere out in the lesser populated areas. Today’s conversation opened my eyes to an area that I used to live in and how many great opportunities it has.
When I first moved to Maryland, I was living near Washington DC in a city called Rockville. It’s located in Montgomery County. To me, Montgomery was kind of a suburb of DC. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there. But I guess I didn’t look at it as a place I’d vacation. And maybe vacation isn’t the right word. Just because you’re visiting a place doesn’t mean it has to be for vacation. Day trips are amazing. Even just a little drive down for dinner counts as tourism. That’s what I had to wrap my head around for this conversation.
I spoke with Kelly Groff, the president and CEO of Visit Montgomery. She helped me understand the beauty and options available in Montgomery County. From a wide array of inspiring restaurants and food, to a great craft brewery scene, historical landmarks and outdoor fun, Montgomery County Maryland has it all. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kelly Groff.
When I first moved to Maryland, I was living near Washington DC in a city called Rockville. It’s located in Montgomery County. To me, Montgomery was kind of a suburb of DC. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there. But I guess I didn’t look at it as a place I’d vacation. And maybe vacation isn’t the right word. Just because you’re visiting a place doesn’t mean it has to be for vacation. Day trips are amazing. Even just a little drive down for dinner counts as tourism. That’s what I had to wrap my head around for this conversation.
I spoke with Kelly Groff, the president and CEO of Visit Montgomery. She helped me understand the beauty and options available in Montgomery County. From a wide array of inspiring restaurants and food, to a great craft brewery scene, historical landmarks and outdoor fun, Montgomery County Maryland has it all. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kelly Groff.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, everyone, Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name is Jeff
Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations, if you're new to us, is
a show designed to give people an inside or deeper
look at vacation locations around Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and
other spots. Honestly, anybody who will talk to me, I'm
happy to open the door. My hope is to speak
with people who know these areas best and inspire you
(00:24):
for your next getaway. I've had a few different conversations
on this podcast with different areas in Maryland. It's the
state where I live and work, so it makes sense.
I've got my own personal biases about what places are
the best to visit in this state and what locations
would make great vacation spots for me. Most of those
places are near the beach or somewhere out in the
lesser populated areas of the state. But today's conversation opened
(00:48):
my eyes to an area that I used to live
in and how many great opportunities it has that maybe
I missed. When I first moved to Maryland, I was
living near Washington, d C. In a city called Rockville.
It's located in Montgomery County. Now to me, Montgomery was
kind of a suburb of DC. Don't get me wrong,
beautiful place. I enjoyed my time there, but I guess
I didn't look at it as a place that I
(01:09):
would vacation or have a getaway too. And maybe vacation
isn't the right word. I mean, just because you're visiting
a place doesn't mean it has to be for vacation.
Day trips are amazing. Even just a little drive down
for dinner accounts. It's tourism and that's what I had
to wrap my head around. For this conversation. I spoke
with Kelly Groff, the president and CEO of Visit Montgomery.
(01:29):
She helped me understand the beauty and the options available
in Montgomery County. From a wide array of inspiring restaurants
and food to a great craft brewery scene, historical landmarks,
and outdoor fun. Montgomery County really does check all the boxes.
So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kelly Groft.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Great, thanks for having me today. Excited to see you.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So, tell me a little bit about this position. How
long have you been doing this?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So I have actually been in this position for twenty
nine years. It has been never a dull moment, and
that's what's kept my interest. So I've really enjoyed the position.
The County's changed a lot since I started, so watching
it grow and evolved has kept me very interested and engaged.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I would say I lived there for just about a year.
I think it was eleven months. It was two thousand
and seven into two thousand and eight, so it's been,
you know, seventeen years since I was in Montgomery County,
and just in that time, when I do go down
and visit, there's so much different in there, Like I
get lost. I'm like, I lived here for a year
and I can't even find my way around.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, it's a great community, and you know, with the
main population, there's a lot of great amenities that come
with that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Are you a Maryland native?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I am. I was born and raised in Frederick, Maryland,
So I am a true Marylander.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I love it. I love to hear that, all right,
So give me your elevator pitch about Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So the great thing about Montgomery County is we are
on the border of Washington, d C. And being in
that metropolitan area provides great infrastructure for people to get around,
and so we really market ourselves as a destination for
not just our Maryland residents, for visitors from all along
(03:10):
the mid Atlantic. We are also a really strong destination
for meetings and conferences because of all the corporate and
bio and forma based in Montgomery County, as well as
eighteen federal government agencies are headquartered in Montgomery County. So
it's a booming community, very active community, lots of activity,
and so tourism is a big part of who we
(03:31):
are as a community, and that.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
To me, let me just tell you from my standpoint,
it's interesting to hear the word tourism with Montgomery County
because to me, when I think tourism, I'm always thinking
someone like eastern Shore or western Maryland, where you've got
the mountains in the snow. But Montgomery County does have
so many things to offer people, Like it's not just
this space that's just outside DC. There's a lot going
on in this county.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yep. We have our own treasures that make us unique
and a really great destination of this individually, and we
have the data that backs up that interest. I mean,
there's seven million people a year who come and visit
Montgomery County.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Maryland yeah, I mean, we'll just start right where you
know kind of my background that's arts and culture, because
I go down there a lot to hang out in
the Silver Spring with the work that I do at
the radio station. We're doing concerts at the Fillmore Silver
Spring all the time, so I'm down there taking advantage
of those events. But you've got a lot of different
spaces in Montgomery County where there's really cool events and
big time artists and people coming through.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I don't know if you're familiar with this, but Maryland
has Arts and Entertainment districts and there's twenty nine of
those districts across the state. Three of those districts are
in Montgomery County, Maryland, and those are designated as Silver
Spring and Wheaton. So each district within our community represents
kind of the uniqueness of that specific community Silver Spring,
(04:50):
as you mentioned the film Moore, but also the American
Film Institute Silver Theater and Cultural Center is right in
the downtown area, just steps away from the Fillmore, and
they offer a lot of film festivals throughout the year.
The Latin American Film Festival is the largest and longest
running showcases of Latin American cinema in North America. So
(05:12):
there's some trivia for you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
I've actually gone to a couple of films there, and
it's a beautiful little place, and I love hanging out
in that downtown area of Silver Spring. I really enjoy
it over there.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Have you visited the only theater north of there in Onney, Maryland?
Not yet another really great theater that's been around since
nineteen thirty eight, and the States really designated that particular
theater as a major arts center. They have year round
(05:42):
American premieres of plays. It's really a unique place to
visit and cshow.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Bethesda's a beautiful place to hang out. I spent a
lot of time there in the year that I lived
in Montgomery County, so I would hop on the Red
Line and go straight down to Bethesda all the time
to meet up with my friends.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yes, Imagination Stay, Bees, the Blues and Jazz Club. It's
also in downtown bethesa area one of our other arts districts,
really bustling community, also in downtown Bethesda.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I'm not as familiar with Wheaton, though. Tell me a
little bit about Wheaton.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
The nice part about Wheaton is just the culinary diversity
and the diversity of the community. That's probably more of
a budding arts and entertainment district. They are really well
known for their culinary delights because there's just so much
diversity within that community. It's a great area right off
of Metro also, which makes it really easy.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
To get to absolutely and you know, being in Maryland
and being just outside DC, Montgomery County surely has a
lot of historical aspects to it too. And I know
people love to visit places and learn more about the
history of this country. Let's talk a little bit about
some of those options in Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, so let's start with some of the African American
history and like underground railroad history. So we have quite
a few sites. A few I want to talk about
today is a Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park which is in
the Sandy Spring area. It's a really great museum that
you can walk through and learn more stories about the
(07:09):
founding of the Sandy Spring Quaker settlement. But they also
do some nighttime underground railroad tours which are fun. And
then back into like North Bethesda area, the Jasi Henson
Museum and Park. That's a location that was a plantation
property where Jasi Henson, whose autobiography was inspired by Uncle
(07:31):
Tom's Cabin by Harriet peter Stowe. That's a really cool
museum right in that budding area of North Bethesda where
Pike and Roses. Really really cool museum to do and say.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
And then you also got the National Museum of Health
and Medicine and Silver Spring too, and I'm sure that's
got some cool stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Oh yeah, that's a secret museum. Everybody needs to go
see this museum. I mean, it's it's just fascinating. The
fun part we like to market about that museum is
that it houses the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln. So
that bullet sits there at that museum. Yeah, it's a
really cool place.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
It's wild to think that someone actually saved that then
and was like, Okay, we're going to have to keep
this and put this somewhere down the line. But I
love those secret museums. I love those little secret spots
that only people that live in that area like really know,
and they're like, Okay, you've got to go see how
cool this place is. Because if you were just to
put down on a piece of paper, I want you
to go check out the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
(08:25):
It might not be something that jumps out to me,
but you know the stuff, you know, the inside stuff,
and now I kind of want to go and see
this stuff that's there.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, you know, kind of under the radar, but
really cool and fascinating exhibits within that museum. So it's
definitely one to put on the list.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
You've already mentioned food here in this conversation, but if
my memory was correct from my time living there, definitely
a lot of great places to eat in Montgomery County,
and I'm sure it's only gotten even bigger in the
decade plus since I lived there full time. So tell
me a little about the culinary options there in Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You have to come back and just eat your way through.
We have over nine hundred restaurants. You know, within the county,
there's a lot of different pockets and communities where the
focus of some of the culinary experiences are. So you
think about you have Silver Spring, you have Bethesda, Tacoma Park,
(09:21):
Potomac North Bethesda, rockvillees Germantown gathers all those communities and
rio where at the waterfront where the lake is another
great place where you really can kind of dine your
way through. So it's a it's a great culinary scene.
We celebrate that a lot, you know, we promote that
a lot to our residents and our restaurants do well.
(09:42):
But it's also a way to hook people into the county.
As for tourism and visitation, is you know, the experiences
that we can provide in culinary.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I haven't thought about Rio in so long, and I'm
so glad you mentioned that. I'll tell you this is
kind of an aside. I the last time I was
at Rio, I was sitting outside the Barnes and Noble
waiting for the final Harry Potter book to come out.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That was a while.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That was a while ago. I remember getting the book
and then going in to do my radio shift in Rockville,
just like I don't want to be on the air
right now. I just want to read my book. But
that was my last time I really I got to
go back to Rio. That place was really cool. They
had the paddle boats on the water and everything. That
was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
It's a great destination. You'll enjoy it. You gotta go back.
The hotel there, the Gaithersburg Mariot Washingtonian opened at Tiki Bar.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
So they have a tiki bar on the outside of
the hotel, on the exterior area that faces the lakefront.
That's a really cool little hip spot too. That's somewhat
new year or so old.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
You had me at bar if I remember correctly too.
From Montgomery County, there's a real diverse population there. I think,
not far from where I was living. There was a
really big like Asian community, and they had Asian markets
and you would go into these places and I'm like,
I've never seen things like this before, and it was
so cool to experience the things that other cultures have
in their world that I just hadn't experienced. And I
(11:02):
think Montgomery County is so special because it has that
wide range of people.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Oh. Absolutely, we need to tell that story better too,
because there are a lot of it's a very culturally
diverse community and it shows in like some of the
grocery stores, the markets, and also the restaurants. So it's
a great scene and we do need to tell that story.
I do want to mention an event we kep coming up.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Oh yeah please, yeah, So let's talk.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
More about culinary So we talk about you know the
diversity of our community and all the restaurants, and so
we are going to be hosting a Moco Eats Food
and Beverage showcase March thirty and thirty one. So on
March thirtieth, consumers can come in. This is going to
be at the Hilton Rock Belle and consumers can come
in on March thirtieth from eleven to five and just
(11:49):
meet with some of our restaurant tours and our small
businesses and our suppliers of products to restaurants in a
kind of vendor consumer showcase set. And then on March
thirty first, we're going to have a hospitality conference where
we're going to connect people in our community that are
producing products. You know, we have a lot of ag
(12:09):
in our community to connect them with the buyers or
restauranteurs the hotel. So we're really excited about that event.
That event March thirty and thirty one. Twenty twenty five.
I got to get used to saying twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I'm still writing twenty four and everything that I do,
So don't worry, You're okay. Where do people go if
they want to find out more information about that? Or
do you have to. It's a ticketed event. I think
you said, so where do they go to get all
that stuff?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yes, it'll be ticket event. Tickets aren't on sale, Yeah,
but it's mocoeats dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Loco eats dot com. Great. Perfect. And you mentioned agg
which I also think is important to bring up because
I think the general impression for people that don't live
in Montgomery County so much of it is just these
you know, sort of urban areas outside of DC, right,
or like you mentioned the bio areas up the up
the corridor there. I don't think people recognize how much
agricultural space there is in Montgomery County. And I think
(12:58):
that's like I live in Baltimore, but just outside the
city you go ten minutes outside of city limits. I
mean it's farms everywhere you go. But people don't think
about that. They just think of the city aspect. And
I think Montgomery County's agricultural area is not, you know,
as well known as it probably should be.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
This is one of my favorite topics. So I'm glad
we're going to talk about this. This is a really
really cool story. In nineteen eighty, the Montgomery County Council
voted to designate the Agricultural Reserve as a farm land
protected area. What's interesting about this is is one third
of the total land mass of Montgomery County, so a
(13:34):
third of the county's land is preserved agricultural. Very challenging
to find that anywhere in this country. So we're really
proud of that. And you know, the people who had
that vision when they started to see sprawl coming from
DC and communities being built, that they put you know,
they put a stop on that and reevaluated and came
(13:56):
up with this great idea, you can only build one
home per twenty five acres if you have land in
the ag reserve, and there's over five hundred farms, and
you know, you'll find every type of fruit and vegetable
you can, as well as livestock. Lots of farmers that
are selling their product. And I think the most important
(14:18):
piece to recognize is the evolution of the winery and
brewery sector within the Agriculture Reserve. And we'll talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Oh yeah, for sure. I mean that area has grown
exponentially across the state. But you've got some beautiful spaces
there in Montgomery County that we definitely want to talk
about in a second. But I also want to mention
not only is it just agricultural space, but because it's
been designated as you know, a sort of a safe area,
it's protected area, you're also keeping open history as well.
I mean there's trails, there's roots that go through there
(14:50):
that go back hundreds of years in this country's history,
and I think that's so important that there was someone
that sat back and said, we need to make sure
we preserve this.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Oh yeah, absolutely, civil war trails that come through that area,
scenic byways, rustic roots that you know, have all been
preserved as part of that agricultural reserve. So it's not
just farmlands. There's history. There's wineries, there's breweries, there's historic sites.
There's a lot within that pocket. Of course, you know
(15:19):
south of that is where the Cno Can now runs.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yes, yeah, which we'll also talk about because that's one
of my favorite spots in the county. But I do
want to go back into the breweries and wineries because
I will say Loan Oak is the one that I'm
familiar with and love. I have to say as a parent,
I love that they built their own like playground in
the back area. Of the farm, so there is a
space for parents to actually sit down and enjoy a
beverage while their children aren't actively playing, and we don't
(15:44):
have to worry about either a bothering someone or B
what are we going to do to entertain our kids?
So I love that place.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Loan Oak is a is a local favorite, and they've
also recently before the New Year, opened Fallen Oak. I
don't know if you're familiar that new building. Yes, they
opened a distillery called Fallen Oak. You know the lone
oak tree fell and they lost that tree. Yep, So
they have a new distillery they just open. You have
to come over and check that out.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
What's your favorite spot? Or are you allowed to say
that as someone who promotes tourism, Are you about to
have favorites?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Never? They're all our favorite children, right, They're all our
favorite children.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Let me say what, what are some of the more popular
Because I know lon O because I've been there. I've
heard of Elder Pine, but I don't know that many
on the top of my head. I'm sure if you
said then they might sound familiar, but I have not
gone on my own trail. What are some of the
more popular spots?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Let me think along. We have a Tastemaker's trail, Tastemakerstrail
dot com Okay, is our self guided tour the wineries
and breweries Tastemakerstrail dot com. And so you'll see all
of them listed within that website. But let's think about this.
So Brookville, Okay, Brookville Beer Farm right war Doca, which
is not far and that's a working horse farm with
(16:56):
a brewery Elder Pine you mentioned, and then go over
the Lone Oak, and then if you keep going, you'll
go to sixty one Vineyard Stone Silo Brewery, and then
if you keep going through the egg Reserve, I can
just go on and on and on. The exciting part
is that there are some additional sites that are popping
(17:18):
up over the next year and a half, and we're
not going to talk about those today, but you got
to keep checking out the Tastemakerstrail dot com website and
keep an eye open for other openings of other winers
and breweries. It's really exciting to watch the evolution of
that sector within the agriculture reserve.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Tastemakerstrail dot Com sounds like exactly what I'm going to
do on a nice, warm Saturday if we can get
a babysitter for the day and just go for a
drive and make some stops along the way.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, you'll enjoy that.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Well, let's go back to the outdoor stuff that you
have going on in Montgomery County, because you mentioned the
c and O Canal and when I lived there, I
had zero dollars to my name, and that was where
I spent a lot of my free time because it
was I think the parking was very very affordable, very cheap,
and I would just go and hang out all day
and just enjoy nature out there. What a beautiful spot to.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Have another one of our goodies. You know, A real
treasure for the county. It's a national park. It's one
of the top visited national parks in the country. People
can bike along the trails or the towpath and taking
the scenery at the great Falls, go out on the
footbridge to see the Potomac River. There's also a canal
(18:31):
boat ride on the Mercer And I don't know a
lot of people don't know this. The lockhouses along the
canal are actually for rent for overnight visitors. They've been
restored and they're really Each one of them were themed
for a specific part of the Cno Canal's history, So
(18:51):
not to miss a nice little weekend away the canal
lockhouses on the Cno Canal.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I did not know. That's really cool. That's something to
investigate for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And you got a book pretty far in advances. It's
really popular. So but what a great experience, especially with
families or girlfriend getaways. Really really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, definitely going to look into that.
That's going to be on my list here. If you're
not interested in going for some outdoors you know, hiking, biking, whatever,
but you still want some adventure in your life, You've
got the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring that's got a
lot of really I've seen a lot of people posting
about that on social media.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
See Adventure part of Sandy Spring. It is great. That's
in the Sandy Spring area on property at the Sandy
Spring School. And they also have acts throwing there. Okay,
so yeah, really fun, really fun get away for the
day for kids and adults, and they do a really
nice job there. It is actually one of the largest
(19:51):
human made outdoor climbing parks in the world, So you
don't want to miss that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
One absolutely, And I'm going to say this wrong? Is
it farm? That's wow? Okay, I got it right. Okay,
so this I have some notes here, and this sounds
so cool. Taking a tour of the Potomac River with
Khaleva Farm. Tell me more about this.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
So people can go out on the water and take
up rent kayaks or canoes, take a kayaking trip, take
a whitewater kayaking excursion, or like a moonlight moonlight paddle
is also fun there. They also have a river school
there and do dirty dinners. They have dirty dinners on Fridays.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
You have to explain that to me. What is that?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Oh, so that's just a down home farm to table
dinner open for it's taken an event, of course, but
open for a family. It's a great family event. They
call them dirty dinners on the farm.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
That sounds like a lot of fun. There's so many
things here. Like I told you, it's been a long
time since I lived there, but I feel like I
under utilized my time there when I was in Montgomery County,
And just talking to you is like, oh my gosh,
I miss being in this space. I mean, I love
where I am now, but there's just so many great
ops right down there. Right down the highway or across
(21:02):
the ICC, wherever you have to go to get there.
Where's the best place for people if they want to
follow up on some of the things that we've been
talking about to go and look and find some more information.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Our website is the best place. Visit Montgomery dot com.
You'll find all everything you need on visit Montgomery dot com.
I also want to give a plug to Montgomery Parks,
a great partner for us. You know, our trails are
second to nine. We talked a lot today about the outdoors,
and you know Blackhill Regional Park, Little Bennett Regional Park,
(21:33):
the Capitol Crescent Trail is eleven mile trail that takes
you from Georgetown and DC all the way up to
Silver Spring. So four point six of the miles of
that eleven miles is within Montgomery County. So a lot
of outdoor recreation opportunity just through Montgomery Parks and our
trail system. I don't want to I really want to
give them a plug. We've done a really good job
(21:55):
as a community in preservation and also creating theseies for
our residents and visitors.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
And I have a lot of friends that will go
down to Montgomery County just to run or to bike
because they want to take advantage of these trails. So
I have not done so much of it myself, but
just through friends of mine, I can vouch for that.
I mean, people really love the outdoor space that you
have developed, the trails, everything down there in Montgomery County.
I mean that is tourism right there.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yes, we are really fortunate as a community if you
think about it, with a third preserved agricultural and with
that comes history and wineries and brewers and outdoor experiences.
But yet you could be in an urban center like
Pike and Rods or downtown Bethesda, or Rio or Sober Spring.
I think that's really how we message ourselves as a
(22:44):
community and trying to sell it and pitch it to visitors.
Is the contrast of you can be in the city,
but you can also enjoy the outdoors and be in
some really remote places and enjoy the outdoor.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It's one of my favorite things about talking about Maryland
in general. I feel like you've got so many things
right there at your fingertips, and they're so easy to
get to. A lot of places in this country don't
have access to all those different elements of what we see,
and I think it's pretty amazing. Well, Kelly, so glad
to have had this chance to talk to you today
and to learn more about Montgomery County. I hope people
(23:16):
will check this out and make a visit down to
your county and enjoy some of the stuff you have
to offer.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Thank you, thanks for having me today.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Thank you to Kelly Grobb for her time to find
more information for your visit to Montgomery County. Be sure
to check out visit Montgomery dot com, and thank you
to all of you for listening. Until next week, you
will
Hey, everyone, Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name is Jeff
Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations, if you're new to us, is
a show designed to give people an inside or deeper
look at vacation locations around Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and
other spots. Honestly, anybody who will talk to me, I'm
happy to open the door. My hope is to speak
with people who know these areas best and inspire you
(00:24):
for your next getaway. I've had a few different conversations
on this podcast with different areas in Maryland. It's the
state where I live and work, so it makes sense.
I've got my own personal biases about what places are
the best to visit in this state and what locations
would make great vacation spots for me. Most of those
places are near the beach or somewhere out in the
lesser populated areas of the state. But today's conversation opened
(00:48):
my eyes to an area that I used to live
in and how many great opportunities it has that maybe
I missed. When I first moved to Maryland, I was
living near Washington, d C. In a city called Rockville.
It's located in Montgomery County. Now to me, Montgomery was
kind of a suburb of DC. Don't get me wrong,
beautiful place. I enjoyed my time there, but I guess
I didn't look at it as a place that I
(01:09):
would vacation or have a getaway too. And maybe vacation
isn't the right word. I mean, just because you're visiting
a place doesn't mean it has to be for vacation.
Day trips are amazing. Even just a little drive down
for dinner accounts. It's tourism and that's what I had
to wrap my head around. For this conversation. I spoke
with Kelly Groff, the president and CEO of Visit Montgomery.
(01:29):
She helped me understand the beauty and the options available
in Montgomery County. From a wide array of inspiring restaurants
and food to a great craft brewery scene, historical landmarks,
and outdoor fun. Montgomery County really does check all the boxes.
So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kelly Groft.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Great, thanks for having me today. Excited to see you.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
So, tell me a little bit about this position. How
long have you been doing this?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So I have actually been in this position for twenty
nine years. It has been never a dull moment, and
that's what's kept my interest. So I've really enjoyed the position.
The County's changed a lot since I started, so watching
it grow and evolved has kept me very interested and engaged.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I would say I lived there for just about a year.
I think it was eleven months. It was two thousand
and seven into two thousand and eight, so it's been,
you know, seventeen years since I was in Montgomery County,
and just in that time, when I do go down
and visit, there's so much different in there, Like I
get lost. I'm like, I lived here for a year
and I can't even find my way around.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, it's a great community, and you know, with the
main population, there's a lot of great amenities that come
with that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Are you a Maryland native?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I am. I was born and raised in Frederick, Maryland,
So I am a true Marylander.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
I love it. I love to hear that, all right,
So give me your elevator pitch about Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So the great thing about Montgomery County is we are
on the border of Washington, d C. And being in
that metropolitan area provides great infrastructure for people to get around,
and so we really market ourselves as a destination for
not just our Maryland residents, for visitors from all along
(03:10):
the mid Atlantic. We are also a really strong destination
for meetings and conferences because of all the corporate and
bio and forma based in Montgomery County, as well as
eighteen federal government agencies are headquartered in Montgomery County. So
it's a booming community, very active community, lots of activity,
and so tourism is a big part of who we
(03:31):
are as a community, and that.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
To me, let me just tell you from my standpoint,
it's interesting to hear the word tourism with Montgomery County
because to me, when I think tourism, I'm always thinking
someone like eastern Shore or western Maryland, where you've got
the mountains in the snow. But Montgomery County does have
so many things to offer people, Like it's not just
this space that's just outside DC. There's a lot going
on in this county.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yep. We have our own treasures that make us unique
and a really great destination of this individually, and we
have the data that backs up that interest. I mean,
there's seven million people a year who come and visit
Montgomery County.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Maryland yeah, I mean, we'll just start right where you
know kind of my background that's arts and culture, because
I go down there a lot to hang out in
the Silver Spring with the work that I do at
the radio station. We're doing concerts at the Fillmore Silver
Spring all the time, so I'm down there taking advantage
of those events. But you've got a lot of different
spaces in Montgomery County where there's really cool events and
big time artists and people coming through.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I don't know if you're familiar with this, but Maryland
has Arts and Entertainment districts and there's twenty nine of
those districts across the state. Three of those districts are
in Montgomery County, Maryland, and those are designated as Silver
Spring and Wheaton. So each district within our community represents
kind of the uniqueness of that specific community Silver Spring,
(04:50):
as you mentioned the film Moore, but also the American
Film Institute Silver Theater and Cultural Center is right in
the downtown area, just steps away from the Fillmore, and
they offer a lot of film festivals throughout the year.
The Latin American Film Festival is the largest and longest
running showcases of Latin American cinema in North America. So
(05:12):
there's some trivia for you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
I've actually gone to a couple of films there, and
it's a beautiful little place, and I love hanging out
in that downtown area of Silver Spring. I really enjoy
it over there.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Have you visited the only theater north of there in Onney, Maryland?
Not yet another really great theater that's been around since
nineteen thirty eight, and the States really designated that particular
theater as a major arts center. They have year round
(05:42):
American premieres of plays. It's really a unique place to
visit and cshow.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Bethesda's a beautiful place to hang out. I spent a
lot of time there in the year that I lived
in Montgomery County, so I would hop on the Red
Line and go straight down to Bethesda all the time
to meet up with my friends.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yes, Imagination Stay, Bees, the Blues and Jazz Club. It's
also in downtown bethesa area one of our other arts districts,
really bustling community, also in downtown Bethesda.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I'm not as familiar with Wheaton, though. Tell me a
little bit about Wheaton.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
The nice part about Wheaton is just the culinary diversity
and the diversity of the community. That's probably more of
a budding arts and entertainment district. They are really well
known for their culinary delights because there's just so much
diversity within that community. It's a great area right off
of Metro also, which makes it really easy.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
To get to absolutely and you know, being in Maryland
and being just outside DC, Montgomery County surely has a
lot of historical aspects to it too. And I know
people love to visit places and learn more about the
history of this country. Let's talk a little bit about
some of those options in Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yeah, so let's start with some of the African American
history and like underground railroad history. So we have quite
a few sites. A few I want to talk about
today is a Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park which is in
the Sandy Spring area. It's a really great museum that
you can walk through and learn more stories about the
(07:09):
founding of the Sandy Spring Quaker settlement. But they also
do some nighttime underground railroad tours which are fun. And
then back into like North Bethesda area, the Jasi Henson
Museum and Park. That's a location that was a plantation
property where Jasi Henson, whose autobiography was inspired by Uncle
(07:31):
Tom's Cabin by Harriet peter Stowe. That's a really cool
museum right in that budding area of North Bethesda where
Pike and Roses. Really really cool museum to do and say.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
And then you also got the National Museum of Health
and Medicine and Silver Spring too, and I'm sure that's
got some cool stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Oh yeah, that's a secret museum. Everybody needs to go
see this museum. I mean, it's it's just fascinating. The
fun part we like to market about that museum is
that it houses the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln. So
that bullet sits there at that museum. Yeah, it's a
really cool place.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
It's wild to think that someone actually saved that then
and was like, Okay, we're going to have to keep
this and put this somewhere down the line. But I
love those secret museums. I love those little secret spots
that only people that live in that area like really know,
and they're like, Okay, you've got to go see how
cool this place is. Because if you were just to
put down on a piece of paper, I want you
to go check out the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
(08:25):
It might not be something that jumps out to me,
but you know the stuff, you know, the inside stuff,
and now I kind of want to go and see
this stuff that's there.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, you know, kind of under the radar, but
really cool and fascinating exhibits within that museum. So it's
definitely one to put on the list.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
You've already mentioned food here in this conversation, but if
my memory was correct from my time living there, definitely
a lot of great places to eat in Montgomery County,
and I'm sure it's only gotten even bigger in the
decade plus since I lived there full time. So tell
me a little about the culinary options there in Montgomery County.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You have to come back and just eat your way through.
We have over nine hundred restaurants. You know, within the county,
there's a lot of different pockets and communities where the
focus of some of the culinary experiences are. So you
think about you have Silver Spring, you have Bethesda, Tacoma Park,
(09:21):
Potomac North Bethesda, rockvillees Germantown gathers all those communities and
rio where at the waterfront where the lake is another
great place where you really can kind of dine your
way through. So it's a it's a great culinary scene.
We celebrate that a lot, you know, we promote that
a lot to our residents and our restaurants do well.
(09:42):
But it's also a way to hook people into the county.
As for tourism and visitation, is you know, the experiences
that we can provide in culinary.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I haven't thought about Rio in so long, and I'm
so glad you mentioned that. I'll tell you this is
kind of an aside. I the last time I was
at Rio, I was sitting outside the Barnes and Noble
waiting for the final Harry Potter book to come out.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
That was a while.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That was a while ago. I remember getting the book
and then going in to do my radio shift in Rockville,
just like I don't want to be on the air
right now. I just want to read my book. But
that was my last time I really I got to
go back to Rio. That place was really cool. They
had the paddle boats on the water and everything. That
was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
It's a great destination. You'll enjoy it. You gotta go back.
The hotel there, the Gaithersburg Mariot Washingtonian opened at Tiki Bar.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
So they have a tiki bar on the outside of
the hotel, on the exterior area that faces the lakefront.
That's a really cool little hip spot too. That's somewhat
new year or so old.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
You had me at bar if I remember correctly too.
From Montgomery County, there's a real diverse population there. I think,
not far from where I was living. There was a
really big like Asian community, and they had Asian markets
and you would go into these places and I'm like,
I've never seen things like this before, and it was
so cool to experience the things that other cultures have
in their world that I just hadn't experienced. And I
(11:02):
think Montgomery County is so special because it has that
wide range of people.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Oh. Absolutely, we need to tell that story better too,
because there are a lot of it's a very culturally
diverse community and it shows in like some of the
grocery stores, the markets, and also the restaurants. So it's
a great scene and we do need to tell that story.
I do want to mention an event we kep coming up.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Oh yeah please, yeah, So let's talk.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
More about culinary So we talk about you know the
diversity of our community and all the restaurants, and so
we are going to be hosting a Moco Eats Food
and Beverage showcase March thirty and thirty one. So on
March thirtieth, consumers can come in. This is going to
be at the Hilton Rock Belle and consumers can come
in on March thirtieth from eleven to five and just
(11:49):
meet with some of our restaurant tours and our small
businesses and our suppliers of products to restaurants in a
kind of vendor consumer showcase set. And then on March
thirty first, we're going to have a hospitality conference where
we're going to connect people in our community that are
producing products. You know, we have a lot of ag
(12:09):
in our community to connect them with the buyers or
restauranteurs the hotel. So we're really excited about that event.
That event March thirty and thirty one. Twenty twenty five.
I got to get used to saying twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I'm still writing twenty four and everything that I do,
So don't worry, You're okay. Where do people go if
they want to find out more information about that? Or
do you have to. It's a ticketed event. I think
you said, so where do they go to get all
that stuff?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yes, it'll be ticket event. Tickets aren't on sale, Yeah,
but it's mocoeats dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Loco eats dot com. Great. Perfect. And you mentioned agg
which I also think is important to bring up because
I think the general impression for people that don't live
in Montgomery County so much of it is just these
you know, sort of urban areas outside of DC, right,
or like you mentioned the bio areas up the up
the corridor there. I don't think people recognize how much
agricultural space there is in Montgomery County. And I think
(12:58):
that's like I live in Baltimore, but just outside the
city you go ten minutes outside of city limits. I
mean it's farms everywhere you go. But people don't think
about that. They just think of the city aspect. And
I think Montgomery County's agricultural area is not, you know,
as well known as it probably should be.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
This is one of my favorite topics. So I'm glad
we're going to talk about this. This is a really
really cool story. In nineteen eighty, the Montgomery County Council
voted to designate the Agricultural Reserve as a farm land
protected area. What's interesting about this is is one third
of the total land mass of Montgomery County, so a
(13:34):
third of the county's land is preserved agricultural. Very challenging
to find that anywhere in this country. So we're really
proud of that. And you know, the people who had
that vision when they started to see sprawl coming from
DC and communities being built, that they put you know,
they put a stop on that and reevaluated and came
(13:56):
up with this great idea, you can only build one
home per twenty five acres if you have land in
the ag reserve, and there's over five hundred farms, and
you know, you'll find every type of fruit and vegetable
you can, as well as livestock. Lots of farmers that
are selling their product. And I think the most important
(14:18):
piece to recognize is the evolution of the winery and
brewery sector within the Agriculture Reserve. And we'll talk a
little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Oh yeah, for sure. I mean that area has grown
exponentially across the state. But you've got some beautiful spaces
there in Montgomery County that we definitely want to talk
about in a second. But I also want to mention
not only is it just agricultural space, but because it's
been designated as you know, a sort of a safe area,
it's protected area, you're also keeping open history as well.
I mean there's trails, there's roots that go through there
(14:50):
that go back hundreds of years in this country's history,
and I think that's so important that there was someone
that sat back and said, we need to make sure
we preserve this.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Oh yeah, absolutely, civil war trails that come through that area,
scenic byways, rustic roots that you know, have all been
preserved as part of that agricultural reserve. So it's not
just farmlands. There's history. There's wineries, there's breweries, there's historic sites.
There's a lot within that pocket. Of course, you know
(15:19):
south of that is where the Cno Can now runs.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yes, yeah, which we'll also talk about because that's one
of my favorite spots in the county. But I do
want to go back into the breweries and wineries because
I will say Loan Oak is the one that I'm
familiar with and love. I have to say as a parent,
I love that they built their own like playground in
the back area. Of the farm, so there is a
space for parents to actually sit down and enjoy a
beverage while their children aren't actively playing, and we don't
(15:44):
have to worry about either a bothering someone or B
what are we going to do to entertain our kids?
So I love that place.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Loan Oak is a is a local favorite, and they've
also recently before the New Year, opened Fallen Oak. I
don't know if you're familiar that new building. Yes, they
opened a distillery called Fallen Oak. You know the lone
oak tree fell and they lost that tree. Yep, So
they have a new distillery they just open. You have
to come over and check that out.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
What's your favorite spot? Or are you allowed to say
that as someone who promotes tourism, Are you about to
have favorites?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Never? They're all our favorite children, right, They're all our
favorite children.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Let me say what, what are some of the more popular
Because I know lon O because I've been there. I've
heard of Elder Pine, but I don't know that many
on the top of my head. I'm sure if you
said then they might sound familiar, but I have not
gone on my own trail. What are some of the
more popular spots?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Let me think along. We have a Tastemaker's trail, Tastemakerstrail
dot com Okay, is our self guided tour the wineries
and breweries Tastemakerstrail dot com. And so you'll see all
of them listed within that website. But let's think about this.
So Brookville, Okay, Brookville Beer Farm right war Doca, which
is not far and that's a working horse farm with
(16:56):
a brewery Elder Pine you mentioned, and then go over
the Lone Oak, and then if you keep going, you'll
go to sixty one Vineyard Stone Silo Brewery, and then
if you keep going through the egg Reserve, I can
just go on and on and on. The exciting part
is that there are some additional sites that are popping
(17:18):
up over the next year and a half, and we're
not going to talk about those today, but you got
to keep checking out the Tastemakerstrail dot com website and
keep an eye open for other openings of other winers
and breweries. It's really exciting to watch the evolution of
that sector within the agriculture reserve.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Tastemakerstrail dot Com sounds like exactly what I'm going to
do on a nice, warm Saturday if we can get
a babysitter for the day and just go for a
drive and make some stops along the way.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, you'll enjoy that.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Well, let's go back to the outdoor stuff that you
have going on in Montgomery County, because you mentioned the
c and O Canal and when I lived there, I
had zero dollars to my name, and that was where
I spent a lot of my free time because it
was I think the parking was very very affordable, very cheap,
and I would just go and hang out all day
and just enjoy nature out there. What a beautiful spot to.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Have another one of our goodies. You know, A real
treasure for the county. It's a national park. It's one
of the top visited national parks in the country. People
can bike along the trails or the towpath and taking
the scenery at the great Falls, go out on the
footbridge to see the Potomac River. There's also a canal
(18:31):
boat ride on the Mercer And I don't know a
lot of people don't know this. The lockhouses along the
canal are actually for rent for overnight visitors. They've been
restored and they're really Each one of them were themed
for a specific part of the Cno Canal's history, So
(18:51):
not to miss a nice little weekend away the canal
lockhouses on the Cno Canal.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I did not know. That's really cool. That's something to
investigate for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
And you got a book pretty far in advances. It's
really popular. So but what a great experience, especially with
families or girlfriend getaways. Really really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, definitely going to look into that.
That's going to be on my list here. If you're
not interested in going for some outdoors you know, hiking, biking, whatever,
but you still want some adventure in your life, You've
got the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring that's got a
lot of really I've seen a lot of people posting
about that on social media.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
See Adventure part of Sandy Spring. It is great. That's
in the Sandy Spring area on property at the Sandy
Spring School. And they also have acts throwing there. Okay,
so yeah, really fun, really fun get away for the
day for kids and adults, and they do a really
nice job there. It is actually one of the largest
(19:51):
human made outdoor climbing parks in the world, So you
don't want to miss that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
One absolutely, And I'm going to say this wrong? Is
it farm? That's wow? Okay, I got it right. Okay,
so this I have some notes here, and this sounds
so cool. Taking a tour of the Potomac River with
Khaleva Farm. Tell me more about this.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
So people can go out on the water and take
up rent kayaks or canoes, take a kayaking trip, take
a whitewater kayaking excursion, or like a moonlight moonlight paddle
is also fun there. They also have a river school
there and do dirty dinners. They have dirty dinners on Fridays.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
You have to explain that to me. What is that?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Oh, so that's just a down home farm to table
dinner open for it's taken an event, of course, but
open for a family. It's a great family event. They
call them dirty dinners on the farm.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
That sounds like a lot of fun. There's so many
things here. Like I told you, it's been a long
time since I lived there, but I feel like I
under utilized my time there when I was in Montgomery County,
And just talking to you is like, oh my gosh,
I miss being in this space. I mean, I love
where I am now, but there's just so many great
ops right down there. Right down the highway or across
(21:02):
the ICC, wherever you have to go to get there.
Where's the best place for people if they want to
follow up on some of the things that we've been
talking about to go and look and find some more information.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Our website is the best place. Visit Montgomery dot com.
You'll find all everything you need on visit Montgomery dot com.
I also want to give a plug to Montgomery Parks,
a great partner for us. You know, our trails are
second to nine. We talked a lot today about the outdoors,
and you know Blackhill Regional Park, Little Bennett Regional Park,
(21:33):
the Capitol Crescent Trail is eleven mile trail that takes
you from Georgetown and DC all the way up to
Silver Spring. So four point six of the miles of
that eleven miles is within Montgomery County. So a lot
of outdoor recreation opportunity just through Montgomery Parks and our
trail system. I don't want to I really want to
give them a plug. We've done a really good job
(21:55):
as a community in preservation and also creating theseies for
our residents and visitors.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
And I have a lot of friends that will go
down to Montgomery County just to run or to bike
because they want to take advantage of these trails. So
I have not done so much of it myself, but
just through friends of mine, I can vouch for that.
I mean, people really love the outdoor space that you
have developed, the trails, everything down there in Montgomery County.
I mean that is tourism right there.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yes, we are really fortunate as a community if you
think about it, with a third preserved agricultural and with
that comes history and wineries and brewers and outdoor experiences.
But yet you could be in an urban center like
Pike and Rods or downtown Bethesda, or Rio or Sober Spring.
I think that's really how we message ourselves as a
(22:44):
community and trying to sell it and pitch it to visitors.
Is the contrast of you can be in the city,
but you can also enjoy the outdoors and be in
some really remote places and enjoy the outdoor.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It's one of my favorite things about talking about Maryland
in general. I feel like you've got so many things
right there at your fingertips, and they're so easy to
get to. A lot of places in this country don't
have access to all those different elements of what we see,
and I think it's pretty amazing. Well, Kelly, so glad
to have had this chance to talk to you today
and to learn more about Montgomery County. I hope people
(23:16):
will check this out and make a visit down to
your county and enjoy some of the stuff you have
to offer.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Thank you, thanks for having me today.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Thank you to Kelly Grobb for her time to find
more information for your visit to Montgomery County. Be sure
to check out visit Montgomery dot com, and thank you
to all of you for listening. Until next week, you
will
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