October 17, 2024 • 16 mins
One thing I’m realizing while I do more of these conversations is that there’s a lot about Maryland I don’t know about. I had always thought that I had a pretty good understanding and knowledge about the state. But then I speak with folks like today’s guest and I know that there’s huge pieces of this state I’m missing out on. And I feel bad about that.
At one point in today’s conversation I talk about how this piece of Maryland gets forgotten a lot. I do think that’s true for a lot of people. I know it sounds bad but I don’t mean it that way. Today we’re talking about St. Mary’s County. If you’re looking at a map of Maryland, St. Mary’s County is the southeastern tip of the mainland of the state. It sort of wraps around the eastern side of DC. For me, once I hit the Capital Beltway I feel like I’m out of Maryland. I always forget about all of the incredible places that are just around the other side of our nation’s capital.
Today I’m speaking with Liz Mildenstein. She’s the executive director at Visit St. Mary’s. I learned a lot in this conversation. Like I had no idea that the colonial capital was in St. Mary’s County in Leonardtown. That’s kind of fascinating to me. I hope you enjoy our conversation about St. Mary’s County.
At one point in today’s conversation I talk about how this piece of Maryland gets forgotten a lot. I do think that’s true for a lot of people. I know it sounds bad but I don’t mean it that way. Today we’re talking about St. Mary’s County. If you’re looking at a map of Maryland, St. Mary’s County is the southeastern tip of the mainland of the state. It sort of wraps around the eastern side of DC. For me, once I hit the Capital Beltway I feel like I’m out of Maryland. I always forget about all of the incredible places that are just around the other side of our nation’s capital.
Today I’m speaking with Liz Mildenstein. She’s the executive director at Visit St. Mary’s. I learned a lot in this conversation. Like I had no idea that the colonial capital was in St. Mary’s County in Leonardtown. That’s kind of fascinating to me. I hope you enjoy our conversation about St. Mary’s County.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations is a show designed
to give people an inside or deeper look at vacation
locations around Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and of course other
places as well. My hope always is to speak with
people who know these areas best, they know them inside
it out, and hopefully inspire you for your next trip
(00:22):
away from home. One thing I'm realizing while I do
more of these conversations is that there's a lot about
Maryland I don't know about. I had always thought that
I had a pretty good understanding and knowledge about the state,
But then I speak with folks like today's guest, and
I know there's huge pieces of this state that I'm
missing out on, and now I feel really guilty about that.
At one point in today's conversation, I talk about how
(00:44):
this piece of Maryland kind of gets forgotten a lot.
I do think that's true for a lot of people.
I know it sounds bad, but I don't mean it
that way. Today we're talking about Saint Mary's County. If
you're looking at a map of Maryland, Saint Mary's County
is on the southeastern tip of the mainland of the state.
It sort of wraps around the eastern side of DC,
and for me, once I hit the capitol Belwih, I
(01:04):
kind of feel like I'm out of Maryland. I always
forget about all the incredible places that are just around
the other side of our nation's capital. Today I'm speaking
with Liz Mildenstein. She's the executive director at Visit Saint Mary's.
I learned a lot in this conversation, like, for example,
I had no idea the colonial capital was in Saint
Mary's County, in Leonardtown. That's kind of fascinating to me.
(01:26):
I hope you enjoy our conversation about Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thank you, thanks for having me. Good to meet you too.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So I know you just took over this position recently.
How is that going for you so far?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I am loving it. It is a dream.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
How did you come to work in this position? How'd
you come to decide you wanted to promote Saint Mary's
for a living.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I live in Saint Mary's and absolutely love living in
Saint Mary's. I've lived in southern Maryland for even longer,
and raising a family here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Has been an absolute pleasure. There's a lot to.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Do, there's a lot to see, and so I've come
to just love it, and so to be able to
support the community I live and promote how great it
is to the rest of the world is a dream.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I find it so cool that in this particular position,
so many people that I speak with are from the
area they're promoting. Like I think, I think of other
professions and I'm always like, all these people move around
all the time, Like in radio, I've worked in three
or four different cities, and when it comes to tourism
or promoting a county or place, it seems like the
people are from that area, And I think that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, well, and I think too, I'm living it. I'm
living Saint Mary's County every day. The way we interact
with the community. My kids are involved in the school system,
you know, we participate in activities, We spend our weekends
doing the same things I'm promoting.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I know you've got a lot of stuff coming up
this fall in Saint Mary's County, But before we get
to that, like, give me your elevator. Pitch. Is someone
who's not familiar with Saint Mary's County. Give me a
little elevator pitch of like, what is Saint Mary's County
all about?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Saint Mary's County is Maryland's original destination. This is the
mother county. This is where Maryland started so in sixteen
thirty four, this is where colonists first laid their roots.
It was the original capital before that transition to Annapolis,
and so we take that history very serious. We also
have a number of International Underground Railroad Network sites that
we're very proud of. From a historical perspective, Saint Mary's
(03:15):
County has rail roots, and so if you're a history book,
this is certainly a place you want to visit. Culturally,
there's a lot to do here, both outdoor and indoor,
and so I'll say, if you are someone who likes
to spend time on the water, bring your boat, rent
a boat, rental paddle board.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
We have those options as well.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
There's a number of public peers that you can tie
up to, and then we have a number of hiking trails.
We have five state parks in our county as well
as twenty one county run parks. So if you're an
outdoorsy type, this is a place for you. As well,
we have a number of indoor attractions too, so if
you're coming any season, there's something for you.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I live in Baltimore, and since I've moved to Maryland,
I've lived in either Rockville or Baltimore, so I've spent
most of my time in sort of the metropolitan areas
of the state. And it's always fast to me how
much of this state really is much more outdoorsy, in
rural like Saint Mary's County is like it blows my
mid all a time when I'm speaking with people, like
the metropolitan areas are kind of like a tiny little bubble.
(04:11):
The rest of the state. It's very open.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yep. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I spent time living near the Washington, DC area, and
it's nice to know that within an hour, an hour
and a half to maybe even as far as three hours,
it is accessible for you to find that water, to
find those those lush forests, you could say, without having
to drive a long time. So we are a great
drive destination for those folks who are living in the
(04:35):
more metropolitan areas.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I used to say the same thing about where I
grew up. I grew up on the southern border of
New Hampshire, and we would always say like, within an
hour in any direction, you're either going to hit a
major city, the ocean, the best ski resorts, the best
parks like and it feels like this kind of area,
this region has a similar feel like DC and Baltimore,
and no matter where you go, you're going to find
a different experience that you'll be looking for.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I agree with that completely.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's nice to know that within you know, driving distance
from DC, we have beaches in our county trails, both
paved and unpaved, so certainly an opportunity here.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, I've been down to a couple of the beaches down.
I don't know if they were in Saint Mary's County.
I'm trying to think of the names of them now,
but I was down Chesapeake Beach was one of them.
But I don't think that's Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
That's our sister county, Calvert County, right.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Okay, that's just above you guys, that's right, because you're
on the you're the southern edge of Now, would you
consider yourselves the Western Shore? Yes, yeah, you're the southern
edge of the Western Shore. And I feel like that
part of Maryland often gets forgotten too, because it's on
the other side of DC. It's kind of wrapped around there.
Like I always think, like once I hit four ninety
five or whatever it is down there, I'm like, all right, well,
now I'm in DC in Virginia, and I always kind
(05:44):
of forget there's so much Maryland over here down this way.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
It absolutely is.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, Southern Maryland's a really unique place, and we have
a great relationship with with Calver County as well as
Charles County.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah. I would imagine that you would because you guys
have a lot of the similar things to offer down there.
All right, So Liz, let's dive into some of the
stuff that you got coming up here, because I know
you got a busy fall. We'll start with the Oyster Festival,
the upcoming US Oyster Festival. I love the fact that
we have a US Oyster Festival. By the way, I
think this is great.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
The fastest shuckers from across the country are going to
compete in Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
It's a blast to watch.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
But I will tell you, I want to be very clear,
you do not have to like oysters to come to
the US Oyster Festival. There's live entertainment, the Chesapeake Mermaid's
going to be making an appearance. I know that's a
very popular attraction for families. There's going to be a
large number of vendors. You can come shop and eat
all the Saint Mary's local favorites you you might enjoy
and try, So don't let oyster scare you off. I
(06:40):
know not everybody loves an oyster, but there's plenty to
do at that festival, and it's for a great cause.
It's for our local chapter of the Rotary, which does
incredible work both across our county and internationally.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Forgive me if you said this already, but when is
this happening.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
It is the third week of October every year, so
this year it's the nineteenth and twentieth of October October.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And this is going to lose me some Maryland points.
But you said the Chesapeake Mermaid, and that's something that
I'm not familiar with. What is the Chesapeake Mermaid?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah, so, yes, she is a mermaid, but also more importantly,
she's going to promote the importance of education across the
water or Chesapeake Watershed.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I know we're gonna be talking about a lot of
different events that are coming up here. So let's just
go ahead and get this out into the world. Where
is the best place for people to go to find
information about these events and maybe start planning their trip.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Sure, I would say that's our website, visit StMary's MD
dot com. That's visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
All right, So my last name is Saint Pierre, and
I've found recently that when I say that, people automatically
think that I spell my last name sai NT and
they can't find it anywhere. I'm like, no, it's st.
And I wonder when he was Saint Mary's County. Do
you find yourself in a similar position.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Sometimes I'm just always very careful with it.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
St always very easy. I can't even go any My
name is in so many different places in computer systems,
like it's st period st space. Now I'm going off
on a different tangent. But all right, So Saint Mary's County,
it's an easy drive from Baltimore. It's a weekend getaway,
I'm sure for a lot of folks. Do you find
you get a lot of weekend travelers?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, And there's a from a lodging perspective, we have
a lot of options here in terms of if you
want to do a hotel, a B and B short
term rentals, you can get waterfront short term rentals here.
There's a large number of them, so I think it's
a great place for a getaway.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
We're only about an hour and a half from Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah. My picture, my mental picture of Saint Mary's County
is B and b's, Like, that's what I have. I
imagine you've got some really beautiful B and b's there.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
There are beautiful BnB options here, one of which is
Dixon Family Farm. They host a beautiful Lavender Days festival
every year and they actually have what's called Susanna's Watch.
It's a B and B facing the water. It's gorgered,
the gorgeous. It's in the northern part of the county,
so it's even closer for Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
What are the towns or cities in Saint Mary's County
that people seem to flock to the most.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
I would say Leonardtown is a beautiful walking community here,
meaning if I'm driving town for the weekend, I can
park my car at the hotel. There's a beautiful inn
right in town center, and I don't need to get
back in my car until I leave. There's shopping galleries, restaurants,
there's a waterfront pier, a wharf with a playground, and
plenty of dining options. So, and they do live entertainment
(09:17):
often on the weekends. In fact, there's an old movie
theater that's been restored to a concert hall. They host
amazing bands on the weekends in various events.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Lots of outdoor dining, very pet frintly.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Oh, that's great. Something that I always like to check
out when I go to someplace that I've not been before,
is I like to try to see local beverages, whether
that be beers or wines or distilleries. What Saint Mary's
look like for that.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So, we have a large number of craft beverage makers
in our county. That's everywhere from wineries, brewers, distillers, coffee roasters, juicers,
and they have an organization called Liquid Assets. They all
work together to promote the craft beverage trade here in
Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And again you can find all this information to visit
Saint Mary's MD dot com. It's visit STMARY'SMD dot com. Liz,
you mentioned earlier the historical significance of Saint Mary's County.
And look, I'm a transplant in Baltimore or in Maryland,
even though I've lived here for about seventeen years now,
I had no idea till this conversation that the original
capital was in Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
And now you know, and I will tell you so
his historic Saint Mary's City. It's a living history museum,
it's a live archaeological site. It is an incredible place
to visit and walk around. You know, they recommend I think,
up to four hours for your visit. There are people
in costumes walking around doing live demonstrations. It's a great
(10:39):
place to bring your family for yourself and walk around
and spend time. And then Saint Clement's Island as well
as piny Point also provide great historical opportunities and they
have museums on site too.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Tell me about live archaeological site, because in my head,
I'm picturing, like, I don't know, like a dig around
an old Mexican pyramid that they found in the woods somewhere.
But Saint Mary's County, I mean, people have lived there
for the last three four hundred years, So tell me
about that.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
So instead of a pyramid, think a Fort, Okay. And
so they are digging and finding artifacts as we speak,
and walls and dwellings, and so they're bringing that back
to life.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Oh that is so cool. Saint Mary's City. It sounds
like the historic Saint Mary's City. Sounds like such a
fascinating thing to visit and to be.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
A part of it is.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
And it's right next to Saint Mary's College of Maryland,
which has a beautiful campus.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I always used to get that confused to Saint Mary's
College of Maryland and Mount Saint Mary's for a while.
I always would get them switched.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Up different schools.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yes, I know I'm losing so many of my Maryland
points here in this conversation here, and I'm okay with it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
You haven't lost a point.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yet, Okay. Great underground Railroad. Obviously we know a lot
about the stories of the underground railroad. I guess I
had no idea how much of that went right through
your area too, But it makes sense coming up through Virginia,
they would probably come right through Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, we have four sites historic Souderly, the Old Jail
Point Lookout State Park and the Commemorative to the enslaved
people of southern Maryland. That's actually at the college I
just mentioned, And so you know, we have a lot
of material on our website to help guide books through
those sites and understand the stories that went along with them.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
You mentioned Old Jail. That was in my notes here too.
Tell me more about the Old Jail. I just saw
the name Old Jail and I was like, I need
to learn more about what this. Why is it so
cool that it's just called old Jail.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Well, it is indeed an old jail, but because Saint
Mary's County was the original destination in Maryland, it's also
home to Maryland's first police the Sheriff's Office. The Old
Jail is located in Lennartown and is a historical stop
on a walking tour.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Okay, if you're staying there. A lot of museums I'm
finding in your area too, which is really cool. The
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, what's going on there?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum has over twenty aircraft between
its indoor and outdoor exhibits, including a moon Rocks. It
can definitely keep an entire family fascinated for any amount
of time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
You have to spare at the museum.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Based on you telling me this, correct me if I'm wrong.
It sounds like you've been there before.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Oh, I've been there. I love that place.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
What's your favorite thing about it?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
The moon Rock's pretty incredible, But just seeing all of
the aircraft up close.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
These are monster machines.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So getting a chance to get up there, read about them,
understand how they work, why they work, and how they
came to be, it's really interesting.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
And you're a parent, and I imagine I don't know
if you have boys or girls, but I feel like
every kid loves to see big, monstrous machines like that.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Yes, and I'm well, and as a parent, I'm just
always looking for easy indoor options to take my children
if it's rainy or hot, but then also expand, so
you know, I'm always looking boys to entertain my children
on the nights and weekends.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
No, that's it. I get it. Like I've got a
three and a half year old and we were talking
about the B and b's and the walking, you know,
around Leonardtown, and I think that's fascinating for my wife
and I. But here I am picturing, like what are
we going to do with our kid this time, Like,
she's not just going to want to walk around the town.
We got to do something whether and I think you're
you're painting the picture, you're giving us the options. There
are a lot of other things you can do that
can be satisfying for the entire family.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Absolutely, I think it's really important to have options that
are indoor outdoor, that you can go at the drop
of a hat. You don't always need a reservation, that
have flexible hours. I think in terms of trying and
if you're on vacation, if you're visiting here, you know,
we're not always able to plan for the weather. We're
not always able to plan for the time that we have.
(14:33):
So having options that fit any amount of time, any
kind of weather, to build that kind of itinerary for
yourself is really helpful.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I will tell you that, you know, we.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Have every kind of option in our county no matter
how much time you have to spend with us, whether
you're here for a day, a weekend, a week, We'll
find time to fill your time.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Oh it sounds like I'm feeling during this conversation that
Saint Mary's County is a very underutilized resource.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I mean, we utilize it quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
You do, Yeah, no, And I feel bad because I
think up here everybody thinks about when they're going to
go on vacation or go on a trip, they always
go to the Eastern Shore or so I'm sitting here thinking, Mike,
when was the last time one of my friends said
they were going to Saint Mary's County? And I can't
think of it, and that breaks my heart. Like hearing
you tell these stories.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I appreciate you saying that you're so right.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I think, if I were to communicate anything to your listeners,
is that we are a great drive time destination for
the Baltimore, DC metro area because we do have beaches,
we do have parks, we do have indoor and outdoor attractions.
We do have hotel options and b and b's and
short term rentals to fit in a variety of budgets.
(15:38):
You know. I think this is a great place to
bring your family, but also as a couple or even
if you're traveling alone. I think this is a safe
space to bring for travelers to come.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Liz one more time. What's the website that people need
to go to to find the info?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
So if you were looking for any information about visiting
Saint Mary's County, what events are coming up, or you
need help planning your trip, I would go to visit
StMary's MD dot com.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
That's visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I know we talked about the Oyster Festival, but are
there any other events coming up that you just want
to highlight and mention?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Other upcoming events I would mention is Christmas on the.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Square and Lennertown, so again, walkable community, you can park,
never have to leave and get in your car again
until it's time to go home. Our Veterans Day Parade
is very well known. It's really large. It's a great
display of small, small town patriotism. And then also the
Maryland International Raceway's International Hall Tech Race, So again this
(16:37):
brings wards of fifty thousand people to Saint Mary's County
every year. Maryland International Raceway is a drag strip in
our county, very popular. From spring to fall, they are
hosting events almost every single weekend and at the end
of October into November they'll be hosting cars from across
the world. Again, it's an international race, so certainly i'll
highlight this.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
We've mentioned a few times how easy to drive can
be to get to Saint Mary's County. But you're right
on the water, so I imagine there are other options
for people to get to you as well.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, so you can get here a variety of ways.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You can drive in your car, you can take your boat,
or you can get here by air.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
We have a great regional airport.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Do you have a lot of folks that take advantage
of that?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We do have a number of aircraft that come in
and out of our airport. Yep, Absolutely, that's cool.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I like that. I like that a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You don't have your on plane?
Speaker 1 (17:22):
No, I don't. I don't. I heart media. Baltimore is
not to get me the plane. Yeah, boiler neither do line. Yeah.
You know, as we're talking, Liz, I'm starting to picture.
I had a friend that got married in Saint Mary's
County and it was unfortunately a wedding that I was
unable to attend, But the pictures afterwards looked remarkable, And
I'm wondering to myself, is Saint Mary's County sort of
(17:42):
a destination for weddings?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
So, because we have so many incredible water views, barns,
historical sites, this creates a picturesque place to get married,
as well as all the lodging options so hotels, short
term rentals, b and b's. So it's a great place
to host a wedding because your guests will have place
to stay and you'll get them great pictures you're looking
for if you're looking for outdoor or indoor wedding venues,
(18:06):
and other thing I would add to that is this
is a great place to host a conference or a
large meeting. We have a number of large conference facilities
in our area and all that information is available on
our website at visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
That's wonderful, Liz. It just sounds like anybody who has
been overlooking Saint Mary's County before this conversation needs to
change their mindset and get down there and hang out
for a little bit, because you've got everything that somebody
could need for a nice weekend getaway, a week long
stay to leave the hustle and bustle, whatever it is.
You've got so many options there for not just adults,
but also for the entire fan.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Absolutely, we love it here and people are welcome to visit.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
We'd love to have them.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Lis Mildenstein the executive director of Visit Saint Mary's. Thank
you so much for your time and hopefully our paths
will cross in the near future.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Thank you for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Big thanks to Liz Mildenstein for her time today. If
you want more information about Saint Mary's County and you
want to start planning your trip, you can find everything
you need at visit Saint Mary's MD dot com. That's
visit St Mary's MD dot com. And big thank you
to all of you for listening as well. Until next time,
be well,
Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations is a show designed
to give people an inside or deeper look at vacation
locations around Maryland, the mid Atlantic, and of course other
places as well. My hope always is to speak with
people who know these areas best, they know them inside
it out, and hopefully inspire you for your next trip
(00:22):
away from home. One thing I'm realizing while I do
more of these conversations is that there's a lot about
Maryland I don't know about. I had always thought that
I had a pretty good understanding and knowledge about the state,
But then I speak with folks like today's guest, and
I know there's huge pieces of this state that I'm
missing out on, and now I feel really guilty about that.
At one point in today's conversation, I talk about how
(00:44):
this piece of Maryland kind of gets forgotten a lot.
I do think that's true for a lot of people.
I know it sounds bad, but I don't mean it
that way. Today we're talking about Saint Mary's County. If
you're looking at a map of Maryland, Saint Mary's County
is on the southeastern tip of the mainland of the state.
It sort of wraps around the eastern side of DC,
and for me, once I hit the capitol Belwih, I
(01:04):
kind of feel like I'm out of Maryland. I always
forget about all the incredible places that are just around
the other side of our nation's capital. Today I'm speaking
with Liz Mildenstein. She's the executive director at Visit Saint Mary's.
I learned a lot in this conversation, like, for example,
I had no idea the colonial capital was in Saint
Mary's County, in Leonardtown. That's kind of fascinating to me.
(01:26):
I hope you enjoy our conversation about Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thank you, thanks for having me. Good to meet you too.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So I know you just took over this position recently.
How is that going for you so far?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I am loving it. It is a dream.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
How did you come to work in this position? How'd
you come to decide you wanted to promote Saint Mary's
for a living.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I live in Saint Mary's and absolutely love living in
Saint Mary's. I've lived in southern Maryland for even longer,
and raising a family here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Has been an absolute pleasure. There's a lot to.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Do, there's a lot to see, and so I've come
to just love it, and so to be able to
support the community I live and promote how great it
is to the rest of the world is a dream.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I find it so cool that in this particular position,
so many people that I speak with are from the
area they're promoting. Like I think, I think of other
professions and I'm always like, all these people move around
all the time, Like in radio, I've worked in three
or four different cities, and when it comes to tourism
or promoting a county or place, it seems like the
people are from that area, And I think that's so cool.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, well, and I think too, I'm living it. I'm
living Saint Mary's County every day. The way we interact
with the community. My kids are involved in the school system,
you know, we participate in activities, We spend our weekends
doing the same things I'm promoting.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
I know you've got a lot of stuff coming up
this fall in Saint Mary's County, But before we get
to that, like, give me your elevator. Pitch. Is someone
who's not familiar with Saint Mary's County. Give me a
little elevator pitch of like, what is Saint Mary's County
all about?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Saint Mary's County is Maryland's original destination. This is the
mother county. This is where Maryland started so in sixteen
thirty four, this is where colonists first laid their roots.
It was the original capital before that transition to Annapolis,
and so we take that history very serious. We also
have a number of International Underground Railroad Network sites that
we're very proud of. From a historical perspective, Saint Mary's
(03:15):
County has rail roots, and so if you're a history book,
this is certainly a place you want to visit. Culturally,
there's a lot to do here, both outdoor and indoor,
and so I'll say, if you are someone who likes
to spend time on the water, bring your boat, rent
a boat, rental paddle board.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
We have those options as well.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
There's a number of public peers that you can tie
up to, and then we have a number of hiking trails.
We have five state parks in our county as well
as twenty one county run parks. So if you're an
outdoorsy type, this is a place for you. As well,
we have a number of indoor attractions too, so if
you're coming any season, there's something for you.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I live in Baltimore, and since I've moved to Maryland,
I've lived in either Rockville or Baltimore, so I've spent
most of my time in sort of the metropolitan areas
of the state. And it's always fast to me how
much of this state really is much more outdoorsy, in
rural like Saint Mary's County is like it blows my
mid all a time when I'm speaking with people, like
the metropolitan areas are kind of like a tiny little bubble.
(04:11):
The rest of the state. It's very open.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yep. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I spent time living near the Washington, DC area, and
it's nice to know that within an hour, an hour
and a half to maybe even as far as three hours,
it is accessible for you to find that water, to
find those those lush forests, you could say, without having
to drive a long time. So we are a great
drive destination for those folks who are living in the
(04:35):
more metropolitan areas.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I used to say the same thing about where I
grew up. I grew up on the southern border of
New Hampshire, and we would always say like, within an
hour in any direction, you're either going to hit a
major city, the ocean, the best ski resorts, the best
parks like and it feels like this kind of area,
this region has a similar feel like DC and Baltimore,
and no matter where you go, you're going to find
a different experience that you'll be looking for.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I agree with that completely.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It's nice to know that within you know, driving distance
from DC, we have beaches in our county trails, both
paved and unpaved, so certainly an opportunity here.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, I've been down to a couple of the beaches down.
I don't know if they were in Saint Mary's County.
I'm trying to think of the names of them now,
but I was down Chesapeake Beach was one of them.
But I don't think that's Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
That's our sister county, Calvert County, right.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Okay, that's just above you guys, that's right, because you're
on the you're the southern edge of Now, would you
consider yourselves the Western Shore? Yes, yeah, you're the southern
edge of the Western Shore. And I feel like that
part of Maryland often gets forgotten too, because it's on
the other side of DC. It's kind of wrapped around there.
Like I always think, like once I hit four ninety
five or whatever it is down there, I'm like, all right, well,
now I'm in DC in Virginia, and I always kind
(05:44):
of forget there's so much Maryland over here down this way.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
It absolutely is.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, Southern Maryland's a really unique place, and we have
a great relationship with with Calver County as well as
Charles County.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah. I would imagine that you would because you guys
have a lot of the similar things to offer down there.
All right, So Liz, let's dive into some of the
stuff that you got coming up here, because I know
you got a busy fall. We'll start with the Oyster Festival,
the upcoming US Oyster Festival. I love the fact that
we have a US Oyster Festival. By the way, I
think this is great.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
The fastest shuckers from across the country are going to
compete in Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
It's a blast to watch.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
But I will tell you, I want to be very clear,
you do not have to like oysters to come to
the US Oyster Festival. There's live entertainment, the Chesapeake Mermaid's
going to be making an appearance. I know that's a
very popular attraction for families. There's going to be a
large number of vendors. You can come shop and eat
all the Saint Mary's local favorites you you might enjoy
and try, So don't let oyster scare you off. I
(06:40):
know not everybody loves an oyster, but there's plenty to
do at that festival, and it's for a great cause.
It's for our local chapter of the Rotary, which does
incredible work both across our county and internationally.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Forgive me if you said this already, but when is
this happening.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
It is the third week of October every year, so
this year it's the nineteenth and twentieth of October October.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And this is going to lose me some Maryland points.
But you said the Chesapeake Mermaid, and that's something that
I'm not familiar with. What is the Chesapeake Mermaid?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yeah, so, yes, she is a mermaid, but also more importantly,
she's going to promote the importance of education across the
water or Chesapeake Watershed.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I know we're gonna be talking about a lot of
different events that are coming up here. So let's just
go ahead and get this out into the world. Where
is the best place for people to go to find
information about these events and maybe start planning their trip.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Sure, I would say that's our website, visit StMary's MD
dot com. That's visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
All right, So my last name is Saint Pierre, and
I've found recently that when I say that, people automatically
think that I spell my last name sai NT and
they can't find it anywhere. I'm like, no, it's st.
And I wonder when he was Saint Mary's County. Do
you find yourself in a similar position.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Sometimes I'm just always very careful with it.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
St always very easy. I can't even go any My
name is in so many different places in computer systems,
like it's st period st space. Now I'm going off
on a different tangent. But all right, So Saint Mary's County,
it's an easy drive from Baltimore. It's a weekend getaway,
I'm sure for a lot of folks. Do you find
you get a lot of weekend travelers?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, And there's a from a lodging perspective, we have
a lot of options here in terms of if you
want to do a hotel, a B and B short
term rentals, you can get waterfront short term rentals here.
There's a large number of them, so I think it's
a great place for a getaway.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
We're only about an hour and a half from Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah. My picture, my mental picture of Saint Mary's County
is B and b's, Like, that's what I have. I
imagine you've got some really beautiful B and b's there.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
There are beautiful BnB options here, one of which is
Dixon Family Farm. They host a beautiful Lavender Days festival
every year and they actually have what's called Susanna's Watch.
It's a B and B facing the water. It's gorgered,
the gorgeous. It's in the northern part of the county,
so it's even closer for Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
What are the towns or cities in Saint Mary's County
that people seem to flock to the most.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
I would say Leonardtown is a beautiful walking community here,
meaning if I'm driving town for the weekend, I can
park my car at the hotel. There's a beautiful inn
right in town center, and I don't need to get
back in my car until I leave. There's shopping galleries, restaurants,
there's a waterfront pier, a wharf with a playground, and
plenty of dining options. So, and they do live entertainment
(09:17):
often on the weekends. In fact, there's an old movie
theater that's been restored to a concert hall. They host
amazing bands on the weekends in various events.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Lots of outdoor dining, very pet frintly.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Oh, that's great. Something that I always like to check
out when I go to someplace that I've not been before,
is I like to try to see local beverages, whether
that be beers or wines or distilleries. What Saint Mary's
look like for that.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So, we have a large number of craft beverage makers
in our county. That's everywhere from wineries, brewers, distillers, coffee roasters, juicers,
and they have an organization called Liquid Assets. They all
work together to promote the craft beverage trade here in
Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And again you can find all this information to visit
Saint Mary's MD dot com. It's visit STMARY'SMD dot com. Liz,
you mentioned earlier the historical significance of Saint Mary's County.
And look, I'm a transplant in Baltimore or in Maryland,
even though I've lived here for about seventeen years now,
I had no idea till this conversation that the original
capital was in Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
And now you know, and I will tell you so
his historic Saint Mary's City. It's a living history museum,
it's a live archaeological site. It is an incredible place
to visit and walk around. You know, they recommend I think,
up to four hours for your visit. There are people
in costumes walking around doing live demonstrations. It's a great
(10:39):
place to bring your family for yourself and walk around
and spend time. And then Saint Clement's Island as well
as piny Point also provide great historical opportunities and they
have museums on site too.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Tell me about live archaeological site, because in my head,
I'm picturing, like, I don't know, like a dig around
an old Mexican pyramid that they found in the woods somewhere.
But Saint Mary's County, I mean, people have lived there
for the last three four hundred years, So tell me
about that.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
So instead of a pyramid, think a Fort, Okay. And
so they are digging and finding artifacts as we speak,
and walls and dwellings, and so they're bringing that back
to life.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Oh that is so cool. Saint Mary's City. It sounds
like the historic Saint Mary's City. Sounds like such a
fascinating thing to visit and to be.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
A part of it is.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
And it's right next to Saint Mary's College of Maryland,
which has a beautiful campus.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I always used to get that confused to Saint Mary's
College of Maryland and Mount Saint Mary's for a while.
I always would get them switched.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Up different schools.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Yes, I know I'm losing so many of my Maryland
points here in this conversation here, and I'm okay with it.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
You haven't lost a point.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yet, Okay. Great underground Railroad. Obviously we know a lot
about the stories of the underground railroad. I guess I
had no idea how much of that went right through
your area too, But it makes sense coming up through Virginia,
they would probably come right through Saint Mary's County.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, we have four sites historic Souderly, the Old Jail
Point Lookout State Park and the Commemorative to the enslaved
people of southern Maryland. That's actually at the college I
just mentioned, And so you know, we have a lot
of material on our website to help guide books through
those sites and understand the stories that went along with them.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
You mentioned Old Jail. That was in my notes here too.
Tell me more about the Old Jail. I just saw
the name Old Jail and I was like, I need
to learn more about what this. Why is it so
cool that it's just called old Jail.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Well, it is indeed an old jail, but because Saint
Mary's County was the original destination in Maryland, it's also
home to Maryland's first police the Sheriff's Office. The Old
Jail is located in Lennartown and is a historical stop
on a walking tour.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Okay, if you're staying there. A lot of museums I'm
finding in your area too, which is really cool. The
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, what's going on there?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum has over twenty aircraft between
its indoor and outdoor exhibits, including a moon Rocks. It
can definitely keep an entire family fascinated for any amount
of time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
You have to spare at the museum.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Based on you telling me this, correct me if I'm wrong.
It sounds like you've been there before.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Oh, I've been there. I love that place.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
What's your favorite thing about it?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
The moon Rock's pretty incredible, But just seeing all of
the aircraft up close.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
These are monster machines.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So getting a chance to get up there, read about them,
understand how they work, why they work, and how they
came to be, it's really interesting.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
And you're a parent, and I imagine I don't know
if you have boys or girls, but I feel like
every kid loves to see big, monstrous machines like that.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Yes, and I'm well, and as a parent, I'm just
always looking for easy indoor options to take my children
if it's rainy or hot, but then also expand, so
you know, I'm always looking boys to entertain my children
on the nights and weekends.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
No, that's it. I get it. Like I've got a
three and a half year old and we were talking
about the B and b's and the walking, you know,
around Leonardtown, and I think that's fascinating for my wife
and I. But here I am picturing, like what are
we going to do with our kid this time, Like,
she's not just going to want to walk around the town.
We got to do something whether and I think you're
you're painting the picture, you're giving us the options. There
are a lot of other things you can do that
can be satisfying for the entire family.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Absolutely, I think it's really important to have options that
are indoor outdoor, that you can go at the drop
of a hat. You don't always need a reservation, that
have flexible hours. I think in terms of trying and
if you're on vacation, if you're visiting here, you know,
we're not always able to plan for the weather. We're
not always able to plan for the time that we have.
(14:33):
So having options that fit any amount of time, any
kind of weather, to build that kind of itinerary for
yourself is really helpful.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I will tell you that, you know, we.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Have every kind of option in our county no matter
how much time you have to spend with us, whether
you're here for a day, a weekend, a week, We'll
find time to fill your time.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Oh it sounds like I'm feeling during this conversation that
Saint Mary's County is a very underutilized resource.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I mean, we utilize it quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
You do, Yeah, no, And I feel bad because I
think up here everybody thinks about when they're going to
go on vacation or go on a trip, they always
go to the Eastern Shore or so I'm sitting here thinking, Mike,
when was the last time one of my friends said
they were going to Saint Mary's County? And I can't
think of it, and that breaks my heart. Like hearing
you tell these stories.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I appreciate you saying that you're so right.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I think, if I were to communicate anything to your listeners,
is that we are a great drive time destination for
the Baltimore, DC metro area because we do have beaches,
we do have parks, we do have indoor and outdoor attractions.
We do have hotel options and b and b's and
short term rentals to fit in a variety of budgets.
(15:38):
You know. I think this is a great place to
bring your family, but also as a couple or even
if you're traveling alone. I think this is a safe
space to bring for travelers to come.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Liz one more time. What's the website that people need
to go to to find the info?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
So if you were looking for any information about visiting
Saint Mary's County, what events are coming up, or you
need help planning your trip, I would go to visit
StMary's MD dot com.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
That's visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I know we talked about the Oyster Festival, but are
there any other events coming up that you just want
to highlight and mention?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Other upcoming events I would mention is Christmas on the.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Square and Lennertown, so again, walkable community, you can park,
never have to leave and get in your car again
until it's time to go home. Our Veterans Day Parade
is very well known. It's really large. It's a great
display of small, small town patriotism. And then also the
Maryland International Raceway's International Hall Tech Race, So again this
(16:37):
brings wards of fifty thousand people to Saint Mary's County
every year. Maryland International Raceway is a drag strip in
our county, very popular. From spring to fall, they are
hosting events almost every single weekend and at the end
of October into November they'll be hosting cars from across
the world. Again, it's an international race, so certainly i'll
highlight this.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
We've mentioned a few times how easy to drive can
be to get to Saint Mary's County. But you're right
on the water, so I imagine there are other options
for people to get to you as well.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, so you can get here a variety of ways.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You can drive in your car, you can take your boat,
or you can get here by air.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
We have a great regional airport.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Do you have a lot of folks that take advantage
of that?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
We do have a number of aircraft that come in
and out of our airport. Yep, Absolutely, that's cool.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I like that. I like that a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
You don't have your on plane?
Speaker 1 (17:22):
No, I don't. I don't. I heart media. Baltimore is
not to get me the plane. Yeah, boiler neither do line. Yeah.
You know, as we're talking, Liz, I'm starting to picture.
I had a friend that got married in Saint Mary's
County and it was unfortunately a wedding that I was
unable to attend, But the pictures afterwards looked remarkable, And
I'm wondering to myself, is Saint Mary's County sort of
(17:42):
a destination for weddings?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
So, because we have so many incredible water views, barns,
historical sites, this creates a picturesque place to get married,
as well as all the lodging options so hotels, short
term rentals, b and b's. So it's a great place
to host a wedding because your guests will have place
to stay and you'll get them great pictures you're looking
for if you're looking for outdoor or indoor wedding venues,
(18:06):
and other thing I would add to that is this
is a great place to host a conference or a
large meeting. We have a number of large conference facilities
in our area and all that information is available on
our website at visit Saint Mary's MD dot com.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
That's wonderful, Liz. It just sounds like anybody who has
been overlooking Saint Mary's County before this conversation needs to
change their mindset and get down there and hang out
for a little bit, because you've got everything that somebody
could need for a nice weekend getaway, a week long
stay to leave the hustle and bustle, whatever it is.
You've got so many options there for not just adults,
but also for the entire fan.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Absolutely, we love it here and people are welcome to visit.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
We'd love to have them.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Lis Mildenstein the executive director of Visit Saint Mary's. Thank
you so much for your time and hopefully our paths
will cross in the near future.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Thank you for this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Big thanks to Liz Mildenstein for her time today. If
you want more information about Saint Mary's County and you
want to start planning your trip, you can find everything
you need at visit Saint Mary's MD dot com. That's
visit St Mary's MD dot com. And big thank you
to all of you for listening as well. Until next time,
be well,
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