Delightful Destinations

I don’t know about all of you, but this is my favorite time of year.  It’s officially football season.  Both the professional and collegiate seasons are underway and I’m addicted.  My fantasy team could use some help, otherwise I’m a ver happy football fan.  With that season underway, I thought it was a perfect time to talk about Alabama.  No, not the school or its football team.  The state.

On this week’s episode of Delightful Destinations I’m speaking with Brooklyn Lundy.  She’s a PR manager for the Alabama Tourism Department.  Brooklyn is a born and raised Alabamian.  Is that what we call them?  Alabamian?  Or is it Alabamans?  Either way.  Brooklyn knows her stuff and she’s great at painting these beautiful pictures of the small southern towns, the white sand beaches and history that Alabama has to offer.

I went into this conversation known next to nothing about Alabama and I left with a whole new appreciation for the state’s beauty.  Hopefully my travels will bring me down that way at some point in the near future.  Please enjoy my conversation with Brooklyn Lundy.

Today I’m learning more about Indiana. To be honest, the most I know about Indiana is that the NFL Combine is in Indianapolis, Peyton Manning is second to Tom Brady in everything and I feel well-versed in the fictional town of Pawnee Indiana from Parks and Rec. 

It was really nice learning more about this state through my conversation with Justus O’Neil, the public relations and social media officer for Indiana Destination Development Corporation.
Indiana has so many great things to offer.  More than I had any idea.  And it sounds like it’s perfect for a visit this fall. 

If you want to know more about Indiana the best place to go is the website visitindiana.com.  I hope you enjoy my conversation with Justus O’Neil.

I think it’s time we head back over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  There’s this term, ‘Fly Over States.’  That term represents the states in the middle of the country that people fly over when they’re on their way to somewhere else.  Places like Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, you get the idea.  For me, there is a similar thing here in Maryland.  I call them drive through counties.  These are the areas you drive through to get to your destination.  When I think about it, I’ve been to most counties in this state. But I haven’t really stopped to check them out.  I’ve just been on my own little mission.

This week’s show is about one of those drive through counties.  I’m speaking with Cassandra Vanhooser.  She’s the director of economic development and tourism for Talbot county.  Talbot County is a beautiful area on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  There’s water, tons of outdoor recreation, a big arts community and so much more.  But so many people just drive through it on their way to Ocean City, or down further south.
  
Cassandra is here to tell us more about the wonders of Talbot County and why you should take some time to explore the area.

In the first 6 episodes of this podcast I’ve taken you on trips to different counties in Maryland and Virginia, and we made a stop in New Jersey.  This week I thought we’d check out one of the premiere amusement parks in the country.  Let’s visit Dutch Wonderland.

I’ll admit that I’ve lived in the mid-atlantic now for about 25 years and up until last year I had never been to Dutch Wonderland. The jewel of Lancaster Pennsylvania sits on some 48 acres.  It was opened back in 1963 with the theme being a KINGDOM FOR KIDS.

I think that’s why I hadn’t gone before.  I had been told that it is largely designed for families and children.  While it took me becoming a dad to finally make my first trip to Dutch Wonderland I’m so glad I finally made it.  The place is great.  I genuinely felt like I was in a safe space with my daughter.  There’s something special about being in a place with a lot of other parents and kids.  It’s like everyone was looking out for one another.

My daughter had an absolute blast, and even though she was only 2 ½ at the time, she still got to ride so many different rides.  We’re looking forward to going back again this summer.  

On today’s episode of Delightful Destinations I’m speaking with Dutch Wonderland marketing director Courtney Burkarth.  She’ll give us all the scoop about the best attractions, where you can stay when you come visit and other things to take advantage of.

This week let’s take a trip to wine country.  No, not that wine country.  We’re going to Loudoun County Virginia, otherwise known as Washington DC’s wine country.  

I’m not sure where you live or where you’re listening from.  I live in Baltimore Maryland. Every Fall season it feels like so many people in my social media feed take the same trip.  I start seeing groups of people, largely women, all dressed in their flannels, vests and boots, making their way to wineries in Virginia.  They’re all going to Loudoun County.  There’s something like 50 wineries in the county.  It rivals Napa and other wine destinations in the country.  And the wine is good.  I’ve tasted some at wine festivals.  I’m serious. It’s good stuff.  

But Loudoun County isn’t all about wine.  It also has breweries, beautiful bed and breakfasts, small town shopping and so many other beautiful opportunities.  I’ll tell ya, after this conversation my wife and I immediately started planning our trip to go this fall.  I can’t wait to see it in person.

Joining me this week on Delightful Destinations is Beth Erickson, the president and CEO of Visit Loudoun.

Through my first 4 episodes of this show I’ve spoken with representatives from different counties or parks.  So I thought I’d step up my game for the 5th episode and go for a whole state.  This week I’m speaking with Jeff Vasser.  He's the executive director of the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism.

That’s right.  We’re heading to New Jersey.  I’ve always thought this state gets a bad rap.  It’s easy to make New Jersey the butt of a joke.  Lord knows I’ve done it.  But New Jersey has so many beautiful aspects to it.  It’s so much more than just the turnpike, or the Jersey Shore.  You can do everything in New Jersey.  I can honestly say that I’ve always had a good time when traveling to the state.  Not always on the roads necessarily, but always when I’ve made it to my destination.  

New Jersey has a long and beautiful coastline filled with small towns to bigger resort areas.  There’s boardwalks and incredible dining mixed in with mom and pop style shops.  Outside of the shore you’ve got skiing in the northwestern portion of the state.  You have countless breweries or wineries.  The entertainment is incredible with music venues and new spots like American Dream.  That’s the huge mall up by the Meadowlands.  I hope you enjoy and are inspired by my conversation with Jeff Vasser.

This week’s episode was fun for me.  Not only did we talk about an area near where I live that I love.  I also got to speak with someone that I’ve known for a long time.

On this episode of Delightful Destinations, we are talking about Harford County Maryland.  And I’m speaking with Tyler Zeisloft.  He's the marketing and communications Coordinator for Visit Harford.  Some of you listening may know him better as Tyler Daniel from his time on the radio for the country station WXCY based out of Havre De Grace Maryland. So it was great to catch up with him in his new endeavor promoting the beauty of Harford Country.

For a lot of people in the Baltimore area Harford County is the place you drive through as you’re going north up to Philadelphia.  But there’s so much in Harford County.  From hiking and other outdoor activities to coastline along the Bay and Susquehanna River and a very rich history that goes back to the earliest years of this country, Harford County has it all.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Tyler Zeisloft.

For more info about Harford County, please check out visitharford.com

In my first two episodes of this show I spoke with people representing counties in maryland.  This week I’m heading south to Virginia.  We’re going to take a trip to the Shenandoah National Park.  Shenandoah is located about 90 minutes west south west of Washington DC.  It’s this incredible expanse of forest, hiking, fishing, camping, and beautiful views from skyline drive.

Today I’m speaking with Jessica Cocciolone. She’s the executive director for the Shenandoah National Park Trust, the philanthropic arm of the national park.  Jessica and her team work tirelessly to raise funds to protect, preserve, and enhance the resources of Shenandoah National Park for everyone today and for years to come.

The options at Shenandoah are nearly unlimited.  I’ve never been, but it’s definitely on my list now after speaking with Jessica.  She really sold me on it.  I hope you enjoy our conversation about Shenandoah National Park.

Here in Maryland all of us western shore folks love a good trip across the Bay bridge to head down the ocean.  Ocean City Maryland is one of the hottest vacation spots in the region, and often comes up as one of the top beaches in America.  There’s something for everyone along our coastline from Ocean City up into Delaware.  But, Ocean City is part of a larger county that has so much to offer.

Today I’m speaking with Brianna Dix.  She's the advertising and destination marketing specialist for Worcester County Maryland.  My goal with this conversation today is to highlight some of the beautiful and fun experiences people can have all around Worcester County, and show that there's so much more there besides the coastline.

Brianna and I talk about some upcoming events this summer, like the Peach Festival and the Great Pocomoke Fair.  We also discuss other opportunities in Worcester County like the shopping, golfing, breweries and more.

If you want more information about Worcester county and these events we discuss you can find it all at visitmarylandscoast.org.  Please enjoy my conversation with Brianna Dix.

Welcome to Delightful Destinations.  For our first episode I'm speaking with Shalyn Boulden.  She's the tourism manager for Kent County, MD.  Shalyn is a born and raised Kent County resident.  She's spent her whole life there and knows all the ins and outs of the best things for visitors to know.

We discuss some of the highlights of the county as a whole, and what people love about it.  We also dive into some of the big upcoming events for Kent County, including July 4th celebrations, the Chestertown Tea Party Festival and more!

For more information about upcoming events in Kent County, please visit kentcounty.com

For more about host Jeff St. Pierre, you can follow him at instagram.com/stpierreonair