Tag: staycation

Airbnb Journey: The two-story condo in Frederick, MD

The next stop on our airbnb journey was a two-story condo in Frederick, Maryland.

I grew up in southern Maryland, so with Frederick being in the northern part of the state, it always seemed like it was SO far away. And I never really had any occasion to go there. So although it is in my home state, this home was still a part of the state I had never been to, so it felt like a new experience for me.

When this host described the two-story condo in Frederick as “serene”, it felt like exactly what we needed. It fit our price point, and though it only had one review at the time, it just felt like it a good move. I truly love quiet…and “serene” is basically “quiet 2.0”, right?? Plus it had three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, modern fixtures, a workspace…everything about it felt right.

Well…lol…

Let me start by saying, the home was exactly as described from a visual standpoint. The rooms were identical to the pictures, if not better. The community was fairly new and very picturesque. Parking and check-in were both simple. It felt like the perfect place to call home for the next month. We unpacked the car, sat down to catch our breath, and literally the moment we started chillaxing, we heard it.

It was definitely the sound of footsteps and tumbling in the unit above. The way the home was set up was that our unit had the bottom two levels, and then there was another two-story unit stacked on top of ours. So…ok, if the unit is described as serene…aka quiet 2.0…then clearly this was the sound of a visitor’s child, right??? It had to be a total anomaly. Nobody would describe their home as “serene” if there are children ripping and running upstairs….RIGHT!?!?!

Well…1am came along and the running and tumbling was still happening. 2am. 3am. WHAT. ON. EARTH.!?!?!?!?! They definitely must have some family staying with them for the weekend, RIGHT!?!?!?!

Next morning, running.

Evening, running.

Night, running.

Middle of the night, running.

OH. MY. GOD.!!!! What in the actual eff is going on!?!?!? So I sent a note to the host. The host told me that was not the norm, and assured me that he would speak to the homeowner. OK, so that’s that. RIGHT!?!

Only it wasn’t. Next night, running, tumbling, jumping….through the day, and also at night. I remember waking up at 3am and still heard it. For a quiet person with no kids, this was an absolute nightmare. We were on day 3 or our 30-day stay, and I already felt like crying! I don’t have kids and I know I’m not one for parenting advice but…this is ridiculous!!! I’ve lived in townhomes before, I’ve lived in apartments before…this was some next level ish! It felt like I was living below a gymnastics studio that doubled as a bowling alley! WHO LIVES LIKE THIS!?

Well, I’ll spare you the details. It did calm down for a day or so, but ultimately wound up being an every day and every night thing for the duration of the stay. Some days were better than others, but this was an overall theme for the stay in this home. I wound up running into the tenant who told me that their child has some issues (no apologies, no offers to do better…more like just deal with it), and while that is so incredibly unfortunate, it totally impacted my stay.

But let’s move on to the things I did like about my stay, which I tried so hard to use to offset the upstairs chaos.

The Community. The airbnb itself was in a newer suburb. It was well-manicured and well taken care of. The location was fairly convenient to the grocery stores, there wasn’t a ton of fast ridiculous traffic, and everyone that we passed on our near-daily walks was always super duper nice! We were in a really heightened climate as a nation during that time, and personally I had a lot of issues with just feeling physically and mentally safe for many reasons. But I was put at ease when we took our walks around the neighborhood. I loved that people would speak to us, offer a smile, and even maybe make a funny comment about the weather or something… instead of just maneuver as far away from us on the sidewalk as possible when they passed by. So this, I loved.

Frederick is a bedroom community of both DC and Baltimore, so while a lot of people commute to those cities to work, Frederick has culture all its own. It is located where the Catoctin Mountains meet the Piedmont Mountains, so very crisp air and gorgeous mountain views even when you’re just driving to the craft store. And definitely a great escape from the pace of a major city. There were tons of farms and open space, there was suburbia and shopping centers, and then there was also the downtown historic area which was a short drive away and full of entertainment. And one of the best parts of the city is Carrol Creek, which is a mile-long riverwalk area that has restaurants, shops, an art museum, seating, a distillery, ducks…just a really cool spot for hanging in the city on a nice day.

The Wineries. And then there were the vineyards tucked away in the mountains. I have always been a lover of wineries. I typically hate crowded spaces, so with the pandemic, there was even more reason to find activities that were naturally socially distant. Wineries totally fit that bill. On several occasions, we would pick one of the several local wineries and trek out for a day of wine tasting, gorgeous views, and fresh air. There were so many to choose from on the Frederick Wine Trail. We visited four wineries (a couple of them more than once), and each winery was so unique and peaceful. We even had a couple of guests come visit, and we took them to the wineries as well. If you don’t stay in Frederick for any other reason, definitely go for the vineyards!

Decisions, Decisions… The timing of our trip prevented us from doing some things. We were still in the middle stages of the pandemic. We personally were only opting for outside dining. And a lot of places were still grappling with covid protocols and reduced business hours. It was also still cold-ish (it was March at the time) so that also impacted how long we wanted to endure outdoor activities. While we did a lot of walking around and standing outside, there were things we totally passed on because it didn’t line up with our social distance preferences.

Towards the end of our stay, we had a decision to make. Knowing that the world was starting to open up a little more, and realizing that there was more to see and do in Frederick now that temperatures were warming up, we decided to stay another month at this home. It was a hard decision because the rowdy neighbor made being in the home very difficult, but we knew there was more that we wanted to see and do…and aside from the neighbor, we really liked the space, the area, and price point for the home.

Overall. We thoroughly loved the condo in Frederick, and if not for a crappy neighbor, this home would have definitely been an excellent and serene stay. But because of our visit, we have now added Frederick, MD to our list of possible places to settle down once we get called back into the office. I never would have even considered Frederick before staying there but feel like it’s the place to beat at this point!

It’s so unfortunate that we had the issues that we had in this home, because otherwise we truly loved the space. We would definitely airbb again in Frederick, MD and highly recommend the area if you’re considering a trip there for any reason.

Have you been to Frederick, MD? Have you stayed in an airbnb that was a great space with one or two exceptions? If so, how did that impact your overall feeling about the home?

justamarylandgirl2 Comments

My DC Staycation

DC trip 2 (4)I love a local getaway, or as some call it, a staycation.  I’m the queen of renting a hotel room, and acting like I’m on a legit vacation, regardless of whether I caught a plane or took a 20 minute car ride to get there.  Mentally escaping my day-to-day routine does not necessarily require taking leave from work or taking a flight.  So for Valentine’s day, my boyfriend and I decided to do an over-nighter in DC this past weekend.

I worked in DC for over 20 years, but that feels like a million years ago.  I’m no longer working in the nation’s capital, and now that I’m co-habitating, I live over an hour away from the city.  So going back to DC felt like a chance to revisit my old stomping grounds and it was also an opportunity to see what’s new since I was last there.

I don’t like to rip and run on vacation…or staycation.  My requirements for a trip or a staycation to be successful are pretty easily attainable.  I like to find a nice bar and a place to listen to music, I like a few nice photo opps, and maybe a cute store to buy a trinket.  If I can do those things, that’s a staycation well-done, in my world at least.

Staying one night in DC is hardly enough time to explore all of the new areas, such as the Wharf or Center City.  It really didn’t give us time to visit monuments or check out museums.  So what the heck did we do???

So here’s what I did.  I reserved a cute hotel for a rate that I thought was reasonable, packed my bags, and showed up there.  That’s about all the up-front planning that I did.  My thought was…there are bars and restaurants and cool spots throughout the whole city.  Once I get to the hotel, we can walk a few blocks and see what pulls us in.  Did that idea work?  Sorta.  Here’s how the overnighter played out.

Arrived at hotel:  Traffic from Baltimore County into DC made me realize that I don’t miss working in the city.  I chose the Kimpton Hotel Rouge in Dupont.  Kimpton hotels are always nice, and this one had saucy red lacquer and leather decor that felt very Valentine-y.  So I was super excited.  The rate was ok ($128), but there were so many additional fees that it irked me.  $19 taxes, $25 amenity fee, and $4 amenity fee tax…even the fees have their own taxes…what???  I was also concerned about the parking.  The hotel offered valet for $47—UGH! —plus $9 parking tax (are you kidding me!?!).  There were no garages in the near vicinity that proved to be a better deal.  And the only thing worse than DC street parking is DC street parking overnight.  The confusing signage just made my nerves bad.  So we opted for the valet.  This worked well convenience-wise,  but the price was steep and the tax on the steep price was just irritating.  This is definitely one part of being in the city that I do not miss at all.

Found a great restaurant:  After eenie-meenie-miney-moe to figure out which direction to head…we opted to walk towards Dupont Circle in search of a place for lunch.  After reading a few menus, we decided on a place called Magnolia Kitchen & Bar.  Affordable prices, a nice drink menu, and chic decor appealed to all of our senses.  Add an attentive staff, a perfect playlist and great food, and we loved this place.  I even pulled the manager aside and told him as much.

Stumbled into a beer garden:  OK, this was a complete accident.  While walking back to the hotel, I had to use the bathroom super, super bad.  I saw a bouncer and an open door and decided this was a good place to find a restroom.  We hiked a million stairs to the roof and found the PACKED Sauf Haus Bier Hall, where we were pretty certain we were the oldest people in the place.  After standing in line at the bathroom, we actually decided to stay for a drink.  Despite the fact that I HATE packed places and that it felt like I was at a frat house day party, we actually had a blast.  One drink transitioned into a dance…and then another drink and more dancing.  The dj was clearly more our age because I swear every song took me back to either high school or college.

Had free happy hour at the hotel:  We pulled ourselves out of the beer hall and headed back to the hotel for their free happy hour.  The selection wasn’t extensive, but we enjoyed a few glasses of free wine, and that was perfect for us.  They also had a hot cider with bourbon.  What more can you ask for for free??

Went to U Street for live music and dinner:  This is where the decision to wing it fell apart.  My coworker recommended Jojo DC, and raved about the food and live music, so this was one place I knew I would try on our trip.  And this was the one thing that didn’t quite pan out.  It didn’t occur to me to make a reservation, and since we went relatively early in the evening, I figured we’d have no issues with getting a table.  WRONG…so wrong.  It was standing room only at the bar, and none of the smart people who made reservations flaked.  So we never got a table and eventually left.

Had brunch before we left:  We did quite a bit of drinking on Saturday, so naturally the first thing on our minds on Sunday was food.  We decided to go to Commissary DC, which was only a few blocks away.  But I learned from my lesson the previous night, and this time I called to make a brunch reservation.  Good thing, because it was packed when we got there, and there was a long wait without a reservation.  The food was delicious!  The staff worked as a perfect team, and the ambiance was perfect and eclectic.

Even with the things that didn’t pan out, we had a great time.  Lots of laughs and dancing and snuggles…it made for a great V-day date and we’d probably do it the exact same way the next time.

tata for now -m- (2)

justamarylandgirl