Cumberland Part 2: on trails and rails

After a relaxing night of lounging and snoozing at the just-swanky-enough Fairfield Inn, the boys and I awoke refreshed and ready for our continuing Cumberland Quest. But for our critical first order of business, we journeyed all the way down to the lobby...to pillage and plunder the Breakfast Bar. If that sounds a mite overly-exaggerated to describe the typical, low-key first meal of the day, then you've clearly never witnessed Derek the Devourer, decimating a free all-you-can-eat spread. Granted, this was the most varied and generous complimentary breakfast we've personally ever encountered, but here's what my 11-year old tucked away: one bagel with butter, one Belgian waffle, eggs, sausage, bacon, an apple, juice, and chocolate milk. (Riley chowed down slightly less than that...I was just thrilled they had fresh, hot coffee with real cream!) Thus fortified for our day, we stepped outside to stretch our legs and enjoy the coolish morning air. When arriving the night before, we had been pleased and surprised to notice that the hotel overlooked both the C&O Canal (with its parallel dirt-packed Towpath) and also the Allegheny Trail (a smooth, lightly-graveled former railway line, converted for walker/biker use); in other words, we had a number of delightful options for a morning stroll, immediately outside our door! With full stomachs, we chose to do a gentle walk along the Allegheny, waving to others who passed us on sneakers or wheels as we ambled along.

Then it was "All Aboard" to ride the rails, on an old-fashioned train pulled by Steam Engine #734. Even though I was recording the moment with my digital camera, watching the thick black smoke billowing up into the sky, and the uniformed Conductor taking our tickets, I felt like I should be carrying a parasol and wearing a hoop skirt for this excursion. (And what did my ultra-modern little voyagers comment on? They were outraged by the environmentally-harmful pollution produced by the coal-burning engine. Okay, so all of my Save-the-Earth preaching has sunk in...I promised them we'd pledge a Carbon Offset Donation when we got home to make up for it. Sigh.) Our journey spanned 16 uphill miles (encompassing a 1,300 foot elevation change) of mountainous country between Cumberland and Frostburg, on winding track, over elevated bridges, and through one tunnel. At times you could practically reach out and touch the rocky cliffs--which presumably had been blasted away when laying the track--lining the route. We passed a few small towns along the way, chugged over some highway crossings, and cruised very near several neighborhoods that lay close to the line. You could walk around your compartment or even between cars whenever the mood took you, so we left our seats several times to stand in one of the open areas and look out the sides or back of the train for a while. It was altogether super-cool (as long as you remembered to keep your head in, to avoid the blowing cinders)!

When we steamed into Frostburg, we had a one-and-a-half hour "layover" to explore the small-town environs and find a midday meal. A stranger--seemingly a Local--spotted us peering about aimlessly and recommended his favorite hometown eatery, the Princess Restaurant. I can tell you, we would have walked right past it on our own, as it boasts nothing to admire from the outside. But when you enter, you find yourself stepping backwards in time into a diner-like joint: wooden booths equipped with mini-jukeboxes, soda-fountain-counter running the length of the room, open grill in plain sight where you can watch the cook slinging burgers...oh, and cheap, tasty, hot food as well...awesome! After the lunch interlude, it was downhill (I mean that in the literal, topographical sense, not in terms of our appreciation) back to Cumberland for the end of our odyssey. All that remained was for us to reclaim our car and return home to tell Husband the stories. We had such a good time, particularly with the assortment of hiking alternatives available to us, only some of which we were able to take advantage of on this trip, that we're already planning to go back to Cumberland as a family in the Fall to soak up crisper temperatures and colorful foliage...and of course fine dining! (Hmm, do you think the Western Maryland Tourist Board would hire me on as a PR Specialist? I'll write glowing reports if they put us up at the Fairfield Inn and feed my family!)