The Beach: So, you thought that you needed drive three hours to Delaware to visit a charming beach town with clean lifeguard protected beaches? Think again! We all know about that big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue, but I bet you didn't know that if you drove east on Pennsylvania Avenue for about 40 miles, you would reach one of the area's best kept beach secrets? Located about 20 minutes south of Upper Marlboro in historic Calvert County, MD is a sleepy beach resort that time seems to have forgotten. North Beach is a perfect getaway for those who want to squeeze in some sun, sand and swimming before afternoon nap time!

North Beach, and her big sister Chesapeake beach, were hot spots for summer time sun seekers from both Washington and Baltimore up until the 1950's. In 1952, the 1st Bay Bridge was completed making travel to Ocean City and the Delaware beaches more practical and making North Beach less of an attraction. What remains in North Beach today are former summer homes that have been converted into quaint year round residences. The town itself is a sleepy one with only a few shops and restaurants and a small grocery store.

The big attraction is a well maintained public park with free parking, a public beach with lifeguard, a boardwalk and a fishing pier. The beach itself is a man made one with literally tons of clean soft sand trucked in every year. The public beach area is rather small, so plan on getting there early to stake out a nice large family plot! Be sure to bring some cash as there is a fee to enter the park where you will find clean restrooms and a large public fishing pier. There is a small grocery store directly across from the beach, and there are a few local restaurants, but plan on packing a picnic lunch. For an authentic Maryland experience, pack a lunch of fried chicken and use the leftover chicken bones and some string to crab off of the fishing pier. For most kids, the fun will be in catching the crabs, watching them scurry about the pier and then returning them to the bay and watching them swim away. For the more adventurous, the Chesapeake Beach Water Park is five minutes down the road and is complete with eight water slides and a lazy river ride.