A WEEKEND IN CUMBERLAND

My LoVe AfFaIr with Cumberland continues...

CLICK ON THE VIDEOS AT THE BOTTOM!

Over the weekend, Ben and I travelled to Cumberland to mingle with the IN crowd at a soiree thrown by my friends, Kelly Moran and Pam Reynolds (you can read about Pam HERE, in the Hill Rag.) I have come to really enjoy these trips west. If you haven't been, Cumberland is *an historic town nestled in the mountains of Western Maryland. It is filled with historic homes and a CHARMING down town with cool shops and great places to eat. It is about 2 hours from the District. But Frederick residents? You've got it even better, only about an hour and 15 minutes.


We kicked our heels up at the Bruce House Inn. The proprietor, Pam, moved from LA last year and decided, after one trip, that

Cumberland was right where she wanted to be.

She completely renovated this historic building that was once a boys Catholic school and turned it into a charming B & B. Our room was the "monks room" where, obviously, the monks used to live. The Bruce House Inn is an easy walk to the pedestrian-friendly Baltimore Street.

I ran into a favorite, Ed Mullaney, the Downtown Manager. Ed's a hoot and reminds me of a character right out of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" - in love with his charming city.

One fashionista I had my eye on was Gracie Macy. Turns out, she's the owner of Monkey Business, one of the HIp boutiques you can drop a mini fortune in, looking for fab finds from NY to LA. The next time I'm in town, I'll be strolling over to Monkey Business to see if she really *does* carry fashions larger than size 2 OR if it's just MONKEY BUSINESS!



Saturday night we checked out Cumberland's newest and only cigar and billiards establishment, RED'S. Ben was kicking himself for leaving his darts at home. So, he and his buddy, Steve, had to duke it out for Dart Supremacy with the house set. Red, as I got to see in person, is the owner and indeed has red hair (he was tall, too!)



We capped our weekend off with an ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT brunch at the Rocky Gap Lodge. I was spotted by Joseph Erwin and his wife Nancy. They live up in Needmore, PA. Nancy, GET THIS, commutes to Arlington! It *does* help that she has kids with a place in Montgomery county where she can crash. Phew...Hey Joe, next time you see me piling on the all-you-can-eat-shrimp, say "hi" to me in person!

Thanks Cumberland -- LOVE YOU!

* WHAT'S UP WITH PEOPLE WRITING "A HISTORIC" INSTEAD OF
"AN HISTORIC"? DOESN'T "AN HISTORIC" FLOW BETTER?