Vacation Before Your Vacation
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BWI’s Park n’ Fly options encourage explorations and family fun
By Susan Able | Photography by Jennifer Chase | Sponsored by Experience BWI
The rolling Maryland land around the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) Region, once the province of farmers and commercial nurseries, is still anchored by small towns and their byways as suburban growth carves through it all. There still is a sense of place here and interesting options for entertainment and dining for its visitors. One way to have a win-win-win opportunity to explore is to plan a trip out of BWI and then opt for one of many adjacent hotel Park n’ Fly packages (www.ExperienceBwi.com/deals), spending one night at the hotel, then parking for free for a week, letting the hotel shuttle you to and from the airport.
Why not arrive early at a BWI Region hotel, forget fighting the traffic from anywhere in the DMV, give up on jamming your family in a car at 4:00 a.m. and instead be driven to your gate? And build in time to explore and relax?
The obvious draw for adults and families in the airport region and its hotel zone is the nearby Maryland Live! Casino and Arundel Mills, with all its attendant offerings, restaurants from fast food to fast casual, fine dining, shopping and a large, Egyptian-themed multiplex movie theater. There’s enough there to entertain almost anyone, but for the adventurous and curious, open the aperture and spend some time looking around.
The Sporting Life & Plane Spotting
Finding yourself BWI adjacent, let’s start with fun options right at the airport. If you are coming in and want to experience flight up close and personal, try “plane spotting” at the Thomas A. Dixon Jr. Aircraft Observation Area, a small park with a nice playground and a very close view of landing planes. You’ll see other plane spotters, families and lots of walkers, runners and cyclists. The park serves as a great launching spot for exercise since it sits adjacent to the BWI Trail loops. One trail circles the airport, about 12.5 miles. And a longer trail that follows the old B&O rail can take you down and back to Annapolis, about 26 miles. So if biking is your passion, throw your bike in the car and plan a biking day before or after your trip. If you want to do the airport loop, BWI has Zagster bikes for rent at the airport outside the international terminal. There are 10 self-serve bikes available for $2 an hour. (Riders can reserve and rent online at bike.zagster.com/bwi)
Inside the airport, The Observation Gallery allows more plane spotting before security between checkpoint B and C. Elevate to the second level for exhibits, to relax and watch planes take off and land. There are places for children to play and a new wall mural photo that shows the cockpit of a plane from the pilot’s view when landing on runway 33L at BWI. Contemplate that with a drink from the Sky Azure bar, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., keep the kids hydrated with club sodas with a splash of cranberry and make yours an adult one with the addition of, well, you know, something. (www.bwiairport.com/at-bwi/places-to-go/observation-gallery)
Still at the airport, keep up your daily steps with the BWI Cardio Trails. These are two marked indoor trails in the airport terminal, one inside secured space, one outside. The trails were put in place to encourage passengers and employees to walk while in the airport. Feeling like a more intense workout? Beyond security, try BWI’s new-ish Roam Fitness, a 1,200-square-foot gym that requires a day pass purchase of $25, but can include lululemon clothes to use and Brooks running shoes, but you gotta bring your own socks. Showers are spa-like with premium soaps and such that will give you that fresh feeling as you start your journey.
If you want to kick off a vacation trip with a real bang, on a weekend day rev up a go-kart at United Karting (unitedkarting.com). An outdoor facility just minutes from the airport, this group earns high marks for service and a great experience, especially for first time go-karters who can rent “Bambino” carts from as young as ages 5–7.
Golfers? Feel like loosening up that swing before hopping on a plane? A popular-with-locals driving range, Arundel Golf Park (arundelgolfpark.com), is close by. Heated and lighted, it’s open for year-round play and a bucket of balls will set you back $9; they have loaner clubs. There is also a putting green and 18-hole mini golf course too.
The Family Plan
Parents have plenty to love in the BWI Region, not only outdoor options, but indoor ones too.
Are you a person who sighs when the Ren Faire closes? Keep that spirit alive and your family entertained with an evening of revelry with a pre-vacation sendoff at the Medieval Times, where life is a party rocked on by knights, jousting and birthday cake. The “Baltimore Castle” location in Arundel Mills is a dinner theater where participants are seated around a jousting and entertainment stage. Tickets include a four-course meal with vegetarian options, some beverages and alcoholic drinks are extra. But the real excitement is for the two-hour show that features real horses and falconry, as well as competition between six knights.
Not immediately obvious as a family outing, but yet perfect for one, is the Guinness Open Gate Brewery. An already wildly popular destination, it’s the first U.S. outpost of the iconic Irish stout, but also serves as an experimental brewery for the company. Located just a few miles north of the airport, the brewery is on the site of the former Calvert Distillery and has ample protected outdoor areas for children to run and roam to their hearts content, while adults can sample different beers and ales in flights or single pours in the beer garden or taproom. Speaking of on tap, there are four MD-made classic brews, and four from Ireland; make sure and sample some MD-made experimental brews, also on tap. The pub food is good and hearty, and the 1817, a restaurant named after the first year that Guinness was shipped to the U.S., features finer versions of Irish pub food and Chesapeake Bay seafoods. Visitors can also reserve tours and check out the Guinness-brand store.
About 3.5 miles from the airport in the hamlet of Ferndale, Willy’s (willyskitchenandcatering.com) family-friendly diner awaits serving up honest versions of really good classics made with locally sourced and sustainably-produced ingredients, think South Mountain Creamery and local grass-fed beef and naturally raised chickens. Willy’s is locally owned by Nicki Hubers-Hall and named after her grandfather, a longtime local resident. Their menus have something for everyone, but they are well-known for their chicken sandwiches and one-level-up takes on diner food, including the burger and the breakfasts, which are great. The children’s menu offers up things they will surely love, from chicken nuggets to PBJs, while parents can enjoy a big salad, burgers or their beloved chicken and waffles.
Getting Local with Dining Choices
Venture beyond your hotel and the glittering siren call of the Maryland Live lineup, and stay awake for G&M. Guests of the nearby BWI hotels were seen being dropped off by hotel shuttles when we arrived on a Monday night at 6 p.m. to find a line. You see, G&M’s star shines brightly in the MD crab cake firmament, with many locals who say it is the best. Clearly the customers in line agree, and we do too. The Baltimore Sun recently did a roundup of the region’s best and said of G&M cakes, “We loved the texture of this crab cake ($24 for an 8 oz. crab cake with two sides), which boasted a gorgeously crispy exterior and perfectly moist interior with huge chunks of jumbo lump crab.”
An old-school experience with prices to match, G&M is like a flashback—well, maybe to 1993, when the current owners took over. Steaks, cocktails, an equally famous bakery with sky-high cakes, G&M is a popular place. It’s well known on the path for those coming and going from BWI; our dining neighbors had just landed and driven straight over for crab cakes before going home. Luckily G&M offers seafood and crab cakes purchased online and shipped through overnight mail order to customers in all 50 states.
Hmmn. In the mood for something, and then the creeping feeling that you have a craving for crepes coming on? Just head to Irena’s Crepes Café in Glen Burnie. Irina Graco and Pavel Semenyuk, mother-and-son owners, make sweet and savory crepes fresh daily from recipes drawn from their Russian traditions, many times from hand-picked ingredients. They also make waffles and, yay, offer gluten-free varieties of both.
Le Side Trips Unique
By now you’re on a trip that allows exploration of the BWI Region, but wait, we’ve got a couple of interesting stops to make that will certainly make you the best dinner party conversationalist this winter, as well as entertain the children if you have them along.
There is an actual spy museum at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, about 10 miles or a 20-minute ride from BWI. The National Cryptologic Museum (nsa.gov/about/cryptologic-heritage/museum)
has been open since 1993; there are dozens of exhibits and artifacts on display with cypher and coding history from colonial America, the Civil War, WWI and II, through the Cold War and Vietnam. There are special displays for women and African American achievements in cryptology. A quirky but endearing inclusion is an exhibit of hobo language or “folk coding,” the secret language of veterans and homeless men who once traveled from town to town on the railroads or walking, seeking odd jobs, working for food or pay. It makes for an interesting morning or afternoon.
And near the airport, make another stop for the unexpected. A small and quirky-cool museum is tucked here, the National Electronics Museum (nationalelectronicsmuseum.org), started by employees from Westinghouse. Expect to spend about an hour and a half using the self-guided tour and getting involved with the exhibits, permanent and new. The staff are friendly and helpful, and there are many hands-on interactive exhibits that will be of interest for kids, so it’s a great place to bring them for both fun and learning. A refreshing change from the area’s mega-museums and crowds, it’s well worth making time for.
Experience the BWI Region of Maryland, located minutes from Baltimore, Annapolis, and D.C. Whether you're in the area for business or pleasure, or simply looking to get away with the family, the BWI Region has everything you need. Find hotels, things to do, entertainment and dining options, group space for functions, and so much more - all minutes from the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
