Our Stay in Frederick, MD

Maryland

Nov - Dec, 2025

Our Frederick Metal-on-Metal Arrival!

After settling into our Airbnb in Frederick, we went out for a quick grocery run. Everything was fine until we were driving back when the car suddenly started making a scary, metal-on-metal scraping noise. Definitely not something we wanted to hear! We pulled over to check under the hood and the chassis, but there was nothing we could fix right then. Since we were less than a mile from our Airbnb, we chose not to call AAA and carefully drove the car back ourselves. The silver lining was that there was a Mitsubishi dealer right in town, and it wasn’t far away. Luckily, they could take the car in for inspection and repairs the very next day.

The next day, the garage fixed the car. We were happy with the result, but the bill wasn’t exactly a pleasant surprise! However, since we’d owned the car for about seven years, this was actually our first repair. After such a long run of reliability, it seemed like it was time to pay the old-car tax. At least we were back on the road and could enjoy the rest of our time in Frederick and the surrounding areas without worry.

Miles Apart, Trotting Together

We kicked off Thanksgiving with our own DIY Turkey Trot to support our daughter-in-law, who was running her race back in her hometown! We both started at exactly 8:00 AM.

Coincidentally, there was an official race happening at the park in Frederick at the same time, so to avoid the crowds, we headed the opposite way along the riverwalk. It was a beautiful, chilly run full of fun. Hopefully, next year we can all run together in person instead of virtually!

The next day, I naturally headed out for some Black Friday shopping! I spent most of the day at several of Frederick’s stores, walking away with some incredible steals, and adding some extra miles to my legs.

A Dutch Silhouette in Frederick?

I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures of downtown Frederick yet. Since we were leaving the next day, this late afternoon was my last chance to capture some of the city’s highlights.

We began at the historic Mount Olivet Cemetery to see the monument of Francis Scott Key, the author of the National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” From there, we headed toward the city center and Baker Park to see the Joseph Dill Baker Carillon again. Its silhouette reminded me a little of the Utrecht Domtoren. We ended our tour by walking through the Christmas-decorated downtown and along Carroll Creek Park, where the stunning “Sailing Through the Winter Solstice” display was brightly glowing in the dark.

A 4-Mile Run as Goodbye

Thanks to a late checkout, I went for one last 4-mile jog along Carroll Creek, this time following it in the opposite direction of our Turkey Trot route. I was back, showered, and ready to continue our travels perfectly on time, so we drove off for our next destination, King George, VA, just after noon.