City: Ellicott City, MD

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (410) 465-1500, (888) 833-8873

Address: 2700 Turf Valley Rd.

Description: Turf Valley may be the only “resort” in the Baltimore area. It’s about 30 miles from downtown and has two 18-hole golf courses, Har-Tru tennis courts, fitness center, spa, two restaurants, a lounge, indoor and outdoor pools, 171 hotel rooms and suites, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, and a bunch of one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas for extended visits. Turf Valley offers a wide range of special events from a night of entertainment by the Fabulous Hubcaps to hot air balloons to a bridal extravaganza for those contemplating a wedding.

City: Ellicott City, MD

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (410) 461-4636

Address: 4344 Columbia Rd.

Description: Susan and David Balderson run the Wayside Inn the way your best imagination could conjure a warm, well-run bed-and-breakfast. The Luxury Pierpont Suite is touted as the newest room with yards of silk fabrics and hand-quilted bedding on a bed so high that you need a step to get up on it. Enjoy the in-room wood-burning fireplace (in season) and a wall-mounted plasma TV (you can ignore that if you wish). A romantic package includes dinner at Ellicott City’s finest restaurant, Tersiguel’s French Country (do try the sweetbreads). To recall the mid-1850s, the owners have maintained stately trees, flower gardens, and a small pond, giving the two-acre site a distinctly rural feel despite its closeness to urban life. One tradition of old inns that the Baldersons maintain is the keeping of lighted candles in each window to signal the availability of rooms and the welcoming spirit of its owners.For antiques lovers, historic mill enthusiasts, and people looking for a place out of the mainstream, the Wayside Inn is a good bet.

City: Ellicott City, MD

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (410) 313-8420

Address: 9050 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 102

Description: Floyd’s is a growing chain of throw-back barbershops started by brothers Paul, Rob, and Bill O’Brien (the same O’Brien family that brings you Boog’s BBQ at Camden Yards). It’s supposed to remind you a little of Mayberry, but not too much. Their intent was a music-filled comfortable shop, with posters of hot bands and music artists plastered on the walls, plasma TVs, and computers where you can log-on. They’re offering a great haircut for men, women, and children, for a reasonable price. To top it off, everyone receives a mini shoulder massage. A basic cut will cost $19 and a kid’s cut is $15. Greg Barba owns the Ellicott City franchise. Another Floyd’s is located at 7313-I Baltimore Ave., College Park (301-403-2922). They’re open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

City: Ellicott City, MD

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (410) 730-4049

Address: 10500 Clarksville Pike

Description: OK, this place is outside the Baltimore Beltway. However, for generations of residents (and grandchildren of former residents), this is the place to see the storybook structures that the charming, sentimental, and determined Martha Clark and family rescued from the former Enchanted Forest Park, that enchanted from 1955 to the 1980s. This 540-acre farm tended by the Clark family for generations opened its doors to families several years ago with pigs and goats and calves willing to be petted and hayrides and pony rides available. It’s still a working farm. Generations of families went there to climb in Mother Hubbard’s shoe and explore Cinderella’s pumpkin coach. The Enchanted Forest is long gone, yet these memories (gee, I thought they were larger than that) continue to amuse. Storybook Time is on Tuesday and Thursday in June and July, held four times during each day. Admission is $4.50 per person. Hayrides and pony rides are an additional $2. The farm is open April through October 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located by traveling Highway 29 to Highway 108 west; it’s about 45 minutes from Baltimore.