Where is it?
Maryland is a US state on the Eastern edge.
Where should I be heading?
There are lots to see and do on the east coast of America, so if you have wheels or someone that can show you around, it makes it a lot easier. The top spots without a doubt are Washington DC, New York, Baltimore and Annapolis, each with their own individual character and attractions. Make sure you have at least a day or two to thoroughly cover each.
Entry requirements:
There’s confusion about the requirements for getting into the US and it’s likely that things will change again in the future. As it stands, all UK passport holders can currently enter via the visa waiver programme, provided their passport is of the machine readable variety. If you are unsure though, it’s best to visit the American Embassy website or contact your passport issuer. Biometric passports are going to be brought in shortly, so please keep checking the websites.
Health:
If you are visiting mainstream America, you do not require any jabs and the water is pretty safe. Don’t bank on their health system being any better than the NHS though just because they pay for medical care. I spent 5 hours in casualty and the only reason I got through so quick was because my cousin is American and she held them at gun-point…just kidding, but seriously, you still face long waits.
Top 5 things to do:
1. New York – the famous Big Apple is a mere 3½ hours drive away, so if you leave early enough you can pack in a full day. The glittering lights of Times Square will dazzle you, the day-to-day hustle and bustle will remind you of London at rush-hour and the queues for the Empire State Building will frustrate you, but the overall atmosphere is amazing and well worth it. Ground Zero is a building site, but some remarkable effort has gone into designing nearby memorials to keep the memory alive. It’s wall-to-wall with shops and the metro system is cheap – take note Ken Livingstone! 
2. Amish Country, Lancaster, Pennsylvania – Intercourse? I beg your pardon? Settle down, Intercourse is a perfectly suburban Amish town in the state of Pennsylvania. The Amish live in rural communities and prefer not to conform to modern day living. It’s enlightening really to see them travelling by horse and buggy and their craftsmanship is quite stunning – with carpentry being a huge business. The streets there are lined with craft shops dotted in and amongst corn fields and the smell of fresh “kettle corn” tempts all. The Amish don’t like being photographed but you can buy postcards everywhere.
3. Holocaust Museum, Washington DC – this is the most impressive museum I have seen to date, documenting the atrocities suffered by Jews during the war. On a timed entry basis, there is much to see including hundreds of artefacts collected over the years. By far the most haunting part is the Ejszyszki Tower, which is home to a display of over 6,000 photographs collected by a survivor to commemorate the community she lost.  These can be seen over an impressive two floors. Allow yourself at least 3 hours to get around the museum.
4. Grocery shopping – I’m always like a child in a sweet shop when I go into an American supermarket! British stuff just ends up looking so boring in comparison. Although on the whole I don’t really rate American chocolate, there are a few that my taste buds will allow exclusive membership! Make way for the peanut butter flavoured M+&and Milky Way Midnights – even if you don’t like dark chocolate, I can guarantee you will be sold on these. Also watermelon bubble gum – sickly sweet but blow the most enormous bubbles.
5. Baltimore Inner Harbour – Baltimore is the nearest biggest city and is home to the USS Constellation, a war ship constructed in 1854.  The harbour area itself is packed with boats of all sizes and is the hub of activity. The shopping centre is a huge tourist attraction and as the area is famous for its crabs, the shops are awash with “who are you calling crabby” merchandise!
Is it expensive?
The fact that you can buy Sketcher trainers at half the British price in NY, says it all. The malls are the best places for clothes and cheap CDs and the supermarkets are packed full of bargains. The exchange rate is changing all the time but it’s easy to work out. Just remember to take a spare suitcase with you for the way back, you’ll need it!
What’s the food like?
It’s not all burgers and chips you know! Granted, there are astonishing amounts of fast food chains which take ‘supersizing’ seriously, the latest craze appears to be buffet style menus. And we’re not just talking a few canapés and cocktail sausages, washed down with watered cola. The buffets were huge and choice! There’s the junky end of course with fried this and that with chips, but from the gourmet end you can expect nothing less than a proper home cooked meal, with meat, vegetable and carbs. The desert section will make you wish you were a size 0 so that you can fill yourself up. It’s all incredibly cheap too which is what makes it so popular. Chesapeake crabs are also famous in the area and are blue in colour before they are cooked. If you are a sugar junkie – then the Shoo Fly Pie is for, an Amish speciality – diabetic shock, this one.
What are the toilets like?
I must have looked every part the retarded tourist in the local shopping mall. When you’re used to how everything operates in your own country, naturally everything else is that little bit alien to you. So there I was twisting and turning their “faucets” thinking – blimey, someone’s been at this with a spanner or two, whilst everyone else seemed to be casually soaping up and rinsing. It then dawned on me that it was not meant for turning at all – it was automatic! From a hygienic aspect I award them top marks. They’re great advocators of paper toilet seat covers, but not so generous with their doors. Ranch style and quite an eye-opener if you happen to be taller than the cubicles!
What to wear:
We were there late August at the tail end of the heatwave and it was definitely a shorts and t-shirt time. Other times of the year the temperatures do drop, so pack accordingly.
Best time to visit:
Summer time you have to expect an influx of tourists, but the area and surrounding is so vast that you can usually beat the rushes if you get there early enough. Spring time in DC I’m told is the best time to go because you get the added beauty of the cherry blossom trees in full bloom around the monuments.
Don’t miss:
Sunrise over the Washington monuments. If you time it right, the scenes are like something out of a fairytale.
Most overrated thing:
Burgers. This may not be true of all the fast food chains, but a particular one we sampled, wasn’t really up to much. The chips were extremely soggy-woggy and the burger was so crammed with toppings that it ended up literally disintegrating in my hand, making it a very messy experience and an absolute delight for my cousin’s dog! Also I would just like to ad that Walmart is full of pikeys and we should support Target stores instead!
(5/5)

Photos: Mojo