 Welcome to the current issue of the Garrett County Gazette. I’m Chris Nichols, your guide to helping you find out what’s going on, what’s coming up and interesting tidbits from the area. Let’s jump right in! Insider’s Guide to Autumn Glory I’d say that every local and most regular visitors to Garrett County have heard of Autumn Glory. What exactly IS it, though? Again, I’d say that the first thing most people would associate with it is the Parade. And for good reason – it’s one of the best parades around (although the ban on candy throwing is a bummer!)But there is a lot more to Autumn Glory than just the parade on Saturday! It’s a 5 day festival celebrating the beautiful fall foliage of Garrett County MD. There is a lot to see, do, buy and eat during Autumn Glory, so I put together a guide to help you get in all in! The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce has put together a nice guide you can pick up at the Visitor’s Center or download. My guide breaks the events down by: What to see and doFoodShoppingBrief history of the festival In my guide you’ll learn why turkey dinners are such a big to the festival!You can watch the narrated version on YoutubeOr check out the slides and download the presentation with active links on my blog.  Paddle the Dragon! In yet another adventure that no one asked for, I’ve decided to row/paddle the shoreline of Deep Creek Lake. You may remember my hike around the shoreline from last year – now I’m canoeing it! For Part 1, I did the “main” section of the lake between the 219 and Glendale Bridges. It was great to go from the quiet and natural feel of the ends of Cherry Creek and Meadow Mtn Run Coves to action of the main strip of lake front dining. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/xWYiRiA0xzg Looking for the awesome fold-up water-proof/tear-resistant map in the video? Get it here: https://narrowshill.com/t/foldup-mapsI’m tracking my routes on a custom Google map here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=19-Pd6oFgmumMvoKT…(you can check out the my hike here: https://dimesy.com/2022/09/30/hiking-the-shoreline-of-deep-c…) New video trail tours I posted two new video trail tours from my Ultimate Garrett County Adventure Map, We went mudding at Wolf Den Run St Park. (Luckily, Deekie turned out to be machine washable!) Wolf Den Run State Park covers 4 different sections and is geared towards Off-road vehicle riding. The difficulty ranges from gravel roads to full-on mud holes. Check out my video trail tour of our 4-wheeling adventure! https://youtu.be/TzMHmlvabok Then we checked out the Friendsville Town Park trails. Really, there are two different trails here:Old River Rd (about 1.25 miles) , follows the Youghiogheny going north to a parking spot and some riverside access points, and there is a paved path (about 0.5 miles) following the perimeter of the town park. The Friendsville Town Park may just be the nicest park in the County (and that’s saying a lot since the Lions Club’s McHenry Community Park is one of my pet projects!)Video tour here: https://youtu.be/OQnFDgU5BJg We happened to visit during Friendsville Days, so Deekie got to meet Miss Frostburg (L) and Miss Maryland (R)Events for 2024  I am putting together my postcard of community events for 2024. I send this postcard out to my contacts list and anyone else who requests one and then distribute them at the McHenry Post Office and Taylor Made office. They are great to put up on your fridge or office bulletin board so you don’t have to look up these events (also for reminding you of a great real estate agent if you need one!)While I’m still tracking down some of the dates, many of the bigger regular events are plotted out for the next few years. What else should I include? It would be great to start seeing some regular events in January, March, April and May! Contact me for events I don’t have listed or if you have an awesome idea for a regular Springtime event! Local events Oct 7, noon-5pm – Oktoberfest and Biergarten @ Grantsville Town Park: Live music, authentic German food, Biergarten, Grantsville Arts & Entertainment District Scarecrow making station, and games!  Oct 8, 6pm — Reflection House Oktoberfest @ Brodak Banquet Hall: culinary journey that pays homage to the rich flavors of Bavaria. Get ready to dance, sway, and maybe even attempt a polka or two as our live oompah band fills the air with traditional German tunes  Oct 11-15 — Autumn Glory Festival @ County-wide: See my guide above for all the events and activities!  Real Estate Corner Question: Should you wait on buying a property you’ve had your eye on, expecting that rising interest rates may drive a price reduction? Answer: It probably does NOT pay to wait! In the assumed case I look at, your monthly payment is minimally lower, you’d be paying more interest over the full life of the loan, AND you’re risking not getting the property you want! Right now, residential properties in Garrett County are selling for around $500,000 and just for the sake of round numbers, I assumed an interest rate of 7.5% If the price does go down by 5% to $475,000 but interest rates go up in that time to 8% (not unheard of for rates to increase that amount in a few months!) then your monthly payment is just $9 less AND your total potential interest paid is about $16,000 more over the full life of a 30 year loan! While you were waiting, someone else who did the math may come along and get the property you’re looking at! Bottom line: Sharpen your pencils and know what monthly payment you’re prepared to pay. When a property becomes available that you like and fits your budget, do this math and make you’re not waiting just to save a few dollars each month!  Check out my real estate website as well for more information on what’s out there, or call or email me anytime to chat about what’s going on in the market and how to build a strategy to meet your real estate goals!Mobile: 301 616-7881 Office: 301 387-4700 Email: chrisn@deepcreeksales.com  Chris Nichols, real estate agent26 Kuhnle Dr, SwantonUnited States of AmericaYou received this email because you signed up or made purchase from us.Unsubscribe |
Garrett County Gazette, September 2023
