Move over Movember, Welcome to December!

Here we are in the midst of the holiday season. Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are now headed full steam ahead into December.  Which, locally, means the opening of the Wisp Ski Season and happily after a brief snow event and colder temperatures last week, they were able to produce enough snow to open as scheduled over Thanksgiving weekend. Good news for our winter sports enthusiasts!

Last weekend also entailed the annual Festival of Trees to benefit our local Dove Center and if you missed it this year, you really need to add it to your to do list for next year. The trees get prettier and prettier each year and the proceeds benefit a great cause, so it's a win, win all around.  Speaking of trees, the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Honi-Honi was also this past weekend. I understand that Santa made a brief appearance during the event so our "Maryland's Best Kept Secret" is now known all the way to the North Pole!

Maybe Santa better stick closer to the North Pole this week as our weather is going to take a warmer turn.  I didn't see any snow in the forecast until the weekend and so far nothing significant is predicted.

Have you seen the new Lakefront Magazine yet? As always, it's a pleasure to read all about our locals in the Skip Around Town section and the articles are always informative. If you haven't picked up your copy yet, you really should, or if you aren't local, you can always read their online version - you won't be disappointed.

Upcoming events that you just don't want to miss this weekend are Spruce Forest's Christmas in the Village - always a great small town celebration, the annual Red Cross Christmas Open House Tours, Our Town Theatre Christmas Marketplace - a great place to find locally crafted gifts, and for children ages 4-8 the Oakland Express at the B&O Train Station (I hear Santa will be visiting the kids).

Until next time … We'll see you at the Lake!

Photography by Marcia Warnick

It's the November Roller Coaster Ride!

Well, here we go… the annual November roller coaster of temperatures. Mild temps one day, cold the next!  After a very mild weekend, old man winter is threatening to show up again the end of the week with snow forecast for Sunday.  Then, you guessed it, mild temps again.  I guess it won't be long until it's finally cold enough for Wisp Resort to be blowing snow and welcoming the winter weather enthusiasts!  In case you've forgotten, here's what we looked like last year when Wisp first started blowing snow.

Wisp Resort 2012

While we are awaiting old man winters arrival, be sure to check out the other happenings around the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County area.  The main event for the month is the Annual Festival of Trees happening November 29 & 30 at the Garrett County Fairgrounds. There are happenings for the entire family and will conclude with the Grand Finale Live Auction where you can bid on the donated trees and gingerbread entries. All proceeds will benefit the local Dove Center, so have fun and donate to a worthy cause all at the same time!

Also during that weekend, on the 30th at 7 pm, the Honi Honi will be hosting their annual tree lighting ceremony. If you can't be here that weekend, don't forget to stop by and take a look at their tree! It's an awesome sight for sure.

Something new to the area recently - Tractor Supply has opened in Oakland! And, the parking lot seems to be filled to the brim every time I've driven by, so that's good news. Don't forget to stop in and see what all they have to offer.  You just never know what you may need.

And, lastly, if you are thinking of purchasing a home in our area, be sure to drop by the Railey Realty website for an update to the local market conditions.

What a difference a week can make!

As you probably already have heard, Deep Creek Lake has just gotten the first snow fall of the season. While we all watched the forecast and new it was on the way, it still seemed like a shock to our system. Just last week our area was welcoming warmer than normal temps and the leaves were bursting with late season colors, now we are bundling up and begrudgingly starting our furnaces.  Here is a glimpse of what Deep Creek looked like early just after the snow started...

 

For up to the minute snow sightings, visit our webcams and hope the snow isn't covering the lens.

 

In other news, did you notice that Oakland was named by Travel & Leisure Magazine as one of America's Best Towns for Halloween! Click here for the article. Note that we are mentioned in the opening page as well as being listed at #17 (page 18). Locals always knew we were scarily special, now the world knows!

 

Also of note - On October 20th, Railey Realty had the pleasure of participating in the Susan G. Komen Maryland Hunt Valley 21st Annual Race for the Cure.  Our team consisted of women, men and children who participated in both the run and walk portions of the race. Railey Realty is proud to be a part of the estimated record numbers of 50,000+ people participating and supporting this event in efforts to assist in the research and cure for breast cancer.

 

Thanks Nancy Trotta of Railey Realty for your support!

 

Have you been to Deep Creek Lake lately?

Our bright hues of yellows, reds and oranges have now given way to the more Autumnal tones of browns, burgundies and gold, but there are still pockets of green to be found so Fall has not quite given up in Western Maryland yet. If you haven't visited lately, now is the perfect time to plan a trip to the mountains!  Contact one of our vacation specialists and see what Fall in the mountains is all about - you won't be sorry!

Garrett County's Annual Autumn Glory Festival

Garrett County's Annual Autumn Glory Festivities has now come and gone for another year. If you happened to be in our area, you already know that the weather was somewhat drizzly and foggy throughout the weekend, but that didn't put any dampers on the celebrations! I believe both parades, the Fireman's Parade on Thursday evening and the Grand Feature Parade Saturday Afternoon, both were rain free as well as many of the other outdoor activities so all in all, the weekend was another wonderful event! No wonder we got a shout out from the Travel Channel!



For the locals, however, the passing of Autumn Glory is somewhat bittersweet since now it will seem like the leaves will fall at a much quicker pace and the threat of colder temperatures will descend upon us as we prepare for our winter season.