RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Cecil County >> Oddessy >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Oddessy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oddessy and the surrounding area.

  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Oddessy:
    • 39.571779, -75.816326
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Oddessy
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Cecil County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cecil County
    • Since Oddessy is near New Castle County and also Chester County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for New Castle County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chester County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Oddessy

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oddessy ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Bacon Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bacon Hill is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacon Hill
  • Deer Haven
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Haven is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Haven
  • Elk
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
  • Elk Forest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk Forest is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Forest
  • Elk Haven
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Elk Haven is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Haven
  • Elkmore
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Elkmore is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmore
  • Forest View Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest View Village is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest View Village
  • Glasgow
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Glasgow is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
  • Goose Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Goose Point is located in New Castle County (DE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Point
  • Heritage Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Heritage Valley is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Valley
  • Heritage Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Heritage Woods is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Woods
  • Little Elkton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Elkton is located in Cecil County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elkton
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Mariners Cove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Mariners Cove is located in Cecil County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariners Cove
    • Melody Meadows
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Melody Meadows is located in New Castle County (DE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melody Meadows
    • Quails Nest
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Quails Nest is located in Cecil County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quails Nest
    • Sycamore Farms
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Sycamore Farms is located in Cecil County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Farms
    • Turn Quist
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Turn Quist is located in Cecil County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turn Quist
    • White Swan Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • White Swan Lake is located in Cecil County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Swan Lake

How Far From Oddessy to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Oddessy to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Oddessy and extending to:

  • Elkton, which is the Seat of Cecil County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Oddessy to Annapolis, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 80 miles [128.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,817 miles [9,361.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,522 miles [10,496.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,399 miles [7,079.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oddessy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<3>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Oddessy to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oddessy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5718, Longitude: -75.8163       In this case, the coordinates for Oddessy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.121 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.671 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.931 degrees.