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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Prettyboy:
    • 39.605938, -76.720251
    • 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 Prettyboy
  • 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 Baltimore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Since Prettyboy is near Carroll County and also Harford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Harford 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 Prettyboy

Curious and Interesting Names Near Prettyboy ...

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 Hall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bacon Hall is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacon Hall
  • Brandy Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Brandy Springs is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Springs
  • Butler
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Butler is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Cedar Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Coachmans Field
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Coachmans Field is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coachmans Field
  • Flickerwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Flickerwood is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flickerwood
  • Graystone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Graystone is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graystone
  • Hamlet Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamlet Farms is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet Farms
  • Hope Meadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hope Meadows is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Meadows
  • Hunter Green
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hunter Green is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Green
  • Piney Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Piney Creek is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Creek
  • Piney Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Piney Hill is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Hill
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Prettyboy Garth
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Prettyboy Garth is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prettyboy Garth
    • Spook Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Spook Hill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spook Hill
    • Steeplechase
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Steeplechase is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeplechase
    • Stringtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Stringtown is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Valley Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Valley Mill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Mill

How Far From Prettyboy to ...

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Prettyboy to Towson, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 51 miles [82.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,854 miles [9,421.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,561 miles [10,558.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,438 miles [7,142.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Prettyboy) 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 Prettyboy 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 Prettyboy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6059, Longitude: -76.7203       In this case, the coordinates for Prettyboy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.654 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.281 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.302 degrees.