RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Harford County >> Rockdale Manor >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Rockdale Manor.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rockdale Manor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockdale Manor 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 Rockdale Manor:
    • 39.530940, -76.408295<1>
    • 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 Rockdale Manor
  • 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 Harford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Harford County
    • Since Rockdale Manor is near Baltimore County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 Rockdale Manor

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockdale Manor ...

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.

  • Cedarwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Cedarwood is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarwood
  • Cloverdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Cloverdale is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Forest Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Lake is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
  • Fox Bow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fox Bow is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Bow
  • Frogtown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Frogtown is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
  • Gunpowder Farms
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Gunpowder Farms is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunpowder Farms
  • Harvest Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Harvest Hills is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvest Hills
  • High Point
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • High Point is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
  • Howard Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Howard Park is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Park
  • Joppa Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Joppa Hills is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Hills
  • Locust Knoll
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Locust Knoll is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Knoll
  • Lynchs Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Lynchs Corner is also located in Harford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchs Corner
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Marywood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Marywood is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marywood
    • Parliament Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Parliament Ridge is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parliament Ridge
    • Pleasantville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasantville is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
    • Silver Spring Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Silver Spring Heights is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Spring Heights
    • White House Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • White House Park is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Park
    • Willows
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Willows is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
    • Winters Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Winters Run is also located in Harford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winters Run

How Far From Rockdale Manor to ...

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Rockdale Manor and extending to:

  • Bel Air, which is the Seat of Harford County, lies just to the East.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Rockdale Manor to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 55 miles [88.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,844 miles [9,405 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,550 miles [10,541.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,427 miles [7,124.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Rockdale Manor:
     Decimal: 39.53094, -76.408295
     DDMMSS: 39° 31' 51", -76° 24' 29"
<2>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- Rockdale Manor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Rockdale Manor 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 Rockdale Manor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5309, Longitude: -76.4083       In this case, the coordinates for Rockdale Manor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.474 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.065 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.199 degrees.