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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Secretary, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Secretary 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 Secretary:
    • 38.608463, -75.947348
    • 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 Secretary
  • 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 Dorchester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dorchester County
    • Since Secretary is near Talbot County and also Caroline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Talbot County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caroline 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 Secretary

Curious and Interesting Names Near Secretary ...

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.

  • Barber
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Barber is located in Talbot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber
  • Bonnie Brook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bonnie Brook is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Brook
  • Bruceville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bruceville is located in Talbot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
  • Cardtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cardtown is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardtown
  • Cedar Woods
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Woods is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Woods
  • Choptank
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Choptank is located in Caroline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choptank
  • Ferry Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ferry Point is located in Talbot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Point
  • Hawkeye
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hawkeye is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
  • Hicksburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hicksburg is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksburg
  • Holly Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Holly Hill is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Hill
  • Jacktown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jacktown is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
  • Linkwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Linkwood is located in Dorchester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Lloyd Landing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lloyd Landing is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd Landing
    • Marshyhope Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Marshyhope Village is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshyhope Village
    • Mount Holly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Holly is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
    • Sandtop
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Sandtop is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandtop
    • Windyhill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Windyhill is located in Talbot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windyhill

How Far From Secretary 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 include the distance from a town such as Secretary to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Cambridge, which is the Seat of Dorchester County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Secretary to Annapolis, with an average speed<2> 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 61 miles [98.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full 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 5,863 miles [9,435.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,442 miles [7,148.7 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Secretary) 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 Secretary 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 Secretary. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6085, Longitude: -75.9473       In this case, the coordinates for Secretary have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.271 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.691 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.374 degrees.