It sounds like a great deal, but Danielle reminds would-be curators that the hefty price tag of renovations is “essentially like fronting the mortgage payment.” Additionally, like any time-tested DIYer, Danielle advises it’s important to approach massive renovations with expectations in-check. “Add up your timeline, add up your budget—and then triple them both,” she says. Bob Albiol, a resident curator at Seneca Creek State Park in Maryland’s Montgomery County echoes that advice. He’s been a curator since 1984, back when the home he restored didn’t have a roof, windows, or doors. Albiol, an anthropologist with an abiding love for historic restoration, recalls that “even I didn’t realize it would be a whole different life.” Still, Albiol says he “can’t imagine anything better” than living in his 19th century stone house, surrounded by protected land, overlooking the yawning Potomac River. Currently, MDNR’s website lists three available properties for prospective curators. Morrill says that the old real estate adage—“location, location, location”— applies to his listings as well, and that homes closer to the metro areas of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., tend to move faster than those in remote areas. According to Morrill, most people end up spending about $250,000 on renovations. “To make that worthwhile, you got to stick around,” he says, before clarifying that, unsurprisingly, the program doesn’t seem to suffer from attrition. “By far, everyone sticks around.” D A N I E L L E A N D J U S T I N R I T T H A L E R AT W O R K O N T H E I R H O M E I N PAT U X E N T R I V E R S TAT E PA R K . P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F D A N I E L L E R I T T H A L E R
Maryland Coast Bike Festival S AT U R D AY, M AY 7 T H , 2 0 2 2
Start, finish and celebrate at the waterfront festival in Ocean City’s famous harbor. Three enhanced routes this year with Assateague Island vistas! Robust beach-themed rest stops.
Join us on one of the three amazing routes exploring Maryland’s scenic coastal region. The event also offers the opportunity to preserve this pristine coastal environment.
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BLUE RIDGE OUTDOORS
