Laurel Travel Guide

If you are interested in small-town history, stop by the museum operated by the Laurel Historical Society. The Laurel Museum is a three-story, red brick building that originally provided housing for mill workers and their families.

Permanent and changing exhibits of artifacts, documents, and photographs trace the town's history from textile mill to suburb. The area next to the gift shop downstairs has been restored to show what a typical mill worker's home looked like in the 1840s.

Open Wednesdays 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

I retired in Feb 2000, and I asked that my retirement lunch be at Don Pablo's rather than Ruby Tuesday where they usually had them. Unfortunately, I lost the digital pictures that I took, and the film camera pictures were light streaked, so the only reasonable one I have is the one of the Assistant Commissioner of MOSH.

I also went there with my husband for dinner once.

Don Pablo's is a chain which has restaurants along the east coast, in MI, TX and OK.

Favorite Dish: For lunch they have fajitas, salad, soup, sandwiches, burgers and burritos. They also have a children's menu, and also do items to go.

I actually had steak when I was there and it was very good. At dinner they also have burritos & chimichangas. They are currently advertising combos (and they also have a make-your-own-combo option)

El Matador
Chicken flautas, one cheese & onion enchilada, topped with Sante Fe red chile sauce, a crispy beef taco and a chicken enchilada topped with sour cream sauce and real sour cream.....9.39


Conquistador
Beef taquitos, chicken flautas, one Mama's skinny enchilada, one mini beef burrito, a crispy beef taco and a soft chicken fajita taco.....10.49


Primo Combo - Numero Uno Favorito
A crispy steak fajita taco, soft chicken fajita taco with sauteed onions and peppers and a chicken enchilada topped with sour cream sauce. Served with queso, sour cream, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and pickled jalapeno slices.....8.69

There's not much shopping variety in Laurel proper ever since the Laurel Mall tanked, but Arundel Mills Mall, 20 minutes away, is one of the best shopping malls I've been to. It's enormous (1.3 million square feet) but tasteful, built in colorful "neighborhoods," each with ample rest areas for weary shoppers. One neighborhood, for example has rocking chairs, and another has armchairs.

There's a great food court, whose ceiling is encircled by a miniature train showing the stations that used to exist in the area, a huge Muvico movie theater, and a Medieval Times dinner banquet.

The National Cryptologic Museum offers visitors the rare opportunity to learn the inside scoop on real-life war and spy stories such as the U-2 incident, the USS Pueblo, Navajo Code Talkers, and the so-called unbreakable German Enigma machine. There are even code and cipher artifacts from the American Civil War.

The museum is operated by the hush-hush National Security Agency (NSA), a fact that in itself is mind-boggling. During the Cold War days, a place like this could never have existed.

I encourage anyone with an interest in history to seek out this little-known museum. It's a wealth of information. I have been there twice and learned something new each time. On my last visit, our guide was a retired NSA employee who tailored his tour to our interest in World War II.

Open Monday-Friday, 9:00-4:00, and on first and third Saturdays, 10:00-2:00. Closed on Sundays and Federal holidays. Call ahead to arrange group tours. Free admission. Driving directions on the website.