BILLINGSLEY HOUSE

I didn't know it existed. It is a perfect, beautiful venue in which to host an event...It's a sight to behold...uh...once you get there...through the gate that opens like the Addams Family's...by way of those narrow, winding roads...in the dark...through the eery trees (with vertical branches that dangle like snakes)...across that little bridge (Are we supposed to be driving across this?).
The ride seemed to last forever, and a couple of times the road seemed to run out...It conjured up "Roots", "Roots II" AND "12 Years a Slave"...I suddenly felt like singing a Negro spiritual and wondering how fast I could run if I had to.

When you're expecting to see something and you don't, and all you see is more darkness, you might get a little anxious. When you think you've arrived and realize you actually haven't, you may wonder if you've taken a wrong turn. For a minute it seemed like we were just going deeper and deeper into the woods, and unwittingly staging a perfect missing person's scenario...You imagine your car is going to get stuck in some mud, and you're going to be found months later living off of Patuxent River fish.

If you happen to go there at night, fill your tank...check your tires...charge your phone...pack a flashlight, a blanket, and some non-perishable items...Turn on your high beams...Pray...Drive slowly...Forget GPS. You need Harriett Tubman, William Still, and Sojourner Truth...You may begin to think you saw them on the road waving for you to keep goin'...Don't be surprised if you suddenly consider the plight of runaway slaves, and what your choice would have been had you lived in that ghastly era. You will consider, as you go, the gravity and bravery of their decisions to run for it....Okay...just kidding...Those high beams, though? I'm not kidding. Use them...and do drive slowly.
The width of the road only accommodates one vehicle.

The Billingsley House has got to be among the best kept secrets in Maryland. The young staff there was very gracious, the food was delicious, and again, it's beautiful. Just know that you won't see it right off of 301 via Route 4. Once you get onto WSSC property, you still have a little bit of a field trip. You may think to yourself (or say out loud) "What the____?"..."What happened to the road?"..."Oh, Lawd, where am I?"
Don't be alarmed. Just follow the Drinking Gourd--or the many signs that a conscientious party host, like my cousin Frannie will think to post all along the narrow way.

When you see the house, you'll breathe a sigh of relief, and start singing, ("You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night! Step into the Sun, step into the light..."), or laugh...at yourself...and be thankful for the struggles of previous generations....after all, you're an invited guest at a party on a plantation, not the help.
When you leave, you'll be keenly aware that no one is viciously chasing you to bring you back. If you do go back, it'll be by choice, because it really is a beautiful place--in what was once the largest slave-owning county in the state of Maryland.