BALTIMORE — Where's the top place in Maryland to pop the question on New Year's Eve?
A website for the dating industry recently asked 3,000 Maryland women where their dream New Year's marriage proposals would take place.
Thetop three answers were: the Inner Harbor, downtown Annapolis, and Hagerstown City Park.
The Inner Harbor, of course, is known for its scenic views of downtown Baltimore, waterfront strolling, and celebrations including New Year's Eve fireworks.
Downtown Annapolis is also always popular for its historic charm, numerous restaurants, and plenty of beautiful dockside views - and yes, fireworks.
If you're less familiar with Hagerstown City Park, it's actually an elegant, historic urban park that's almost as large as Baltimore's Druid Hill Park, and features a large lake with a fountain, a fine arts museum, a concert stage, a luxury condo complex, and more.
The survey "carefully selected" 3,000 females from "a geographically representative online panel" that was "further tailored to meet the precise criteria required for each unique survey." More information about the methodology is here.
(By the way, women in nearby states also preferred prominent waterfront attractions. Pennsylvania's top choice was Penn's Landing in downtown Philly; Delaware chose the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand; and Virginia chose the Virginia Beach Boardwalk.)
In other news, 78 percent of the respondents preferred a private proposal, while 20 percent said they'd like a small group of friends or family, and 2 percent chose a public spectacle with a big audience.
Sixty percent wanted the classic gesture of kneeling-down-and-opening-a-ring-box. Twenty-two percent were up for a "creative surprise" like a scavenger hunt, and 18 percent said they'd love to find the ring hidden in a book, ice-cream sundae or similar meaningful object.
