Like the smell of wood burning in a fireplace? Prefer freshwater over saltwater? How about feeling at home under a canopy of trees with the sun to your back and leaves crackling beneath your feet? It sounds like you like the great outdoors, and boy, do we have something great in store for you.

This week, shine that trusty lantern on a favorite property that we like to call Inn at Deep Creek. Conveniently located among the mountains in western Maryland, this newly-renovated hotel features a large outdoor heated pool, grilling area with picnic tables, private, day-use boat slip, and requisite gorgeous views of Deep Creek Lake. Enjoy new beds and bedding, flat-screen televisions, complimentary WiFi – some rooms even have fireplaces.

Okay, so it’s in the mountains. What is there to do in the area, you ask? In the summer, enjoy boating, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and fishing for — get ready — bass, walleye, northern pike, crappie, perch and trout. Trek to nearby Deep Creek Lake State Park’s Meadow Mountain to hike, or take a picnic to the park’s beach to get some fresh air, a full belly, and to take a refreshing swim in the lake. Another option for hiking: Swallow Falls State Park, where you can hike along the Youghiogheny River as it makes its way through rocky gorges, or Muddy Creek Falls’ thundering 53-foot (the highest in Maryland) waterfall.

In the winter, get on over to Wisp Resort for skiing or snowboarding, or take a sleigh ride through Pleasant Valley. Other nearby attractions include the the B&O Railroad Station or the Spruce Forest Artisan Village. The area is replete with antiques, local art galleries, as well as nurseries and wineries and a variety of restaurants.

Inn at Deep Creek is your perfect escape to the mountains, come see why!

Complimentary: enables the recipient to travel without being responsible for paying additional costs. The cost of travel during peak season or the need of additional bedrooms, along with the standard process fee, is included in the charges to you, the account holder.

Standard: enables your friend or family member to travel with TAN though recipient is responsible for paying the processing fee and any additional charges for peak season travel or additional bedrooms.

Excess Inventory: enables the recipient to access TAN’s Excess Inventory for exclusive last-minute travel destinations without using one of the vacation weeks in your account.

Gift certificates are redeemable for a week at the resort area of the recipient’s choice; with the Complimentary and Standard options, the gift certificate issued represents one of your vacation weeks.

Please contact a Total Vacation Services representative for more information on gift certificates at 800.223.0088, ext. 3.

Looking to purchase a Gift Certificate?Click here.

Travel Advantage Network Donates 2,000 Book Bags to Baltimore City Students

Local Company’s Charitable Efforts Support the Baltimore Curriculum Project

Millersville, MD – [January 11, 2012] – Travel Advantage Network (TAN), a wholesale vacation accommodations program, donated 2,000 book bags to a network of Baltimore City schools affiliated with the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP). Wolfe Street Academy, a Baltimore City public charter school and BCP member, was able to equip its entire student population of pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students with the TAN sling book bags. The remainder of the bags went to other BCP- affiliated schools. Chief development officer and vice president of the Baltimore Curriculum Project, Larry Schugam, personally delivered the bags to the students.

"We are incredibly grateful for TAN’s donation of book bags for our four neighborhood charter schools which include City Springs School, Collington Square School of the Arts, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy. Gifts like these make a big difference in the lives of our students," stated Larry Schugam, chief development officer and vice president of the Baltimore Curriculum Project.

The Baltimore Curriculum Project is a nonprofit organization that endows four neighborhood charter schools in East Baltimore. Its mission is to develop, implement, and advocate for an innovative, sustainable, and replicable education model that improves student outcomes. A vital goal of the organization is to help raise standards and opportunities for disadvantaged youth and Baltimore City schools.

TAN has been dedicated to charitable giving since its inception. Brad Callahan, TAN president, has cultivated a culture of giving at Travel Advantage Network that includes a commitment to monthly charitable events. Each month an employee chooses a charity to sponsor and donations are raised during that month through various fundraising activities such as raffles, silent auctions, pay-to-wear-jeans days, and other fun events to get TAN team members to contribute. In 2011, TAN raised more than $12,000 for various local and national charities. For information about Travel Advantage Network and its charitable efforts, please visit PlanWithTAN.com or the Travel Advantage Network Charity Blog.

Since 1992, TAN, a wholesale priced vacation accommodations program, has helped families and individuals create lifelong vacation memories. TAN is the proud recipient of the Better Business Bureau of Maryland’s prestigious Torch Award for exemplifying high business standards and professional integrity, as well as the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s Philanthropy in Business Award for outstanding and innovative commitment to local and national charities. TAN is a recipient of SmartCEO Magazine’s 2008 and 2009 Future 50 Award, recognizing the fastest growing companies in the greater Baltimore area. For more information, please visit PlanWithTAN.com.