The Last Chance Saloon , in Oakland Mills, draws customers in with live music, and keeps them there with a great selection of 56 beers on tap. The village centers are also great places to get breakfast while looking like a suburban native. Weekend mornings in particular are full of locals noshing at Howard County's own Bagel Bin, which has locations in the River Hill, Wilde Lake and King s Contrivance shopping centers. East Columbia s Supreme Sports Club, The Columbia Athletic Club in Harper's Choice, and the new Columbia Gym in River Hill. Visitors looking for a place to work out can ask their Columbia hosts if they are CA members.
Many residents are, and memberships often include guest passes.
In Harper's Choice, CA also offers recreation for a younger crowd with the SkatePark for skateboarding and in-line skating, as well as a miniature golf course and batting cages at the neighboring SportsPark. The growing number of activities Columbia offers is but one sign that it has forged its own community culture beyond suburban genericism. The president of CA, which is a private, for-profit community management firm, was ousted over concerns that she was reluctant to move from her permanent home in Atlanta. Sooner rather than later, Columbia should be known as more than the place with funny street names. Read the SunSpot.net User Agreement for our policies on copyright, reader privacy and bulletin boards.