Lynn is guest blogging for Mid-Atlantic Day Trips Blog this week. (Thanks Lynn!!) My son and I met Mid Atlantic Day Trip gal and her son at the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in January. While she wisked her 11-year-old son through to maintain his interest, we opted to stroll through at a more leisurely […]
Year: 2014
Exploring Two Castles of Whimsy and Treasures
There once lived a man who, in the early part of the 20th century, built two castles. He was a visionary, for he recognized the importance of preserving items of a fading way of life for future generations. He was a artist, creating tiles that were reknown for their beauty. And he was a bit […]
Eastern State Penitentiary
How do you describe a place that is intentionally ugly, intentionally horrible, intentionally built that way? How do I describe a place that having visited a couple of years ago, still haunts me? The Eastern State Penitentiary Museum and Historic Site initially captured my interest in the early 1990s, when I worked at the American […]
Singer Castle
Who can resist exploring a castle? And that’s a problem with America for us castle-lovers — there simply aren’t enough of them around. So when you get to tour one, even if it isn’t five centuries old, I jump at the chance! I’d like to say that even Boldt Castle isn’t castle enough — it’s really […]
1000 Islands Visited: Sunset Dinner Cruise on the St Lawrence River
I’m a sucker for beautiful sunsets, dinner is always a winner, and who doesn’t like a cruise on a lovely river? This “day trip” had all three — a Sunset Dinner Cruise on the St Lawrence River, touring the Thousand Islands. Lovely scenery and the food wasn’t half bad! That morning we’d driven 8 hours […]
Valentine’s Day Special: Boldt’s Castle Is the World’s Best Love Letter
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to write about a visit to Bold’s Castle in New York’s Thousand Islands region — one of the most extravagant valentine’s day gifts ever! Middle class men give Hallmark cards to their wives; multimillionaires build castles. George C. Boldt started work on his love letter to his wife […]
Thousand Islands: Light Houses
This week’s blog will be different than other weeks. Last weekend I didn’t do anything worth blogging about, unless you want to hear about replacing bathroom light fixtures (with some really cool 1970 retro lights) and re-organizing my closet… No, didn’t think so. So over this week and the next, I’ll post several blogs, starting […]
American Museum of Visionary Art
One of the burdens of motherhood is wanting to expose your sons to experiences that will enrich and expand their outlook, and having that desire go not just unappreciated, but aggressively scorned and despised by the intended beneficiaries of your maternal wisdom. But I continue to fight the good fight. That’s why, when I learned* […]
Winter Walks
A warmer than usual day beckoned the beagles and I outside this past weekend. There are those who preach the outdoor winter gospel, but I am an admitted fair-weather wimp. However, I’ve been reading up on the benefits of winter walking, and I learned that outdoor walking in cold air benefits your bones, mood and waistline. […]
Tombstone Tourists at Loudon Park Cemetery
So much of our lives is dictated by chance. By chance, my mother suggested I take the ghost tour through Mount Olivet Cemetery, in Frederick, last summer. By chance, my husband couldn’t come, so I invited my friend Barb, a.k.a., Day Trip Pal, instead. Now the two of us have taken up “cemetery photography” — […]
Elk Run and Red Heifer Wineries: Bicycles, Dogs and Wine, Oh My!
Last weekend we braved the frigid temperatures and headed out for some bike shopping and to visit two wineries — return visits for the blog to two favorite Maryland wineries. Our first primary destination (we stopped at a bike shop first) was Elk Run Vineyards, nestled in the rolling hills of Frederick County, MD. Although […]
C&O Canal at Great Falls
Certainly when the canal was first envisioned, the planners, engineers and builders never imagined that 180 years after its creation, it would serve as a popular recreational attraction. In the 19th and early 20th century the C&O Canal provided jobs and opportunities for people throughout the Potomac River Valley, from the tidal basin in Washington […]
Hampton National Historic Site
Hampton National Historic Site is an historic house whose owners witnessed and formed the history of Maryland and the young United States as it unfolded; a grand old home that was much loved by its owners, who eventually made the decision to save it (because of declining financial fortunes) by opening it up to the […]
New Year’s Resolutions: Daytrips for 2014
I always make New Year’s resolutions. Some I keep, some I don’t, some I try diligently to keep but peter out about June or July… This year I’m making some day trip-related New Year’s resolutions — and I’m betting I’ll keep all these! Here are some day trips and places I haven’t been to yet, […]