Fredericksburg is a great town to spend some time in. With a variety of interesting stores in its historic downtown, combined with a number of interesting historic sites, such as the Mary Washington House, Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, Kenmore, and the James Monroe Museum, you can easily spend several days without running out of great […]
Author: Jody Arneson
Hiking Antietam National Battlefield
The Battle of Antietam is often referred to as the bloodiest day in American history. As we walk around the battlefield now, it’s hard to imagine that more than 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of savage combat on that hot September day in 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate […]
Fredericksburg Overview and Trolley Tour
Big cities have their red buses or their double-decker buses, and some have red double-decker buses, but Fredericksburg has its touring trolley. One of the best ways to get introduced to Fredericksburg is via the downtown trolley tour, which takes you past all the significant sites of Fredericksburg, provides an interesting and informative narrative throughout, […]
Westmoreland American Art Museum
I love going to art museums, but I especially love going to small, cozy art museums, such as the Westmoreland American Art Museum, located in Greensburg, PA. Jake (Prodigal Son), 2018, Paige Tibbe, oil on board. The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is a delightful art museum devoted to American art, with a particular concentration […]
Loggers Trail Hike Offers Surprises in Oregon Ridge Park
A former ore pit quarry, now covered by vegetation. Oregon Ridge Park is a 1,043-acre park in Cockeysville, Maryland. The park features walking and hiking trails, nature center, picnic and recreation areas. The Loggers Trail is a 2-mile loop trail around the park that takes you past some of the It’s an easy hike, although […]
Incredible Scenery While Biking in Cape Henlopen State Park
I wished the Gordons Pond Trail would never end. The scenery — marshes on one side, and sand dunes and the ocean, and then Gordons Pond and the ocean on the other — was refreshing and beautiful. Although a crowded trail, everyone we encountered was friendly and just plain happy to be there. The Gordons […]
9 Great Daytrips for the Under-6 Crowd
If you’re looking for some great daytrip destinations to start your younger kids on a lifetime road to discovery, consider exploring the nine great suggestions below. From living history museums that recreate George Washington’s childhood home to a sail on the Chesapeake Bay in a replica of an historic fishing boat, there’s so much to […]
Turkey Point Lighthouse Hike at Elk Neck State Park
Cliff-side views of the Chesapeake Bay, lighthouses, and a walk through the woods, the hike to Turkey Point Lighthouse has it all. As have several other state parks in Maryland, Elk Neck State Park was the result of the generosity of a major landholder. In 1936, naturalist Dr. William Abbott bequeathed his holdings along the […]
Sugarloaf Mountain Winter Hike
Sugarloaf Mountain is a small mountain and park about 10 miles south of Frederick, MD. The peak of this relatively low mountain is approximately 800 feet higher than the surrounding farmland. The blue trail, also known as the Northern Peaks Trail, travels approximately 5.9 miles to several peaks and along the ridge of Sugarloaf Mountain. […]
Ferry Farm: A Living History Museum That’s Great for Kids
“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree,” George Washington said as a kid, according to Parson Weems, the author of some of the best known stories about Washington’s childhood. Whether he actually chopped the tree down is debatable. But if it HAD happened, it would have happened at Ferry Farm, where […]
Murals of York Photo Safari
One of the murals in the Royal Square District. I went up to York, PA recently to explore the city. I was surprised by the murals I kept encountering, seemingly around every corner. Sure, there are boutiques and antiques stores, art galleries, some really nice restaurants, and plenty of history — all this makes York […]
PA Military Museum
The Pennsylvania Military Museum preserves and honors the state’s military history from 1747 to the present, interpreting the story of the Commonwealth’s ‘Citizen Soldiers,’ civilian activities on the home front, and the contributions of Pennsylvania industry to military technology. The first thing you notice is the Sherman Tank near the road, sitting still in a […]
Government Island and the Capitol Quarries
Famous for the quarry from which the stones used to build the U.S. Government’s most famous buildings were sourced, Government Island is now a county park with a lovely, history-filled under 2-mile hike that you really shouldn’t miss. Although its referred to as Government Island, the park is really a peninsula. I love a great […]
24 Things to Do in 24 Hours in Fredericksburg VA
Back in the day — colonial days, that is — Fredericksburg was an important port on the Rappahannock River. At the time, it was at the farthest point navigable by large ships laden with treasured items from Europe and beyond. The city soon became a key trading center for the plantation owners and farmers nearby, […]
Hiking on Hallowed Ground: Cemetery Ridge Hike
Most of us possess at least a basic understanding of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1-3, 1863. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, effectively rebuffing Lee’s invasion of the North. There were up to 51,000 casualties from […]