This is a visitor’s first view of Pennhurst. I’m inclined to think the orb-like object is a raindrop, rather than an orb, since it was raining when I took this particular photo. Pennhurst State School and Home for the Feebleminded still haunts Spring City, PA. The facility began its service to Pennsylvania in 1908 as […]
Author: Jody Arneson
Have a Hauntingly Great Time in Lewes DE!
Lewes, DE is rich with historic happenings, legends, and tall-tales, many of them involving a touch of the paranormal. From the founding of Lewes in 1631 and the massacre of its settlement the following year, to the unknown sailors’ cemetery at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, some residents never seem to depart. Lewes is more than […]
Poe House Museum in Baltimore
The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival will take place October 6-7 at Edgar Allan Poe Square/203 North Amity Street, Baltimore. This is exciting to me: Poe was my first favorite author — his dark tales of gothic horror resonated with me at an early age. One of Poe’s most famous poems, “The Raven” (for which […]
A Ghost Walk Through Ellicott City’s Mount Misery
It is astonishing to me the amount of murder and mayhem a sleepy small town can endure over the years. Ellicott City — once called Ellicott Mills — has seen more than its fair share. A town important enough in the 1800s to have America’s first railroad track connecting it to Baltimore (just 13 miles […]
Riversdale House and Stories of the Stiers, Calverts and Plummers
This is another wonderful daytrip destination that’s been lurking within less than an hour’s drive of Baltimore, and 30 minutes from Washington DC but which is often overlooked. And that’s really sad — touring it helps folks understand an important part of Maryland state history. Riversdale is a five-part, large-scale late Georgian mansion with an […]
10 Great October Daytrip Destinations in the MidAtlantic
With summer 2018 firmly behind us, our thoughts start turning to autumn’s glorious colors, scenic drives, the harvest bounty, and spooky destinations. Read on for a little of each, selected from MidAtlanticDayTrips’ jaunts throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia! Start planning now! October is a great time to enjoy the changing foliage and check out […]
Centre Furnace Mansion
Minutes from the Penn State campus in Centre County is an historic mansion that helps tell the story of the iron industry in America, how the county got named, and Penn State itself was founded. An artist’s interpretation of Centre Furnace Mansion in the early 1800s. The mansion is a restored and furnished ironmaster’s home […]
John Dickinson Plantation
As strange as it may seem to us now to call a plantation owner remarkable, I visited the former home of a remarkable man. John Dickinson, referred to as the Penman of the Revolution, for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, where he eloquently argued the cause of American liberty. He also was a solicitor […]
Chanticleer Gardens Offers a Profusion of Delight
Chanticleer Garden is a 48-acre botanical garden built on the grounds of the Rosengarten estate, which was built in 1912 as a “summer cottage” for Christine Penrose and Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., owner of a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company specializing in producing quinine. The garden isn’t as old as the estate — it’s only 30 years old, […]
10 Fun Things to Do in September!
September is summer’s last gasp, and is a favorite time of year. The weather cools, and toward the end of the month, autumn leaves start showing their colors. The mid-Atlantic region offers a wide variety of great things to do and see! There’s nothing quite like a Renaissance festival, whether it’s in Maryland or Virginia […]
Cathedral State Park: Majesty of the Trees
The trails in Cathedral State Park are easy going and pleasant, perfect for little kids as well as my elderly parents. Cathedral State Park is an ancient hemlock forest of majestic proportions, and one of the last living commemorations of the vast virgin hemlock forest which once flourished in the Appalachian highlands. Trees up to […]
Another Wonderful Maryland Lake to Kayak!
Little Seneca Lake, anchoring Black Hill Regional Park, is a reservoir located in Montgomery County, MD. Don’t be fooled by the name — this more than 500-acre lake, which was man-made and completed in 1984, runs about 7 miles long and curls into numerous inlets and coves. Three creeks — Little Seneca, Cabin Branch and […]
VA Air & Space Museum Brings Us to Space, and Beyond!
A number of children’s drawings and paintings are hung in the museum. The artist of this wonderful painting is a second grader from Argyle, TX. (The artist’s name is withheld to protect the child’s privacy.) Hampton, VA and the NASA Langley Research Center is the birthplace of America’s space program. It was here that the […]
Exploring Seneca Creek State Park by Kayak
The lake beckoned to us when we drove around the park for Winter Lights. Even as we were admiring the animated reindeer jumping across the road, we were thinking, “gotta come back during kayaking season.” The lake is Clopper Lake, at the Seneca Creek State Park. This state park — all 6300 acres of it […]
Ghost Hunting at Eastern State Penitentiary
Photo Courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary; photographerTom Bernard By day, Eastern State Penitentiary is a museum dedicated to educating the public about the history of both the penitentiary itself and incarceration in America. By night, it is a ghost hunter’s dream: shadowy figures, mysterious laughter, and footsteps have all been reported. EVPs are not uncommon. (EVP […]