Freshwater wetlands once covered a large portion of southwestern Sussex County, DE. Featuring the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress trees in the United States, Trap Pond State Park retains a part of those wetlands’ original beauty and mystery. (The bald cypress is a wetland tree adapted to areas of calm, shallow standing water.) Ironically, […]
Author: Jody Arneson
Hike to Annapolis Rocks
“Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. … Of all the upness accessible to mortals, there is no upness comparable to the mountains.” — John Muir, Naturalist For almost any hiker in the East, the Appalachian Trail has a curious draw. Colleagues of mine have spent […]
Smell the Lavender at Deep Creek Lavender Farm
…a magic and lavender space, unpinned from the world around it Unfortunately, this blog cannot share the scent of lavender on the breeze, the subtle aroma that surrounds the farm as the breezes sweep across the lavender fields. To experience that, you should go yourself to a lavender farm. I went to the Deep Creek […]
Getting Ready for Kayak Adventures!
Over the years of writing this blog, I’ve gone on several kayaking adventures — kayaking a sedate few miles down the Potomac River, checking out Maryland’s shipwrecked “ghost fleet” at Mallows Bay, and kayaking across the Assateague Narrows to go see the famous Assateague ponies come to mind. I’ve loved kayaking every time we go […]
Shinrin-yoku at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve
Forest bathing — essentially just being in the presence of trees — is the practice of taking a short, leisurely visit to a forest for health benefits. The practice originated in Japan where it is called shinrin-yoku (森林浴) in Japanese. The Japanese practice of forest bathing is proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, […]
An Afternoon at the Museum
Big cities don’t have a monopoly on art and culture, and modest Hagerstown can attest to that, with its Museum of Fine Arts. What began as an initial gift from the founders has grown into an extraordinary permanent collection that includes over 7,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and other works of art representing a variety […]
Baltimore – Washington Area’s Best Urban Oases
When the urban jungle becomes too much for us, we naturally seek an oasis of peace and calm amidst the asphalt and pandemonium. I’ve found eight surprising urban oases offering us the promise of lovely vistas, green relief, or a pleasant walk. These are all near or in Washington DC and Baltimore. Check them out […]
7 Places in Pennsylvania You Don’t Want to Miss in 2017!
Over the four years that I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve discovered unexpected castles, rocks that sing, places of incredible beauty or incredible historical significance — and sometimes both. I’ve ridden bikes along rivers, hiked to mountain tops, and explored underground — all in the great state of Pennsylvania. Now that school is out, here […]
Afterlife Behind Bars at Moundsville Penitentiary
West Virginia Penitentiary was one of the bloodiest and deadliest prisons within the United States. It also is where the dark souls of rapists, murderers, and other criminals still may be walking, spending their afterlife imprisoned behind the same bars that held them captive when they were alive. Talk about recidivism! It was, of course, […]
Behind Bars: Touring the West Virginia Penitentiary
The West Virginia State Penitentiary is an imposing, gothic style prison located in Moundsville, WV. It operated from 1876 to 1995. Now open for tours, it stands as a monument to a bygone era, and provides ongoing testimony to man’s inhumanity to man. The town of Moundsville is interesting in its own right, having derived […]
Patriotic Bike Ride Along the Mount Vernon Trail
The Mount Vernon Trail is a paved multi-use trail that stretches from George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate to Theodore Roosevelt Island, paralleling the George Washington (GW) Parkway for its 18 miles. It connects with regional trails, including the Potomac Heritage, Custis, Rock Creek, Four Mile Run, and Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trails. Its paved surface was […]
Savoring Gettysburg
There are so many different ways to explore Gettysburg. The Civil War history, of course, is what initially put Gettysburg on the day trip map, but as this blog has pointed out before, there’s so much more to Gettysburg and its surrounding environs than its battlefields. Gettysburg offers a (surprisingly) wonderful food scene, a culinary […]
5 Fabulous Forts to Bring Your Kids to this Summer!
Everyone’s probably heard of famous Fort McHenry in Baltimore — well worth a visit! This is the fort that was being shelled by the British during the War of 1812, immortalized in Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner. But there are five other fabulous forts worth exploring: three in Maryland, and one each in Delaware and […]
Three Rivers Heritage Trail: A Great Way to Experience Pittsburgh
The Three Rivers Heritage Trail evolved from five separate trails and today comprises several unique sections. Most of these segments are riverfront trails along both banks of the three rivers that form Pittsburgh’s famous point: the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio. It’s also one of the treasures of Pittsburgh — a great way to get to […]
Returning to Hell House and Finding Everything AND a Kitchen Sink
Last year my husband and I climbed the steps from the still-active train tracks just above Ilchester Road to the old St Mary’s Seminary site, adjacent the Patapsco River Valley State Park. Where once there was a thriving men’s Catholic seminary, now — as it was a year ago — is just a pile of […]