This isn’t my typical daytrip, but it makes a very fun one — and it’s a great way to spend some time with family on a rainy day or super hot summer day! Spinners Pinball Arcade has more than 100 pinball machines, classic gaming consoles, skeeball, air hockey, foosball, golden tee, virtual pinball, and more. […]
Author: Jody Arneson
Exploring a Lake in the Sky: Lake Minnewaska
Although originally we’d come to Minnewaska State Park, located in the Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster County, NY, for its water falls — Awosting Falls, Stoney Kill Falls, and another waterfalls that we ended up not going to — we came back simply to hike around Lake Minnewaska itself. Minnewaska State Park Preserve is nestled within […]
Shenandoah Caverns Brings the Bacon!
Rainbow Lake, within Shenandoah Caverns. There are eight commercial caverns in Virginia, and each has unique formations inside and tours available. Each cavern has its own personality. Luray has the mostest — both in age and rock formations and other things to do right there. Grand Caverns has Civil War history that is cool and […]
Living Large at Lake Raystown Resort
If you’re looking for a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life — just over a couple hours away from several major cities, including Baltimore and Washington DC — then look no further than lovely Raystown Lake. Located on over 400 acres of waterfront property, Lake Raystown Resort is a great place […]
What Lurks in the Halls of TransAllegheny Lunatic Asylum at Night?
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (TALA), which became the Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that was operated from 1864 until 1994 by the state of West Virginia. It is now known by its first name. Weston, where the asylum was located, was a company town. When it shut down in 1994, the town […]
Plagiarizing Poets and Confederate Spies Inhabit Oak Hill Cemetery
Small in comparison to other Victorian rural garden cemeteries, at just 22 acres, Oak Hill Cemetery is a prime example of a rural garden cemetery, and is probably the most peaceful place in Georgetown, an historic neighborhood in Washington DC. Let the winding paths and terraces entice you to explore this quiet oasis in the […]
Hunting What Haunts Martinsburg’s Apollo Theater
We got the opportunity to conduct a paranormal investigation at the Apollo Theatre in Martinsburg WV. It was a hot and stormy night — the thunder and lightening fueled the ghosts inside and lent a particularly spooky atmosphere to the ghost hunt. The theater is currently being renovated, even as performances are still being scheduled. […]
Discover the Hidden Beauty of the New Cathedral Cemetery
The New Cathedral Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery, with 125 acres, located on the westside of Baltimore. Established in 1871 in the Victorian rural garden cemetery style, it is the final resting place of 110,000 people, including numerous individuals who played important roles in Maryland history. As you explore this cemetery, you can’t […]
More Than History Haunts the Old Essex Police Fire Station
We joined about 20 other paranormal enthusiasts recently to investigate the hauntings of the 101-year old Essex Police Fire Station, now a museum run by the Essex Historical Society documenting the history of the Essex Middle River area, during an event sponsored by Ghosts N’At. Built in 1920, the building was intended to house both […]
The Scariest Place I’ve Ever Been: Ghost Hunting in the Old Mid-Orange Boy Reformatory
The Warwick State Training School for Boys, near Chester NY, opened in 1914 as the New York City Farm, a rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug dependent men. It then became the State Training School for Boys in 1933, focused on the rehabilitation of young men, and then transformed again into the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility […]
What Haunts the Widow Jane Cement Rock Mine?
Quirky daytrip destinations are fascinating and one of the quirkiest — and most interesting — is the haunted Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale, NY. Rosendale once was famous for being the source of “natural cement,” i.e., cement made from rock without the addition of a slew of chemicals. Natural cement is produced in a process […]
Martinsburg’s Spooky Roundhouse Keeps the Spirits of Its Past
The railroad came to Martinsburg in 1842; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company established engine and machine shops in the town in 1849. Martinsburg became a major regional transportation node and one of the major employers of the region. The railroad and railroad yards provided jobs, prosperity and military strategic importance during the Civil War. […]
The Best Kept Secrets of Laurel Hill State Park
Like its sister park, Linn Run State Park, one county to the west, Laurel Hill State Park area was a desolate mess a hundred years ago. The lumber boom that swept through the hills and forests of Pennsylvania missed Laurel Hill Valley until 1886. But the lumber industry came for the old-growth forests of hemlock and […]
Doing Time at the Old Fauquier Jail
Over two centuries ago, a four-cell brick jail was constructed in Warrenton VA, in 1808 to house the county’s indigent and criminal residents. The four cells were multi-person cells, not an uncommon for that time. Also not uncommon, children often accompanied their mothers into the jail. The stairs in the kitchen up to the jailer’s […]
Could There Be a Qainter Town Than Shepherdstown WV?
Shepherdstown dates back to 1762; Thomas Shepherd founded Mecklenburg, as it was known then, was a bustling little town of 100 by 1775, filled with millers, tanners, potters, smiths and other artisans who appreciated the six natural springs which feed Town Run as it enters the south of town. This small stream meanders through backyards, under […]