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. […]
budget-friendly day trip
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Yuengling Brewery Pilgrimage to Pottsville PA
As a home brewer for more than 30 years, my husband Michael’s bucket list includes some unique destinations. This one is in Pottsville, a town in Pennsylvania coal country, along the banks of the Schuylkill River. Carol Palla is guest blogging this week about a recent visit to America’s oldest brewery: Yuengling. The brewery offers free […]
Remembering American Heroes at the Flight 93 National Memorial
The Flight 93 National Memorial commemorates the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was one of four aircraft hijacked in the September 11 attacks. The Memorial is the nation’s permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93. It’s their final resting place and their remains are still present — this is […]
The Hidden Catskills Waterfalls Along the Vernooy Falls Hike
The Vernooy Kill Falls Hike is a short, out-and-back hike — either 2 miles or 3.6 miles, depending where you pick up the trailhead — to a very pretty waterfall. The falls is a series of picturesque little waterfalls with pools, dropping about 30 feet in 4 stages. During the warmer months, this would be […]
Two More Delicious Creameries Along Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail
A sunny August afternoon lured us out again for some more ice cream — this time we decided to drive out to northern Baltimore County and Harford County MD, to Broom’s Bloom Dairy and Prigel Family Creamery respectively. About a decade ago, Maryland dairy farmers came up with a creative – and delicious – plan […]
Cool Ruins and a Waterfall Along the Madam Brett White and Red Trail
Madam Brett Park is a tranquil little park on Fishkill Creek in Beacon NY, alongside the Hudson River in Dutchess County, not far away from the Hudson Highlands Park. We were there to hike the “Madam Brett White and Red Trail, an out-and-back trail to a waterfall and marsh overlook. This area is noteworthy because […]
Fort Mill Holds the Best Preserved Civil War Battle Trenches
Believed to be the best preserved examples of Civil War earthworks still in existence, the Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches are battle trenches just outside of Romney WV that were dug between 1861 and 1863. The onsite signs on site indicate that the earthworks were dug in 1863; however, other sources claim that the […]
Take the Shawangunk Scenic Drive to Enjoy Autumn Color!
Going leaf peeping is one of my favorite fall activities — and last year’s pandemic just made going on long drives sound even better! We were in upstate New York — in the Catskills — at just about peak autumn foliage color, and, because of the pandemic, a number of our intended hiking destinations (lovely […]