If you’re trying to day trip on a budget, your best bet is to check out the state parks. Nominal entrance fees — even if you’re from out of state — make these a great go-to resource for anyone watching their bottom line. One of my favorite day trips was to Susquehanna State Park. I […]
budget-friendly day trip
Living History at Lander Lock House
From 1828-1924 the C&O Canal functioned as a transportation route for goods and passengers on the 184.5 mile route from Cumberland, MD to Washington, D.C. Now it’s a great day trip destination for millions of people each year. They come to bike or hike along the canal while enjoying the beauty of the Potomac River. Locks, lock houses, such as […]
The Field of Lost Shoes
New Market Battlefield State Historical Park is a historic American Civil War battlefield and national historic district located near New Market, VA, in Shenandoah County. The park is also the site of the Virginia Museum of the Civil War, which is operated by the Virginia Military Institute. Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant designed a “grand strategy” to […]
Little Remembered Battle of Cedar Creek Helped End Civil War
I am constantly amazed at how little I know of several important battles. I must have slept during U.S. history class — a fact that makes me sad now. Although in my defense, my teacher’s loyalties still remained with the Lost Cause, so perhaps I can be excused from not knowing much about battles where […]
Day Trip on a Budget: Fort Necessity
This is my first day trip on a budget post, and I’m going back to one of the first posts of this blog: Fort Necessity, which is part of the national park system, for the material. I’ll be drawing on a lot of my day trips to national and state parks, because quite honestly, they’re […]
Peace, Love and Folk Art
Tonight is the eve of Christmas Eve, and I think it is fitting to post about one of the surprises and pleasures Pittsburgh offers! We discovered this place quite by accident. The morning we were due to leave Pittsburgh, our waiter at breakfast commented on a brightly colored sweatshirt I was wearing, noting that the […]
Rivers, Bridges, and Views, Oh My!
I’d never thought highly of Pittsburgh. The city and its inhabitants were the butt of jokes when I attended Penn State, and as an adult, I’d never had the opportunity to go there. My sense of Pittsburgh was of a city clouded with coal-induced smog (don’t ask, but I guess I watched one of those […]
The Budget Friendly Day Trip Challenge
This added feature of the Mid-Atlantic Day Trips Blog came about through a discussion with my husband about how to enhance the content of the blog pages. We toyed with the idea of starting another blog, cleverly titled “Budget Friendly Day Trips” but soon realized we didn’t want to compete with the existing blog, into […]
A Really Grand Day at the National Zoo
I’ve been going to the Smithsonian National Zoo since I was a child. Every summer, mom would take us down to the zoo. It would be crowded and swelteringly hot, as July and August usually are in Maryland. My sister, thinking she was clever, would tease me about leaving me with the apes, and I’d […]
Biking the Battlefields
Each time I visit the Gettysburg National Military Park I learn something new. This Sunday morning, however, my intent was just to focus on the bike ride and scenery, and not try to read the signs or follow a narrative to understand how the battle unfolded. The day before the weather had been rainy and […]
InSite Gettysburg Brings the Battlefield into Clearer Focus
This is fourth of a series focusing on Gettysburg, PA as a great day trip destination. I’m always intrigued by different ways to tour the National Military Park at Gettysburg. I loved the segway tour of the battlefield my husband and I went on a couple years ago, but that was as much for the […]
My Top 5 Budget-Friendly Day Trips
Periodically I’ll post my top picks. This is the latest My Top Picks posts. Links to the original posts will be embedded in the text. Let me know what you think of this new blog feature! 6. Visit the National ZooWhether you take the metro or drive and park ($22 flat rate for parking), the Smithsonian […]
Leafpeeping in Shenandoah NPS: This Time the Sun Shone
Last year we went leaf peeping in Shenandoah and when it wasn’t blindingly foggy, it was raining! Still, we saw some gorgeous trees and the fog leant a mysterious beauty to the autumn scenery. We made the best of it. This year, though, I was hell bent on seeing the Skyline drive in all its […]
Shriver House Museum: The War Through the Eyes of a Family
I’m fascinated by the civilian experience that I learned about at this house museum because I believe my ancestors, who lived on a farm not that far away, may have had similar experiences, although their farm didn’t border a battle field. Like the Shrivers, my ancestors were immigrants from Germany. Like the Shrivers, the man […]
Oh Say Can You See… Fort McHenry and the Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key was always sort of a hometown hero for me: I grew up in Frederick, MD, where Key is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery as he desired, “in the shadows of the Catoctin Mountains.” Thus, Fort McHenry has always been a favorite destination for me. It’s a lovely place to walk along the […]