If you’re looking for a great summertime daytrip for the kids or family — this one is for you! The Air Mobility Command Museum is truly a hidden gem of a museum — interesting for all for its aviation and military history, or simply the wonderment of these amazing planes. Best of all? It’s free. […]
Delaware
Governor Ross Mansion Brings You Back in History
The Gov. Ross Mansion was built in the 1850s by William Henry Harrison Ross for himself and his family. Ross served as the Democratic Governor of Delaware from 1851 to 1855. Extremely popular with the white community, he brought the railroad into Southern Delaware, and indeed, right past his own property. Trains running daily to […]
Chasing Patty Cannon
March is Women’s History Month, an excellent time to share the story of one of the mid-Atlantic region’s remarkable although monstrous women. If you’ve ever traveled on the Delmarva peninsula and wondered about those historical markers about Patty Cannon or the Cannon Gang, this post is for you! The Nanticoke River, at Woodland Ferry (formerly […]
Reflections on Trap Pond
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, […]
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 […]
A Fort Not to Miss: Fort Delaware
Over the course of several years of writing this blog and just because of a natural curiosity about any potential day trip destination, I’ve visited the major forts in the immediate Maryland vicinity. It is true that each fort has something special about it — Fort McHenry has that magnificent historical attachment to the foundation of […]
Check-out the Bike Trail along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
Guest blogger Harry Schwarz describes an early fall bike-ride along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. My wife, Cathy and I, had a pleasant and engaging bike ride on Sunday Sept. 25th along a fully-paved recreational trail that extends 16 miles through the the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Wildlife Area. The trail follows the Chesapeake and […]
Six Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses You Need to See!
These are six of my favorite lighthouses in the Mid-Atlantic region — from a variety of locations, including the Atlantic Ocean, the Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay. During the summer months you can find boat tours of both the Chesapeake and Delaware bays that will take you to the various lighthouses; many lighthouses you can drive […]
A Return Visit to Bombay Hook
I have yet to find a bad month to visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, but I’m setting a new goal to go more often this year, maybe even every month, and share the photos and notes with the blog. There are always interesting things to notice — the birds and different species. Bombay Hook […]
Delaware Bay Lighthouses
Seagulls stand watch above the Miah Maull Shoal Lighhouse. Lighthouses stand as solitary sentinels signaling unseen danger — the peaks and valleys that map the geography under water. Mysterious, silent, and now lonely — almost all lighthouses are automated, and almost all are slowly deteriorating back into the waters they have protected our sailors and […]
Exploring Two Historic Estates in the Brandywine Valley
Guest blogger Julie grew up an Army brat, living in Germany and other interesting places. She recounts her memories of her childhood: My parents would take the family castle hunting on weekends and when we came back to the States it was with some trepidation that we would no longer have that immediate connection to history. Just a […]
Winterthur
Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is one of the last of the original Wild Gardens. Downtown Abbey is one of our favorite shows, so when we learned that there’s a “Costume’s of Downton Abbey” exhibit at Winterthur (already on our list for visiting), we knew it was time to plan a day trip there. The exhibit “Costumes […]
Going to the Birds in Bombay Hook
I try to get out to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) at least once a year, camera(s) in hand. Despite the fact I’ve got a lovely camera — far too sophisticated and decked out for the likes of me — I still get camera envy when I see the professionals with their ultra-powerful zoom […]