It was the best way to spend a morning — hiking in the mountainside above the Susquehanna River in Harford County, where the river is wide and calm(er) and beautiful glimpsed through the trees, before it opens into the Chesapeake Bay just a mile or two away. We chose the Lower Susquehanna Ridge Loop Trail. […]
heritage tourism
Planes, Trains and Automobiles at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodome
The Old Rhinebeck Aerodome is one of those hidden gems that make writing MidAtlanticDayTrips so rewarding! But despite the title of this article, there really weren’t any trains there, other than an old caboose near the runway that didn’t look as if it was in very good shape. But there were many historic and reproduction […]
Wagner Ritter House and Garden
Part of understanding the Johnstown flood disaster is understanding how working-class families lived in and around Johnstown, PA in the late 1800s. Although many homes of the time were destroyed by the flood, what weren’t destroyed then, re-development since has destroyed. Even if you’re not interested in the Johnstown disaster, this home is fascinating because […]
Sojourner Truth Driving Tour
Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and advocate for rights for women, endured slavery in New York from 1797 to 1828 when she was emancipated based on the law gradually ending slavery in New York. She lived almost her entire life in Ulster County, NY. She was a woman of determination, who pulled herself out of enslavement […]
Northern Carroll County Barn Quilt Driving Tour
This Sunflower quilt block is “set on point” on a small bank barn that dates to the mid 1800s.The owner chose this pattern because volunteer sunflowers will occasionally appear on the property. I love barns — and if you’re reading this, I bet you do too! A good barn tour will carry you through rolling […]
Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Site
The Walkway over the Hudson is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie on the east bank and Highland on the west bank. You’ll enjoy beautiful views 212 feet above the Hudson as you walk across the span. When the train bridge opened in 1889 it connected to a nationwide network of […]
Seven Fabulous Forts in the Mid-Atlantic States You Should Visit!
Everyone’s probably heard of famous Fort McHenry in Baltimore, which tells the story of the War of 1812 and is immortalized in Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.” But seven other fabulous forts are worth exploring in the mid-Atlantic region: three in Maryland, and two each in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Each fort has a unique history […]
Southern Carroll County Barn Quilt Driving Tour
This four patch quilt block on a bank barn in Westminster was popular in the early 1900s.This block was chosen by the farm owners to represent the soybeans and corn grown on their80 acre farm. Four generations of the Nelson family have farmed this land since the farm was established in 1868. If you love barns, […]
Eight Great Hikes, Kayaking, Ruins, Forgotten Cemeteries and even Ghost Hunting in Patapsco Valley State Park
Maryland’s first — and largest — state park (not to be confused with much larger state forests) is strung out like glittering glass beads on a necklace along the Patapsco River south and west of Baltimore. Established in 1912, the Patapsco Valley State Park (PVSP) was Maryland’s first state park. It’s also Maryland’s most visited […]
Rosendale Trestle and Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
When it opened to rail traffic on April 6, 1872, the Rosendale Trestle was the highest span bridge in the United States. We’d seen the entrance for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail along Binnewater Road, as we were driving to check out the Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale. I wished we’d brought our bikes along […]
An Afternoon in Strasburg
For such a small town, there’s a surprising number of things to in Strasburg, VA. Here’s how we spent an afternoon exploring this quaint little town. The scenic and lovely Shenandoah River runs lazy along the town, offering a refreshing backdrop to the town. We started with lunch at Jaliscos, a neat little Mexican food […]
Discovering Black and African American History in the Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley Black History Project developed several driving tours, two of which actually combine quite nicely into one driving tour, doable in a few hours. The combined driving tour takes you through scenic backroads in Rockingham and Shenandoah counties in the Shenandoah Valley. Ultimately, this is an exploration of history that rarely makes it […]
Book T Washington National Monument
“We all should rise, above the clouds of ignorance, narrowness, and selfishness.” ― Booker T. Washington, The Story of My Life and Work Booker T Washington was born into slavery, probably on April 18, 1856, as that’s the date that John Burroughs, who enslaved him, recorded the birth of a male […]
Hiking on Hallowed Ground: Worthington Farm Trails in Monocacy National Battlefield Park
The Worthington House. The trail head to the Brooks Hill Loop is to the left of the house (as you face it). In a perhaps apocraphal conversation, three decades after the Battle of Monocacy, which had taken place on July 9, 1864, former Confederate Major General John Gordon was introduced to Union Major General Lew […]
Geocaching Along Clearfield County’s Five Trails
Geocaching has seemed like something I’d like to do — I just didn’t know how to get started or what was involved. Not familiar with it? Has the idea of treasure-hunting every appealed to you? Geocaching is similar, except that it’s real, unlike the myths of gold buried in them thar hills. In fact, gecaching […]