With summer 2018 firmly behind us, our thoughts start turning to autumn’s glorious colors, scenic drives, the harvest bounty, and spooky destinations. Read on for a little of each, selected from MidAtlanticDayTrips’ jaunts throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia! Start planning now! October is a great time to enjoy the changing foliage and check out […]
heritage tourism
Centre Furnace Mansion
Minutes from the Penn State campus in Centre County is an historic mansion that helps tell the story of the iron industry in America, how the county got named, and Penn State itself was founded. An artist’s interpretation of Centre Furnace Mansion in the early 1800s. The mansion is a restored and furnished ironmaster’s home […]
John Dickinson Plantation
As strange as it may seem to us now to call a plantation owner remarkable, I visited the former home of a remarkable man. John Dickinson, referred to as the Penman of the Revolution, for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, where he eloquently argued the cause of American liberty. He also was a solicitor […]
10 Fun Things to Do in September!
September is summer’s last gasp, and is a favorite time of year. The weather cools, and toward the end of the month, autumn leaves start showing their colors. The mid-Atlantic region offers a wide variety of great things to do and see! There’s nothing quite like a Renaissance festival, whether it’s in Maryland or Virginia […]
Ghost Hunting at Eastern State Penitentiary
Photo Courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary; photographerTom Bernard By day, Eastern State Penitentiary is a museum dedicated to educating the public about the history of both the penitentiary itself and incarceration in America. By night, it is a ghost hunter’s dream: shadowy figures, mysterious laughter, and footsteps have all been reported. EVPs are not uncommon. (EVP […]
Fort Wool
Located at the entrance to the Hampton Roads Harbor, Fort Wool, originally named Fort Calhoun, was built to maintain a crossfire with Fort Monroe, located directly across the channel, thereby protecting the entrance to the harbor. Along with Fort Monroe, Fort Wool was constructed following the War of 1812 to protect Hampton Roads from the […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Update
I first visited Eastern State Penitentiary about 10 years ago, and wrote about it in MidAtanticDayTrips in 2014, several years after the actual visit. It haunted me then, and still does. Even as the cell blocks high arched ceilings evoke a cathedral-like reverence, the cells still hold their secrets, and they’re not giving them up. […]
Browsing Bellefonte’s Spirits, Boutiques and Antiques
Bellefonte was named by a French diplomat on a land-speculation visit to central PA in the 1790s. He named the crossroads “la belle fonte” for the natural spring — “Big Spring” — in town that provides the town its drinking water. Bellefonte’s Big Spring was awarded the “best tasting water in the state” by the […]
Johnson Victrola Museum
Most of us, of a certain age that is, are familiar with record players. Growing up in the 1970s, I enjoyed a series of them; each, upon breaking, being gradually replaced with higher quality and more sophisticated versions. The origins of those record players were the victrolas, made possible by the inventiveness of a native […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Photo Safari
Refining the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail, Eastern State Penitentiary emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment and was operational from 1829 to 1971. Eastern State finally closed its doors in 1971, after 142 years in use, and has since been named a National Historic Landmark. The former […]
Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel
What’s an authentic medieval European chapel doing in the middle of Pennsylvania? You’ll have to daytrip to the Boal Mansion, in Boalsburg, to find out! The Boal Estate has been the Boal family home for more than 200 years. During a tour, you learn the story of America as seen through eight generations of one […]
Fort Monroe’s Casemate Museum
Fort Monroe, the largest stone fort in America, is a decommissioned military installation in Hampton, VA on Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. For at least 400 years, the point of land that now includes Fort Monroe has served as the key defensive site at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. […]
Air Mobility Command: Airplane Petting Zoo
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. […]
York PA Is a Daytrip Destination!
Spring is a great time to visit York, to see the many blooming pear trees along Market Street. York has always been a place to pass through or pass by, on my way to somewhere else, but not anymore! Recently, I spent a day exploring York, and came away excited about York as a day […]
Denton Daytrippin’
Raise your hand if you’ve ever driven through Denton (or just around it on the bypass) on your way to Delaware beaches? Yeah, me too! Which is kind of a shame, since you could be missing out on a delightful, quaint little Eastern Shore town. Denton has a lot to offer, whether you decide to […]