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 […]
heritage tourism
Romance on the Rails
My husband suggested a romantic evening on Saturday, 13 February. He started describing the evening. He had me at “train ride.” But it kept getting better and better. A four-course, romantic meal in one of Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s restored dining cars, a complimentary bottle of wine, and a kidless evening out… We arrived in […]
Great Lakes Lighthouses and Why Michigan Is So Great About Its Lighthouses
This is the last of five posts about our late summer trip to Mackinaw City and Michigan’s upper peninsula; we visited the area after bringing my son up to college in Michigan. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was built in 1892 in the same northern park that was originally allotted for its construction. This lighthouse would […]
Mackinac Island
This is the fourth of five posts about our late summer trip to Mackinaw City and Michigan’s upper peninsula; we visited the area after bringing my son up to college in Michigan. The Victorian Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. After exploring Mackinaw City, we wanted to go over to St Ignace to explore it too. […]
Two Lakes, a Bridge, a Fort, and a Park
Focusing on Mackinaw City, MI, this is the third of five posts about our late summer trip to Mackinaw City and Michigan’s upper peninsula; we visited the area after bringing my son up to college in Michigan. If you drive to the top of Michigan’s lower peninsula, you will arrive at Mackinaw City, which lies […]
The Ghost Ships of Lake Superior
This week we depart the Mid-Atlantic states for a brief journey across Michigan, which brought us all the way up to Lake Superior to see shipwrecks underwater, back down to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island — a magical place — and then down the coast of Lake Huron to visit a few lighthouses. This post […]
Beautiful Ruins, Beautifully Preserved
On a hilltop overlooking the Patapsco River Valley, stabilized ruins sit serenely in a park just above Ellicott City. I’ve known vaguely that these are the former Patapsco Female Institute, which was founded in 1837 as an elegant finishing school for young women. Despite living in Ellicott City for almost two decades now, only recently […]
The Lost Post
C&O Canal Between Monocacy Aqueduct and Catoctin Creek Aqueduct I call this the lost post because I had this article almost completely written — I was just feeding in the photos, when my beagle, Meeko, sat his big fat hairy butt on my little laptop and butt-erased most of the post. I was more sad and […]
Getting to Know the Ghosts of Gettysburg
Gettysburg is as known for its ghost tours as the battle itself, which caused so much alleged paranormal activity. The ghost tours are everywhere! Stroll along Baltimore Street or Steinwehr Avenue at 7 or 9 pm and you’ll see multiple groups. There are now more than a dozen to choose from, a ridiculous number for […]
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 […]
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 […]
Christmas in NYC And Bucket List Item: Check!
I should have been home working on our kitchen reno… instead my husband suggested we go up to NYC to show a friend of his, who’d never been, around the major tourist sites. Within seconds, I had a plan in mind: Staten Island Ferry (to see the Statue of Liberty, and also, just because), lunch […]
We Blew It!
I met Foster, the owner and co-founder of Art of Fire Contemporary Glass Studios, at the most recent Maryland Blogger Bash, in downtown Rockville, Md. Normally, glass doesn’t intrigue me: I don’t need any new glass pieces, in fact, if anything, I have too many. But Foster kept talking about his work and the studios, […]
My Top 4 Dog Friendly Day Trips
Periodically (i.e., whenever the whim strikes me, I’ll post my top picks. This is another in the series 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! 4. Tail Lights at Columbia, MD’s Symphony of LightsA lot of […]
Bolivar Heights Battlefield
The Battle of Bolivar Heights, which took place on October 16, 1861, was an early battle of the Civil War. During the battle, Confederate States Army colonel Turner Ashby attempted to take the strategic Bolivar Heights from Union colonel John White Geary. After a 6-hour battle, the Confederates were ultimately repulsed, and the Union planted […]