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 […]
Maryland
Mary Surratt: Guilty as Charged? Or Innocent?
You don’t have to be a history buff to be interested in exploring some of the places that figure in the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. If you haven’t traveled down to Washington DC to see Fords Theater and the little house across the street where Lincoln died, you really should try to do […]
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 […]
A Visit to Hell House in Howard County, MD
This morning my husband surprised me with an adventure I probably wouldn’t have gone on alone. A view over the Patapsco River valley to St Mary’s hill. Many mornings we grab our beagles and go walking along the Grist Mill Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park — we usually access it from the swinging […]
Ghost Hunting at Belmont Manor
We visited historic Belmont Manor, in Elkridge, MD, in search of ghosts, as part of Howard County Parks & Rec programs one evening in March. This wasn’t a ghost tour, where you’re led around and told ghost stories. This was a ghost hunt. We were excited about the opportunity to see this lovely historic manor, […]
Light City Baltimore Festival
Today’s post is a special event post, because the Light City Festival is happening RIGHT NOW! So pull this post up on your phone, download the Light City app, and get going down to Baltimore! Yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to a media preview of Baltimore’s first ever light festival — being a […]
Where You Should Go to See Ruins in the Mid-Atlantic
Because all but one of these sites are in Maryland. I am challenging myself over the next year to find some good daytrips to ruins or ghost towns OUTSIDE of Maryland! By the way, I don’t do breaking and entering, so I’m not into sneaking into abandoned asylums or hospitals. If it’s fenced off and posted […]
Six Historic House Museums You Should Visit!
If you’re looking for great daytrip destinations as winter slowly turns into spring, consider visiting a house museum! Here are six of my area favorites! 6. Bushong Farm (New Market (VA) National Historic Battlefield)Although not the largest house museum, this one is interesting. Sitting in the middle of the national battlefield, it depicts a farm […]
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 […]
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 […]
My Top 5 Winter Day Trips
Periodically (i.e., whenever the whim strikes me, I’ll post my top picks. This another in the series of the 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! 5. Snowtubing, of course!There are lots of places to go, […]
My Top 5 December Activities
Periodically (i.e., whenever the whim strikes me, I’ll post my top picks. This is yet another in the continuing series of the 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!December is a favorite time of year because […]
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 […]