There’s a curious little museum in Fredericksburg dedicated to the fifth President, and the last Virginia president. James Monroe, who was born in 1758 and lived until 1831, served in the Continental Army and as a governor of Virginia; he also was a statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father. He is perhaps best known for […]
museums
American Visionary Art Museum Revisited
Bluebird of Happiness, Dick Brown. The American Visionary Art Museum is an unusual art museum. There are no Picassos, no Monets, no Chagalls to be found within its walls, but don’t let that stop you. Black Icarus, Andrew Logan. Instead, you’ll find art made by “every day folk” but these artists didn’t go to school […]
Learn about Baltmore’s Industrial Past at the Baltimore Museum of Industry
Baltimore was never a one-industry town. If you think of Pittsburgh, you naturally think of steel. If you think Detroit, cars. But Baltimore? Think straw hats and umbrellas. And boots, space capsules, and schooners. And Linotype machines. And cigars, seaplanes, and refined sugar. And radios and sail cloth and toilets…. the list goes on. Baltimore […]
How Kids Can Science at the Maryland Science Center!
I kinda wished I was a kid again. Or had young kids again (my kids are all grown). Because the Maryland Science Center is all about kids and science and teaching kids things by simply making it fun to explore ideas and concepts. Yes, I visited the Maryland Science Center as an adult. And without […]
Percival Island Rail Trail — Biking a Portion of the James River Heritage Rail Trail
Lynchburg offers more than 40 miles of bike and walking trails. which visit various parts of the town’s historic neighborhoods and parks. We didn’t have our bikes on this ride — the first day of a seven-day whirl-wind of daytrips, so we rented bikes — very comfortable Townies — at Bikes Unlimited, before heading off […]
Explore the Odd and Creepy at Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium
3D masks that look as if they’re looking at you. You have permission to stare. This T-Rex sculpture is made out of Pop-Tart foil…believe it or not! Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium has the weird, bizarre and just plain odd. Looking for a life-sized T-Rex made out of pop-tart foil? Then look no further, […]
24 Things to Do in 24 Hours in Lynchburg
Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the “City of Seven Hills.” It’s a city nestled in its surroundings. If you’re a history buff, you’ve come to the right place — there’s history galore here. Interestingly, it’s a Southern city grappling with […]
Reflecting Absence: 9/11 Memorial and Museum in NYC
Every American, if they are old enough, has their own memory of that day, the 11th of September, 2001. A surprising number remember, of all things, the incredibly deep blue sky that yielded the planes which were the instruments of terror that day. A view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn, taken around 8:30 a.m. September […]
Nine-Eleven Memorials
There is America pre-9/11 and America post-9/11, and a world of difference in between. The targets of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC and, most likely, the Capitol Building — symbols of America’s financial, military and political influence on the world. The magnitude […]
Rediscovering the Arts and Crafts Movement at the Moravian Pottery
A wall of tiles in Fonthill Castle. No visit to Doylestown, PA would be complete without a visit to the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, adjacent to Fonthill Castle, which local archeologist, collector, creative genius Henry Chapman Mercer designed and built. In fact, both the Moravian Tile Works and Fonthill Castle came out of Mercer’s […]
Historic Jamestowne
A model of the Susan Constant. In 1607, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery landed, carrying 104 men and boys. These first colonists constructed a fort to protect themselves from the nearby Virginia Indian tribes and from a potential attack from the Spanish settlements in Florida. The following year, young women were recruited from England to travel […]
Daytripping Hampton VA
Sure, there’s history at Hampton VA — in fact, more than 400 years of recorded history, which makes Hampton an interesting place to visit. But there are plenty of other good reasons to visit Hampton as well, including the Virginia Air and Space Center and a harbor cruise that will take you to see the […]
Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop
Hugh Mercer Apothecary was a pharmacy founded by Hugh Mercer in the mid-18th century. Mercer is an interesting figure in his own right. He initially served with the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie; he fled Scotland after the Battle of Culloden. He initially settled in Pennsylvania, and served with the British forces during the […]
PA Military Museum
The Pennsylvania Military Museum preserves and honors the state’s military history from 1747 to the present, interpreting the story of the Commonwealth’s ‘Citizen Soldiers,’ civilian activities on the home front, and the contributions of Pennsylvania industry to military technology. The first thing you notice is the Sherman Tank near the road, sitting still in a […]
First State Heritage Park
The First State Heritage Park at Dover is Delaware’s first urban “park without boundaries,” linking historic and cultural sites in the historic city that has been the seat of state government since 1777. First State Heritage Park includes the Biggs Museum, the John Bell House, the Johnson Victrola Museum, Legislative Hall, the Old State House, […]