My husband and I probably spend a day or an afternoon at Harpers Ferry at least once a year, generally just walking around and then we’ll have lunch. Sometimes, such as on this most recent visit, we’ll bring a beagle or two. I’ve also taken my sons there multiple times — sometimes focusing more on […]
National Parks & Historic Sites
Leaf Peeping in Dolly Sods Wilderness
Sometimes the beauty of Dolly Sods Wilderness Area is subtle, sometimes breathtaking. Dolly Sods also serves as an abject lesson for us: it was the scene of one of the worst ecological disasters in the 20th century. Despite that, Dolly Sods has rebounded over the past century and now is truly one of the most […]
Catoctin Mountain Reverie
The plan: bring the boys to one of my favorite spots, Cunningham Falls, in Cunningham Falls State Park, not far from Thurmont, MD. Climb the falls, like I did when I was a kid, tell them the ghost story told to me when I was in 6th grade (for which I can find absolutely no […]
Segway into a Battlefield Tour: Gettysburg National Battlefield
I have been visiting Gettysburg periodically for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Frederick and drove through the battlefields (on route 34) to visit my aunts and uncles and cousins who lived just north of Gettysburg my entire childhood. Even as an adult, I found myself returning there every few years, […]
Lady Liberty and Ellis Island
Every once in a while I’m going to throw in some favorite day trips that the boys, Ed and I have taken, like the one we took to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. That was a year ago — Liberty was being renovated, and unfortunately, we couldn’t go up to the top. Then, […]
A Necessary Stop: Fort Necessity
We trusted 22-year-olds a lot more back in the 1700s than we do now. It’s not because life is more complicated now, because that’s arguable. Back then we (and by we I mean not us but our British colonial overlords) told a young man to take a bunch of men and forge a road where […]
Flight 93 National Memorial
Flight 93 National Memorial is the nation’s permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93. It’s their final resting place and their remains are still present. The crash site is bordered by the Memorial Plaza. We headed out early Thursday morning, taking I70 West out of Baltimore to the Memorial, nestled in […]