Within Shaupeneak Ridge Park, in Ulster County, NY, the Sojourner Truth Discovery Trail allows you to experience part of Truth’s 11-mile journey to self-emancipation.
Discovering the Adam Stephen House and an Almost Forgotten Piece of American History
Learn about a little-known Revolutionary War General through a visit to his former home in Martinsburg, WV.
West Overton Industrial Village Reveals the Humble Beginnings of American Industrialist Henry Clay Frick
Learn about the humble beginnings of a famous American industrialist, financier and art patron.
The Most Beautiful Hike You’ll Take: Watkins Glen State Park and Its Waterfalls
This easy hike offers breathtaking views of 19 waterfalls you do NOT want to miss!
Rediscovering the Loveliest Rail Trail: Greenbrier River Trail
The Greenbrier River Trail is a lineal state park protecting the almost 78-mile rail trail — the longest rail trail in West Virginia — between North Caldwell and Cass in eastern West Virginia. It runs through Pocahontas and Greenbrier counties, mostly within sight of the Greenbrier River. I first encountered the Greenbrier River Trail years […]
Easy Hike with a Spectacular Payoff at Chittenango Falls State Park
Chittenango Falls is a small state park, just shy of 200 acres. But despite its small size, this park is well worth a visit. As its name implies, the park’s centerpiece is a picturesque, 167-foot staircase waterfall, which sends the waters of Chittenango Creek into a gorge. You can’t help but notice the amount of […]
Be Your Own Captain: Renting a Boat from 7 Points Marina
The largest lake (entirely) in PA, Raystown Lake offers you more than 27 miles snaking through the mountains along the original path of the Juniata River, to explore! The original lake was built as a hydroelectric project, but was significantly enlarged in 1973 with a new, larger dam by the Army Corps of Engineers, primarily […]
Reach for the Stars at the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum
Growing up, my favorite museum was the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. My family made annual pilgrimages downtown to the Smithsonian Museums. I was really excited when, in 2003, the Udvar Hazy Center, an annex to the National Air and Space Museum, open. Multiple trips ensued, with the kids, with out of […]
The Belle Boyd House and Historical Society Museum
Belle Boyd was born in West Virginia in May 1844. Boyd became a Confederate spy before her 18th birthday and conveyed information and supplies to Southern military leaders. The 10-year-old Marie Isabelle Boyd moved into the Greek Revival-style house with her family that her father, Benjamin Reed Boyd built in 1853; two years later Boyd […]
The Wildlife Refuge That Almost Became a Housing Development: Exploring Eastern Neck NWR
We visited Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) twice last month: once in the beginning of the month and then in the later half of the month because I’d read that the tundra swans had arrived. Both times we saw different birds: hawks, seagulls or terns, vultures, Cardinals, tundra swans from a very far distance, […]
Exploring the Art, History and Science of Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass
Still Life with Two Plums, 2000, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick The Corning Museum of Glass should be on your bucket list, if it’s not already. Carrona (Carrion), 2011, Javier Perez, blown glass chandelier, assembled, broken; taxidermied crows, wire, monofilament; this provocative sculpture evokes opportunistic birds eating carrion in a pool of blood by the side […]
Walk through American History on Historic Huguenot Street
The Crispell Memorial French Church is a reconstruction of the 1717 stone church that wasused by the Huguenot families for both worship and education. The current structure was rebuilt in 1972. Historic Huguenot Street, in New Paltz NY, is one of the oldest, continuously occupied European settlements in America, dating back to the last three decades […]
Minnewaska State Park’s Must See Falls: Awosting Falls Hike
Awosting Falls are a spectacular water fall within the Minnewaska State Park, itself a very popular day-use park. The short and sweet Awosting Falls Hike is simply a must-do hike if you visit this park. The state park features a couple of “sky lakes,” as well as as about 50 miles of trails. With the […]
Fire and Ice: A Longwood Christmas Celebration
We started our Christmas season with a visit to one of our favorite lights displays: Longwood Gardens. We took a year off from our now almost-annual visits because of the pandemic, which made returning this year even better. We arrived during the daylight, the better to appreciate the last rose bloom … … and the […]
The Secret Flower in Skyline Caverns You Must See to Believe!
Skyline Caverns is a series of geologic caves and a tourist attraction located in Warren County, Virginia, one mile south of Front Royal. Unlike other caverns in the area, Skyline Caverns were discovered on purpose — a retired geologist went searching for them. Walter S. Amos went sniffing around for caverns that could be commercialized […]