A November Visit to Blackwater NWR

I’ve been to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) before, but never in November, when a lot of the waterfowl are there. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, located 12 miles south of Cambridge, includes more than 28,000 acres of rich tidal marsh, mixed hardwood and loblolly pine forests, managed freshwater wetlands and farmland.  What drew […]

Discovering a Unique American Perspective at the Rockwell Museum

The buffalo bursting out of the museum is named Artemus (for “art is a must”), and is the museum’s mascot The Rockwell Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate museum of American art located in the Finger Lakes region in downtown Corning, NY. The Rockwell Museum explores the people, land and ideas that shape America through the […]

The Waterfowl Festival Continues 50-Year Tradition of Celebrating Maryland’s Eastern Shore Heritage

The quintessential festival of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Waterfowl Festival just celebrated its 50th year November 12 – 14 in Easton, a town that still retains its old-timey charm and is known for its vibrant culinary and arts communities, as well as its historic downtown. The town’s charm translates to the festival itself — the Waterfowl […]

Exploring Pennsylvania’s Main Street Across America and Lincoln Highway Experience

The Lincoln Highway is one of the earliest transcontinental highway routes for automobiles across the United States of America. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway runs coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City west to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. The Lincoln […]

Spoil Yourself with a Weekend Stay at Thistledown at Seger House

I was delighted with a recent stay in the Thistledown at Seger House, a renovated 103-year-old Victorian mansion that is now a luxurious boutique hotel in Ligonier. Like this gorgeous mansion, Ligonier itself is one of those timeless American towns that get portrayed as such in movies — it’s the place everyone wants to live […]

Four Stops You Should Make Along the Highland Scenic Highway

The Highland Scenic Highway — WV 150 / WV 39-WV 55 — runs 43 miles through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, meandering along the mountain ridges and reaching an elevation of more than 4500 feet.  If you plan on spending a day exploring the Highland Scenic Highway (easily doable, since it’s only 43 […]

Exploring a Lake in the Sky: Lake Minnewaska

Although originally we’d come to Minnewaska State Park, located in the Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster County, NY, for its water falls — Awosting Falls, Stoney Kill Falls, and another waterfalls that we ended up not going to — we came back simply to hike around Lake Minnewaska itself.  Minnewaska State Park Preserve is nestled within […]

What Lurks in the Halls of TransAllegheny Lunatic Asylum at Night?

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (TALA), which became the Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that was operated from 1864 until 1994 by the state of West Virginia. It is now known by its first name.  Weston, where the asylum was located, was a company town. When it shut down in 1994, the town […]

Plagiarizing Poets and Confederate Spies Inhabit Oak Hill Cemetery

Small in comparison to other Victorian rural garden cemeteries, at just 22 acres, Oak Hill Cemetery is a prime example of a rural garden cemetery, and is probably the most peaceful place in Georgetown, an historic neighborhood in Washington DC. Let the winding paths and terraces entice you to explore this quiet oasis in the […]

Hunting What Haunts Martinsburg’s Apollo Theater

We got the opportunity to conduct a paranormal investigation at the Apollo Theatre in Martinsburg WV. It was a hot and stormy night — the thunder and lightening fueled the ghosts inside and lent a particularly spooky atmosphere to the ghost hunt. The theater is currently being renovated, even as performances are still being scheduled. […]

Discover the Hidden Beauty of the New Cathedral Cemetery

The New Cathedral Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery, with 125 acres, located on the westside of Baltimore. Established in 1871 in the Victorian rural garden cemetery style, it is the final resting place of 110,000 people, including numerous individuals who played important roles in Maryland history.   As you explore this cemetery, you can’t […]