Francis Scott Key was always sort of a hometown hero for me: I grew up in Frederick, MD, where Key is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery as he desired, “in the shadows of the Catoctin Mountains.” Thus, Fort McHenry has always been a favorite destination for me. It’s a lovely place to walk along the […]
Month: September 2015
My Top 4 Things to do During a Government Furlough
Periodically (i.e., whenever the whim strikes me, I’ll post my top picks. This is the second 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!It’s 27 September and Congress has just 3 more days to pass […]
Gettysburg Heritage Museum Shares Civilian Experience During the Battle
The new Gettysburg Heritage Center used to be the American Civil War Wax Museum. I have to admit: I never visited the wax museum. I eschew wax museums: I find them creepy. But having a museum dedicated to the civilian perspective of what happened in Gettysburg during that great battle sounded intriguing, and I welcomed […]
My Top 4 Maryland Bike Rides
Periodically (i.e., whenever the whim strikes me, I’ll post my top picks on a Sunday or Monday; right now I’m aiming to post a Top Pick at least twice a month. This is the first of the My Top Picks posts. Links to the original posts will be embedded in the text. Let me know […]
Getting to Know the Town of Gettysburg
This is part one of a five-part series over the next 2 months focusing on Gettysburg, PA as a great day trip destination. There is so much to do there — from strolling around the quaint town itself and eating at one of the taverns or cafes to touring the battlefields. My friend and I […]
Montpelier: James Madison’s Presidential Retreat
My sister and I are determined to visit all the local presidential mansions: Mount Vernon, Monticello, and Montpelier, among them. Montpelier is the estate of our 4th president, James Madison, and one of America’s Founding Fathers. He is known for putting his lawyerly training to work by helping write the U.S. Constitution in the late […]
A Summer Afternoon Exploring the Loudon County Wine Trail
All my previous blogs on wineries have focused on mostly Maryland wineries. (I’ve visited some 17 of them over the past 2 years, some multiple times — check out this list of places the Blog has visited.) I’ve also visited a few wineries on the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail in Pennsylvania. All along, I’ve been […]