Hershey, PA

Place Visited: Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
Date: May 2019

I was in town for Sweet Adelines regional competition, but drove up a day early to explore the town. The Museum of Bus Transportation was a feast of all kinds of automobiles, including the bus from Speed. Then I rode the free factory tour ride (that is neither a tour nor a factory) at Hershey's Chocolate World. At the end of the weekend, a fellow chorus member and I took advantage of our free tickets to The Hershey Story museum, which is more or less a shrine to Milton Hershey, but an interesting look into the history of chocolate confections in general as well.

Colesville, MD

Place Visited: Colesville, Maryland, USA
Date: May 2019

This was not my first time visiting the National Capital Trolley Museum, but it was the first time I took advantage of the free trolley ride. I also spent quite a bit of time watching the old trolley-related Harold Lloyd films. A fun way to spend a few hours.

Berryville, VA

Place Visited: Berryville, Virginia, USA
Date: May 2017

The Josephine School Community Museum is very small but very informative.  Worth a stop.

The Plains, VA

Place Visited: The Plains, Virginia, USA
Date: May 2016

I actually had plans for a sketch outing at the National Zoo that day, but I'd neglected to account for the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day ride, which involves hundreds or maybe even thousands of motorcycles descending upon DC. When it took me two hours just to get to Arlington, I turned around and headed back west. On a whim, I took the exit for The Plains. I stopped by a farmers market for lunch, then enjoyed my first cold-brew coffee at Happy Creek, where I drew the scenery. After that I wandered the local shops and galleries. All in all a nice day.

Sperryville, VA

Location: Sperryville, Virginia, USA
Date Visited: May 2015

I went on a random drive and somehow ended up in Rappahannock Central, a little arts/shopping/dining community in Sperryville. I had a wonderful time. I started with lunch at El Quijote, where I had tapas for the first time (and next time I will be sure to go back with other people so I can try a bigger variety of dishes), then wandered River District Arts and The Middle St. Gallery before touring Copper Fox Distillery, where I brought home a bottle of single malt whiskey for my dear husband.

Now, there's no way I can list all the amazing artists I saw on my tour, but here are a few: Mary B. Allen, Leslie Hilton, Frederick Kahler, Virginia B. Costello, Phyllis Northup, and Wayne Paige. Definitely a good place to wander if you're looking for inspiration.

Artisphere

Location: Arlington, Virginia, USA
Visited: May 2013

On a whim, I drove up to Artisphere in Rosslyn to attend a mail art making session hosted by a Craftgasm, a lady I know on Twitter. It was all kinds of fun and inspiring. The scan of the first page is kind of awful because the Artisphere sticker is a little glossy, and I think the reflection did weird things to the contrast. The stamp-covered person on the Artisphere pamphlet was, as far as I can tell, a coincidence, but it certainly fit in well with this spread.

St. Mary's County, MD

Location: Colton Point, California, Piney Point, St. Mary's City, and Scotland, Maryland, USA

Visited: May 2012 

This was one of those "pick a place and go" sort of days. I started at Colton Point to visit the St. Clement's Island Museum (but didn't visit the island itself, as it's only accessible by boat), then had a delightful guided tour of the Piney Point Lighthouse and Museum. After a brief detour through the Cecil's Mill historic district, I wandered down to Point Lookout Park where I saw the lighthouse and took a stroll through Fort Lincoln. Finally, I enjoyed an evening walking tour of St. Mary's City. I was completely exhausted and soaked with sweat by the end of it, but it was loads of fun.

International Spy Museum

Location: Washington, DC, USA

Visited: May 2012 

 When my in-laws visited a few weeks ago, we decided to visit the International Spy Museum for the first time. It was interesting but not worth the $20 admission fee. Still, it's nice to have done. Afterward we stopped by the American Art Museum where we visited the Art of Video Games exhibit and I finally found the DC Art-o-mat machine. Good times!

Washington, DC - and beyond!

Location: The embassies of Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Chad, Haiti, Peru, Bahamas, Australia, Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, and Japan in Washington, DC, USA

Visited: May 2012

When a friend invited me to the Around the World Embassy Tour, I knew I couldn't resist. The best one, in terms of scenery, was Indonesia, but the best in terms of free stuff was Kazakhstan. I learned a lot and had a really great time. Highly recommended, but don't expect to be able to visit every embassy in a single day - there's way too much to see. Maybe I'll check out the EU embassy tour next year.