Cape Charles, VA

Place Visited: Cape Charles, Virginia, USA
Date: September 2019

Some friends and I had a splendid vacation in Cape Charles. We stayed in my friend's comfy RV at the Chesapeake KOA Resort, spending long days on the beach and generally relaxing. The only times we left were to visit the concrete ships at Kiptopeke State Park and to pick me up a swimsuit at Bailey's Bait & Tackle. It was the week after Labor Day, so pickings were slim, and I ended up buying my very first bikini. Can't wait to go back again this year.

Havre de Grace, MD

Place Visited: Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

Concord Point Lighthouse is located in a very pleasant park.  I wish I had more to say about it.  The keeper's house had a lot of cool stuff.

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

St. Michaels, MD

Place Visited: St. Michaels, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

Hooper Strait Light is located at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and boy do they love their lighthouse.  You can get that lighthouse on just about any piece of merchandise you can think of.

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

Cambridge and Scotland, MD

Place Visited: Cambridge and Scotland, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

These were two lighthouses I actually did not visit on the same day.  In fact, Choptank River Replica Lighthouse was my very last stop of the challenge.  It was there that I discovered jellyfish in the Chesapeake!  (Well, technically the Choptank River, duh.)  I was surprised to see so many so close to the surface.  When I visited this lighthouse the first time, it was snowing.  So it was nice to actually be able to go up inside.

Point Lookout has seen better days.  The inside is crumbling, and in fact you can walk right through several of the walls.  It's usually fenced off, though, so it was neat to look inside.

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

Baltimore, MD

Place Visited: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

I arrived too early to go aboard the Chesapeake Lightship (some Girl Scouts had spent the night there and hadn't left yet), but the man at the gate was charming and knowledgable. He also had the only lighthouse stamp with the challenge dates on it.

Seven Foot Knoll was very neat.  I'd kind of forgotten it existed, to be honest, despite all my trips to Baltimore over the years.

A note on the "rip off!" comment - I got inside a garage that was going to charge me $20 for two hours, so I left.  And got charged $5 for the seven minutes I was in there.  I wish this was atypical for Baltimore parking garages, but it is not, so I take the blame for that.  Ah well.

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

Solomons, MD

Place Visited: Solomons, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

Cove Point and Drum Point lighthouses are both owned by the Calvert Marine Museum.  Drum Point is on the premises (and is really neat to go inside), and we took a bus to nearby Cove Point (which was less interesting, to be honest).

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

Piney Point and Fort Washington, MD

Place Visited: Piney Point and Fort Washington, Maryland, USA
Date: September 2017

Piney Point lighthouse and museum is a charming place with an enthusiastic staff, and Fort Washington is my 10-year-old self's dream playground.  It was a great way to kick off the weekend.

Visited as part of the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge.

Maryland Lighthouses

Date: September 2017

I completed the 2017 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge, visiting nine lighthouses and one lightship over the course of two days.  To be honest, I haven't the foggiest idea why I did it.  I just decided it was something I wanted to do.  The silly part is that I'd actually visited all of these lighthouses before, though I hadn't been inside all of them.  (And still haven't - not all of them were open for tours even for the challenge.)  This year's challenge souvenirs were coasters and I collected them all, including the bonus one for finishing.  It was fun, but wow was that ever a lot of driving.

The next few posts are of the lighthouses I visited during that weekend. I also purchased the 2015 souvenir stickers, so those pages will also have some 2015 dates.  Don't be fooled!  It was all 2017! ;)

The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

One fun thing about the Library of Congress is that every single one of their exhibits has its own brochure.  Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I was chock full of information, so much that I didn't have time to see it all.  So I picked out the images that spoke to me the most, like the haunting "Enlist" poster at the bottom right corner of the second page, a Fred Spear poster depicting a woman and infant drowning after the sinking of the Lusitania.  And the bizarre "War Gardens Over The Top" poster that appears to have a pumpkin trying to eat a potato.  Look, I don't know.  It was war.  Times were crazy.

Midlothian, VA

Place Visited: Midlothian, Virginia, USA
Date: September 2017

Mid-Lothian Mines Park is very cool and I wish we'd had more time (and less rain) to explore it.  I have an inexplicable fascination with mining.  Plus, the trees were very nice and the paths well maintained.  Too bad it's so far away from home.

Chesterfield, VA

Place Visited: Chesterfield, Virginia, USA
Date: September 2017

The girls and I took a road trip down to the Midlothian area to see what we could see. (These are the kinds of things we do.)  We started our day at the very cool Chesterfield County Museum and Magnolia Grange, where we received a personal guided tour from a delightful and knowledgable guide.  We also managed to see the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, tucked away inside Pocahontas State Park.  I admit I didn't know anything about the CCC, but it's an interesting idea I simply cannot fathom happening today.

The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration is an amazing exhibit.  The speed and talent of these sketch artists is amazing.  Too bad it's dying out.

Washington, DC

Place Visited: U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

My visit to the Capitol started with breakfast at Pete's Diner, a delightfully eclectic little place with the cutest business cards I've ever seen.  I met up with friends for some sketching, after which we ate lunch at Union Station, where I experienced Bold Bite (which was tasty but not extraordinary).  Later that afternoon I took a break for coffee at Firehook, where I sat at a table on the sidewalk for over an hour, writing a bit and otherwise just watching the world go by.  Quite the lovely outing.

The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

I kind of want to live at the Library of Congress.  I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with friends so I took my time and really saw everything.  I'd taken the tour a few years ago but this was really nice.  Mapping a Growing Nation was a collection of old US maps, including an early Confederate map of Virginia that included my tiny hometown of Centreville.  Hope for America was about political satire and humor - mostly Bob Hope, but other stuff as well.  I'd forgotten how funny Bob Hope could be.  The most fascinating exhibit was Exploring the Early Americas, full of artifacts from the civilizations first encountered by European explorers. The maps were probably my favorite part.

Alexandria, VA

Place Visited: Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Date Visited: September 2016

I wasn't going to post another Mount Vernon spread, but this time around I did something a little different: I took a Potomac River ferry and attended the Colonial Market & Fair.  Both were lovely, though the weather was terribly hot.

The National Book Festival

Location: Washington, DC, USA
Visited: September 2013

The National Book Festival is an annual event to celebrate books and reading. It's mostly author talks and a Pavilion of the States, where each state library system with information and stuff for the kids. It's not my favorite festival (too crowded and usually none of the authors are anyone I'd want to see) but sometimes I go with some of my fellow BookCrossing buddies. I particularly liked the artwork on the program this year. Too bad it poured rain all afternoon.

The National Holocaust Museum

Location: National Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC, USA
Visited: September 2013

I almost didn't make a spread for this museum, thinking it might be construed as disrespectful, but I think it's more important for me to remember my experiences here. You can't take photographs inside, so these pamphlets are my only real reminders of the collection and its impact on me.

Fairfax, VA

Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Visited: September 2012

As part of the annual Fall for the Book event, we got to see one of my favorite authors and readers, Neil Gaiman. He was receiving an award, but before that he read an excerpt from his upcoming novel, answered audience questions, and then read an entire short story from an upcoming anthology. And I had a stupid grin on my face the entire time. If you haven't listened to Gaiman read, you are missing out.

Baltimore, MD

Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Visited: September 2012

Through the One Maryland, One Book website I heard about the Literary Mount Vernon guided walking tour. My friends and I had a great time exploring Mount Vernon (the Baltimore neighborhood, not Georgie's house), followed by a delicious lunch at The Owl Bar. I admit I'm not such a fan of Baltimore most days - especially if I have to drive anywhere - but this was a lovely outing.

Bethlehem, PA

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Visited: September 2010

I've attended the Celtic Classic numerous times, but these pages are from 2010, when we went with my in-laws. They had a great time, as did we. All the old stand-bys were there, such as Seamus Kennedy, plus we watched some great new-to-us bands, like Blackwater and McPeake. If you're ever in Bethlehem, be sure to stop by the Moravian Book Shop, because it's awesome.

The final page is a random pamphlet I picked up about the ice house, which was one of the venues at the Celtic Classic. It's a favorite due to the mere fact that it has air conditioning and slightly more comfortable seating, but the history of the place is pretty cool too.