Duquesne Incline
Doug absolutely loves visiting viewpoints – be it riding in a tram or gondola or funicular, or walking up a tower, or hiking up a mountain. I, on the other hand, usually feel like we’ve …
Category: History
President James Buchanan Sites in Mercersburg, Penn.
A rainy April day had us once again chasing sites related to one of the worst US Presidents, our 15th President, James Buchanan. A refresher: Buchanan served immediately before Lincoln and his choice to take …
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
Did you know there is a 13-mile stretch of abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike that you can bike or walk on, and experience what the apocalypse might feel like? This section of highway near Breezewood, PA, was …
Architecture / History / Museums / Religion
The Ephrata Cloister
The Ephrata Cloister in Ephrata, PA (near Lancaster) is another “I didn’t see it when I lived there, but came back as a tourist” experience. The Ephrata Cloister is not far at all from where …
New Jersey Shark Attacks of 1916
In July 1916, media across the U.S. buzzed with reports of five shark attacks in three locations in central and southern New Jersey. The first two attacks were on the Jersey shore, with a fatality …
Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Sometimes you live in a place for nearly 20 years and don’t visit the local attractions, and it takes coming back as a tourist to get you there…that’s us and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House …
The Titanic Museum of the Titanic Historical Society
It was with high hopes we entered the Titanic Museum in Indian Orchard, MA, and with mixed feelings that we exited it. Jennifer thought it left a bit to be desired, and Doug thought it …
Dinosaur State Park
In 1966 Edward McCarthy was using a bulldozer to excavate a rocky site in central Connecticut; on the underside of one slab he noticed six large three-toed footprints. Excavation work was immediately halted, and over …
Architecture / Art / History / Museums
Moravian Pottery and Tile Works
We made a visit to the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, PA, on a chilly April morning. The Tile Works are a cast-in-place (crazy!) concrete structure built by Henry Chapman Mercer in 1911-1912; …