This week’s travel theme, “Below,” made me think of the serenity I felt while looking down on Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers meet. It was a fine autumn day, and we decided to explore Maryland Heights, the highest of the mountains overlooking the town. Here’s what we saw: Your journey can begin … Continue reading
Dance is this week’s travel theme from Where’s My Backpack? So, here we go, a collection of colorful frolicking from the months past. A king and the Maypole at the Maryland’s Renaissance Festival: Montresor and Fortunato, doomed by Poe long ago, stumbling over the bones at the Westminster Hall & Burying Ground: Performers practicing backstage at the DC Turkish … Continue reading
” The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” The Cask of Amontillado has always been one of my favorite Poe stories. How could I miss the 2013 Cask of Amontillado Wine Tasting Among the Bones? A Saturday of sampling wine and beer … Continue reading
Much to my embarrassment, it took me years to appreciate Baltimore beyond its aquarium. The turning point was one wintry day last year. We woke up early, the flat, frozen city before us, and decided to explore. Our primary destinations on that visit were the two museums–the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum–and I … Continue reading
In this season of “must-haves” and “must-dos,” it is easy to lose one’s balance. There is one place I usually think of when I need to catch my breath: Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, one of our favorite places in the world. Poplar Spring is a 400-acre refuge for farm animals and wildlife in Poolesville, Maryland. … Continue reading
“My treasures do not click together or glitter. They gleam in the sun and neigh in the night.” (Bedouin proverb) A trip to Assateague, where wild horses graze and shore birds fly over dunes, marshes, shrublands, and forests, all within a 37-mile island shared by Virginia and Maryland, is an early-October tradition. Goldenrods are in … Continue reading
After years of hearing about it, I finally went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, the annual autumn celebration outside of Annapolis. We went on a whim: I saw an ad, hailing entry price discounts until mid-September ($19 for adults, instead of the usual $24), and it sounded like a good idea to experience the venue before … Continue reading
For a long time, the National Aquarium was the first attraction that came to mind when I thought of Baltimore. Now, I know, of course, that there is a lot more to the city than its harbor. Still, the Aquarium remains one of my favorite places to visit. The building gets crowded fast, so it’s … Continue reading
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