Connecticut
There was one thing I wanted during our two day interlude by the sea: lobster. I also got a roll and some work done.
Category Road Trip Adventures
We have zig-zagged across the country and, boy-oh-boy, do we have some gems to share! Browse campsites, off-road trails, scenic outlooks, oddities, museums, hiking trails, and more.
Read MoreConnecticut
Vermont
We found a little slice of heaven in Vermont, a state shaped like a slice of pie. The Green Mountain State is emerald green and close to nature.
Niagara Falls
That time when we accidentally cross the US / Canada border without a passport. But we still got to see Niagara Falls. What an amazing waterfall!
Drake Well and Pithole
In our continuing quest to visit undervalued sites, we swung through Titusville, PA to see the one—and, indeed, the only—Drake Well, the world's first oil well. Sure, native Americans had been collecting oil from oil seeps for thousands of years before the Drake Well, but this was the first time that oil was collected by means of digging a well and attempting to pump the oil out of the ground. People already recognized the value of oil if only it could be collected in large amounts but Drake was the one the hit upon a process. While petroleum and its myriad of refined products may not be considered an environmentally friendly energy source today, at the time it was discovered, it was the answer to the dwindling number of whales, who were being hunted to make lamp oil and other products. Thus, my hat goes off to Drake and his whale saving enterprise.
Flying J
Flying J showers are awesome. After a couple of relatively successful sleepovers at Walmart, we decided to up our game and camp with the big boys: commercial truck drivers. Yes, when we realized that we wouldn’t reach our intended campground before it was dark (thanks, Hershey), we decided that there was little value left in even camping somewhere nice and opted, instead, for cheap.
Hershey, PA
Hershey: the town, the factory, the chocolate, and the man. A museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania dedicated to the eponymous sweet confection magnate.
Intercourse, PA
Discover one of the oddest named town full of horse drawn carriages in Pennsylvania and the Amish community the defines Intercourse, PA.
Baltimore
Baltimore did not get it’s due. After a relatively sleepless night, I had exhausted my energy but had acquired a migraine. It was a beautiful day along the bay but our tour of a WWII submarine left me ill from the stale air. A better experience was found on the Constellation, the last military ship powered by sails owned by the US, which patrolled the Mediterranean during the Civil War to prevent the confederates from gaining resources in Europe. It was a beautiful ship and included an entertaining audio tour.
Washington DC
DC was delightful. While we did stop by the requisite Lincoln, Jefferson, and Vietnam memorials, we spent most of our time in two places: the American History Museum, and the Natural History Museum. We saw diamonds, Kermit the Frog, and Dorothy’s slippers. The greatest surprise was when we stumbled onto a small display in the shipping section of the American History Museum which included a small speck of gold under a magnifying glass. Yet this little speck is attributed as the first nugget discovered by John Marshal at Sutter’s Mill, sparking the California Gold Rush.
On Our Way To DC
I suppose that heading to the nation's capitol would inherently involve some traffic. We just weren't expecting this.