WHY GO: With the demise of “extractive industries” (coal and timber), Southwestern VA is reinventing itself through its cultural offerings. You’ll most likely be surprised by the caliber of theater, music, food and lodging in the corner of Virginia wedged between Tennessee and Kentucky. It’s a renaissance led by the …
WHY GO: Virginia Military Institute (VMI) dominates Lexington VA like a fortress. Right next door, Washington & Lee University, a Liberal Arts College founded by George Washington and presided over by Robert E. Lee after the Civil War, draws students from all over the country and the world. There is …
WHY GO: A “port” town, Syracuse NY was sophisticated and open to the outside world from the get go, despite its remote Central NY location. The Erie Canal actually coursed right through downtown: old photographs convey a Venice-like panorama. But the the waterway was paved over in the 1920’s. Syracuse …
WHY GO: The iconic statue, “The Man At the Wheel” defines Gloucester MA past and present. Sporting foul weather gear, the Fisherman’s Memorial, erected in 1923, lists the thousands of Gloucester mariners lost at sea. Home port of the Andrea Gail – the fishing boat that went down with all …
WHY GO: The Woodstock Music Festival was held in Sullivan County NY. “Three days of fun and music, and nothing but fun and music.” Need we say more? Of course, yes. Boomers will recognize this area of the Catskills, also, as the former “Borscht Belt.” Summer resorts like The Concord, …
Your first view of Hudson Valley Rose Bed & Breakfast in Middletown, NY is that of a tree-lined gravel road that seems to go on and on and on. Surrounded by all the lush foliage, you might be tempted to belt out the 1960s hit TV Show theme song, “Green Acres …
WHY GO: Small town Exeter NH, home to the venerable prep school, Phillips-Exeter, will charm you to pieces. And, it will also provide an enlightening glimpse of our Founding Father’s debate over what makes “a more perfect union” at the American Independence Museum. Visitors to Portsmouth are missing a great deal …
WHY GO: As a Colonial seaport and one of the country’s oldest Naval Shipyards, Portsmouth NH was open to many immigrants from foreign lands who lived and socialized together in an enclave picturesquely called “Puddle Dock.” The town bustled with shops and eateries. Barges plied the rivers delivering goods. It …
WHY GO: While Longwood Gardens is the most visited attraction in nearby Brandywine Valley, lesser known but just as worthy gems beckon visitors to Northern Chester County PA. There’s a a 35-acre “pleasure garden” favored by Martha Stewart and Brits; two tiny “Brigadoon”-like hamlets with world-renowned cred; the place where …
WHY GO: If you’ve been to Washington DC before, you’ve probably visited the Monuments, the Capitol Building, the White House – and presumably the more popular Smithsonian Museums. But there are new and other lesser known institutions – like a wild cutting edge “tech” art attraction, the Museum of African …