We had two northeast New Jersey historical parks on our agenda, with one being a bit of a letdown and the other rather enlightening. First we stopped at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, where the Passaic River drops 77…
The Big Apple of My Eye
Traveling on a budget has often meant staying out in the suburbs and taking public transit into cities. As we pulled in to our hotel in Jamaica, in the borough of Queens, we were concerned about walking through the graffiti-splashed…
Gateway to the Big Apple
Did you know that you can camp and kayak at a National Park site in New York City? We spent a few days at Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn doing just that. Gateway, however, is not at all what…
Horsing Around at Assateague
Assateague Island National Seashore, a barrier island that protects Chincoteague Bay, has a northern Virginia district and a southern Maryland district. We arrived shortly before dusk at our campground on the Maryland side and spotted a few of the feral…
DC Museums – A Capital Idea!
Beyond the monuments, any visitor to Washington, D.C. must take advantage of the free museums, especially the National Gallery of Art and the assorted Smithsonian Institution museums that surround the National Mall. The National Gallery of Art literally and figuratively…
DC – A Monumentally Good Time
We’d heard that getting same-day tickets to certain Washington, D.C., attractions would be difficult if we arrived after or 7 or 8 a.m. when lines began to form. We fretted as we hurried to the National Mall at nearly 8:30…
Looking Forward to Washington, D.C.
On our way to Washington, D.C., we stopped off in Norfolk to visit my friend Marci, who was kind enough to show us some of the coastal Virginia highlights. She took us through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, the…
Hello Kitty Hawk
No trip to the Outer Banks would be complete without a stop at the Wright Brothers National Memorial between Nags Head and Kitty Hawk. The famous aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville made aeronautical history here on Dec. 17, 1903, by…
Hold on to Your Hat at Cape Hatteras
The day after our Cape Lookout excursion we had intended to take a series of ferries to the southern tip of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and drive north from there. But a storm was blowing in, making ferry departures from…
Here’s Looking at You, Cape Lookout
In a refreshing and much-welcome break from our campground-and-motel life on the road, we spent a few days with my cousin, Kelly, near Charlotte, North Carolina, and are eternally grateful for the good food, hospitality and day trip to the UNC…