A couple of weeks ago my mom and I set out to explore Maryland’s Lower Susquehanna Scenic Byway. This beautiful road started at the Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace where the river meets the Chesapeake Bay. From there, we headed on to the old 19th century Lock Keeper’s House which stands watch over what was once the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal. On to Susquehanna State Park where we explored the historic village of Rock Run with its working grist mill and old Jersey toll house. We learned about the life of Confederate Brigadier General James Archer who grew up in the Archer Mansion overlooking the river. Crossing over at the Conowingo Dam, we cruised into the fascinating old town of Port Deposit before winding up in Perryville where the Principio Furnace and Rodgers Tavern offered up a final dose of history for the day. Standing on the west bank of the Susquehanna River we watched the sun set before turning our headlights towards home. It was a beautiful day cruising the wonderful Lower Susquehanna Scenic Byway in northeast Maryland and I hope you enjoy these photos I took along the way.
Hello Everyone! Well late November is here and Christmas decorations are starting to spring up around the city. In a normal year I would complain that they were jumping the gun a little bit, but this year I welcome and embrace them. Anything that can make things a little more tolerable for everyone is something I will throw my support behind. It’s still hard to believe the end of the year is in sight, but I don’t know many people who won’t be happy to put 2020 behind them, myself included. Temperatures have continued to drop in D.C. this week, and I finally had to winterize my van as we’re expecting freezing temperatures tonight. Beyond that, a lot has happened this week, so I’m going to get right into it.
There has been more good news on the vaccine front as there are now two promising vaccines fast approaching approval for distribution. This is great news in my opinion and shows what great minds can do when they work together towards a common goal. From what I understand they will only be able to produce and distribute around 20 million doses a month (still amazing when you think about it), but with the possibility of starting in December that means that at least that ball can start rolling which will be a relief in and of itself. I’m really hoping to get mine by the middle of next year.
Sadly, the numbers of cases are continuing to soar across the U.S. as we still have no centralized plan and governors are hesitant to roll out any new restrictions. That is a huge mistake in my opinion as keeping hospitals below capacity must be the main goal everywhere. The firehouse up the street from here is now doing free Covid testing three days a week instead of one. I can see the line from here, meaning it is more than two full city blocks long. It blows my mind that we still don’t have widespread, convenient testing and that people will literally wait in freezing cold temperatures for hours to get a test. As hospitals continue to reach their capacities across the country we are starting to once again hear about PPE shortages which again is mind boggling. We knew this was coming, we’ve been talking about it for months and yet it still appears to be surprising people. While there are winter waves crashing down around the northern hemisphere, we are definitely less prepared than most. Please take care of yourselves out there.
Some of my mom’s favorite TV shows have started new seasons this week, and it’s been strange to see the characters wearing masks and discussing the virus. I’m sure I’m not the only person who sees a show or movie and thinks ‘oh, no – don’t get that close’. This year has changed the way we interact and view others interacting. I sincerely hope this is something which will soon be behind us and then begin to fade into a distant memory. Someday people will watch these episodes with fascination and questions about the masks and discussions. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating – living through history isn’t always a pleasant or easy experience.
I did see some really good news this week on the work front for me. As you know, my tour guiding company permanently closed their doors over the summer due to the pandemic which brought their income to a halt. While one of the brands I’ve worked with for many years (Trek America) will be shelved for the immediate future, some of the other brands have found a new home with a small company called Incredible Adventures out of San Francisco. They will be expanding their reach this year and have taken the contracts for other companies I’ve worked for like Grand American Adventures and Exodus. Thankfully for me, their entire management team are personal friends of mine and even my last manager is now their General Manager. While I don’t know if I’ll be going back to guiding next summer, it sure is nice to hear that I might not have to start entirely from scratch when I do decide to go back. There is a lot of relief in that, but also a lot of joy in knowing that the brands I know and love will be getting back to business very soon and providing much-needed vacations for people once this is all behind us.
Maryland’s Old Main Streets Scenic Byway is a wonderful trip through some of the state’s most charming and historic towns. The byway begins in Emmitsburg where Maryland’s Catholic roots are on display at the incredible National Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes and the Minor Basilica Shrine to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Both are beautiful places worth spending some time and it was definitely interesting to learn about Elizabeth Seton, the first person born in what would become the United States to be canonized by the Catholic church.
From there, the byway travels through historic Taneytown and on to Westminster, although since we were a bit pressed for time we headed straight to New Windsor. New Windsor is such a cute little town with beautiful Victorian homes and pleasant small-town feel. We stopped to pick up lunch at Uncle Matty’s Eatery and enjoyed it in the town’s small park.
After lunch we traveled on to Union Bridge where the beautiful old railway station has been converted into a museum. It was another quiet and pleasant town for a wander. The byway finishes in Thurmont with it’s beautiful old Main Street. log cabins and the Roddy Road Covered Bridge.
The Old Main Streets Scenic Byway is a pleasant way to while away a day and enjoy some small-town Americana. There are wonderful historic homes and businesses along the way, and it seemed like there would be some interesting museums under normal circumstances. I hope you enjoy these photos from the Old Main Streets of Northern Maryland…
As many of you remember, we spent much of the spring and early summer tracing the battles of the Eastern Theater of the Civil War from Manassas to Appomattox. As we got to the end of the war though, we came to realize that there was one more casualty we needed to consider and one more route to follow to gain some closure to our tour. That was the trail taken by John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 14th, 1865 at Ford’s Theater. Booth and his accomplice David Herold led the authorities on a nearly two week manhunt which ended on April 26th when Booth was cornered and killed on the Garrett Farm in Virginia. This route is now one of Maryland’s scenic byways and one of the country’s more historic ones.
Our day began at historic Ford’s Theater. Ford’s Theater is a wonderful place managed by the National Park Service and just blocks from the White House which still functions as an active theater. My folks and I try and get there every December to watch their wonderful rendition of A Christmas Carol. The box where President Lincoln was shot is preserved and well cared for and there is a small museum in the basement dedicated to the assassination. After Lincoln was shot, he was taken across the street to The Peterson House, where he would die of his injury soon thereafter. The Peterson House is also managed by the National Park Service and is open for tours.
Booth, on the other hand, leapt to the stage, catching his boot spur and breaking his leg in the process, but still managed to escape out the back door of the theater. There he mounted his horse and sped off into the night, crossing the Potomac on the Navy Yard Bridge and then rendezvousing with his accomplice David Herold. The two quickly made their way to the tavern of Mary Surratt in Surrattsville near Clinton where they retrieved rifles, field glasses and other supplies they had stashed there…
Hello Everyone, it’s hard for me to even fathom that this is week 20 of this post series. I was hoping when I arrived home in the beginning of April that I would only be here for a few weeks and then I would be back out on the road, but here I am 20 weeks later. I’m still enormously grateful to have a place to weather this storm, especially knowing that things could be much worse if I didn’t. I just wish I knew what the end date to all of this was so I could make some plans. It’s been a quietly busy week here in Washington and I’ve actually done quite a bit which has been really nice. I’ve also had some good news in my feed this week which also helps. One of my best friends welcomed a new baby boy to the world this week in New Orleans, so welcome Theodore. Another friend of mine from grade school has announced his wife’s pregnancy this week as well. These are both reminders to me that the world has continued to turn even if my wheels have stopped doing so.
Last Thursday I began a new role which I’ve really enjoyed, even though I’ve only done it a couple of times. My friend James was called back to work after a few months of furlough, but his two year old son’s daycare is still closed. So I’m going to be spending some time with young Mason over the next few weeks or months so they can work and we can play. Mason is a sweet kid, and it’s been a real treat to watch him. His smiles and laughter are such a counterbalance to the challenges we are facing in this country and in the world, and it’s a welcome change. I’ve always loved working with kids, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to spend some time watching him grow up. It’s been great to experience the world through his eyes and I’ll be gladly helping out with this for a while until things change. That could happen tomorrow or a year from now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Last weekend was also a lot of fun here. After celebrating the “holidays” the last few weeks, we settled in on Friday for a quiet “pub night” of wings, nachos and beers. It was nice to have a relaxing night, listen to some good music and enjoy our time together. Saturday my mom and I headed out to check out some of Washington D.C.’s oldest firehouses for an upcoming photo essay I’m putting together
