Located in north eastern Washington, DC, Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens gives the Washington, DC annual cherry blossoms a run for their money. So-to-speak. While the gardens are not as well-known, they are certainly beautiful in their own right.

We unintentionally picked one of the hottest days in early July to further explore Maryland’s back roads. Our destination for the day, Historic White’s Ferry in Dickerson, Maryland. The temperature was right around 92 degrees. I don’t know what the actual humidity level was but I’d stand by guesstimating off-the-charts. Summer, in the Washington, DC region feels swampy and mosquitoes reign supreme. The surrounding countryside in Maryland and Virginia is beautiful, but it’s hot and sticky too.

Our name says it all, One Road at a Time. It’s always been our travel mantra and lately we’ve been finding ourselves wanting to get back on the road. But in this time of Covid-19, is it safe to travel? No way we’d board a flight, but are daycations, road trips, Airbnb stays, glamping, camping and RV travel the best way to travel for the foreseeable future? We decided to take a test run daycation to Middleburg, VA to see if we could make it work; to hit the road safely.

The New Normal. Is this even a thing? Can we have an actual new normal? It would seem, from this writer’s perspective, that we have no choice. I don’t believe for one minute life will return to what we knew as normal. I’m not even sure that would be a good thing. People didn’t pay attention, life was taken for granted. Sadly, there are still millions who are not paying attention to the science. I do hope though, that more people than not are actually waking up to the reality of the new normal.

What I don’t know about art could fill a book, but I know what I like and that’s all that matters, right? What’s that old saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder? It’s common knowledge the museums of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC are well-known and highly regarded.  However, it’s not so commonly known that the Sackler and Freer Galleries, together form the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian Art.  They may not be as well-known, but they are definitely well-worth visiting.

Any visit to Washington, DC should include a walk on the National Mall. One can easily spend an entire day walking and exploring the 2-mile loop trail along the National Mall and another 2-mile loop around the Tidal Basin. Taking in the sites and memorials that line the mall will keep everyone interested.  To make it easier for visitors to the city, we’re sharing a few insider tips and helpful hints, for taking a walk on the National Mall.

Once upon a time we thought we wanted to live in the country, in Frederick, MD to be precise.  We bought a sweet little brick house that just happened to sit in the middle of five acres of pretty pasture grass.  Fast forward 2 1/2 years and we sold the house and bought one way tickets to Europe.  As much as we loved the small city of Frederick and our little brick house, it turned out we didn’t love living in the country. As a friend said, “How could you know you wouldn’t enjoy living in the country if you didn’t try?”  With that being said though, here’s why you should visit Frederick, MD.

Some things are just fun and fascinating to see.  It was with that mindset we visited the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center.  Getting to see the Space Shuttle Discovery up close and personal was beyond fun and fascinating.  It was awesome.  And, it was a testament to man’s ingenuity and dedication.

I couldn’t help but notice the boxes of tissue as we entered the screening room at James Madison’s Montpelier.  By the end of the film, I understood the need.  Although it didn’t actually bring tears to my eyes, the story of Ellen and the enslaved community in which she lived at Montpelier, tugged at my heart.  It left me wanting to learn more.

In full disclosure The National Portrait Gallery is not exactly off the beaten path in Washington, DC.  But, I’m betting you don’t hear as much about the gallery as you do other museums in the city.  Case in point.  The National Portrait Gallery had 831,000 visits in 2017 while the National Air and Space Museum had 1.6 million visits.  (Smithsonian Visitor Statistics) So, yeah, in my book it’s a bit off the beaten path.