• We recently returned from another week-long visit to Martha’s Vineyard in spring of 2025. I thought it would be a good time to update our content and add a few new photos.

Martha’s Vineyard. Who doesn’t want to spend a week on the island, it’s beautiful! In full disclosure we’ve never visited during the busy summer season, so I can’t speak to that. However, we have spent time on the island in the spring and fall, which are truly lovely seasons to visit. The days are still warm and the tourists have either not yet arrived before Memorial Day, or they’ve left by Labor Day.

Wilmington, Delaware. It may not be the biggest name in travel destinations, but it has a lot to offer. So much so that we recently made our fifth trip to the region. Just a hop skip and jump to the northwest of Wilmington is the Brandywine Valley. The valley is so beautiful, it just keeps pulling us back.

Natural Bridge State Park. After several arctic cold months, spring finally started to show itself. Now, I’m someone who loves winter, but the winter of 2024/2025 was unusually brutally cold and the idea of spring was a good one. It enticed us to hit the backroads of Virginia to find Natural Bridge State Park. It did not disappoint.

Flight 93. I suspect for most people in the United States who are old enough to remember Tuesday, September 11, 2001, they can say exactly where they were on that fateful morning. At 8:46 a.m. the twin towers were struck. The Pentagon was struck at 9:37 a.m. United Flight 93 crashed landed at 10:03 a.m. in an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A trip to Gettysburg is a day filled with history, nature, and local culture.

Located approximately 85 miles from Washington, DC, a day trip to Gettysburg makes for a terrific outing through beautiful landscapes filled with history. It’s an easy drive along scenic Maryland Hwy 270 to the Pennsylvania border and to PA Route 85.

Updated: October 2024

Georgetown, a trendy neighborhood in Washington, DC, holds a special place in our hearts. For four years it was a focal point in our family, as our son attended Georgetown University. His four years at the university gave us the perfect opportunity to get to know Washington, DC. Little did we know that eight years later we would relocate to the east coast where Washington, DC and Georgetown would become our nearby playgrounds.

With that being said, let’s spend a day exploring Georgetown, shall we?

A return to Nova Scotia. We first visited Nova Scotia in late summer 2022. Prior to taking the ferry across the Northumberland Strait to Nova Scotia, we spent 10 glorious days exploring Prince Edward Island. As we made our way south, toward home, we mapped out a quick five days on Nova Scotia.

Harpers Ferry National Park. If you’re a US history enthusiast, Harpers Ferry is the place to see. Or, even if you just have a mild interest in the historical significance, there is so much more to experience. Harpers Ferry is the site of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia all meet at Harpers Ferry. Four national parks and three national trails all convene at Harpers Ferry. And, it is the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail.

North Conway, NH. Traveling by car, #roadtrip, is probably our most favorite way to travel, with train travel coming in for a close second. When driving long distances we set GPS to avoid toll roads. While avoiding tolls definitely saves us a fair amount of money, it’s more about traveling the backroads. Sure, it may take us a bit longer, but inevitably we enjoy the drive and we usually come across a few road wonders, such as this amazing steel truss bridge.

Chanticleer Gardens is located just about 2 1/2 hours north of Washington, DC. Located in the region known as Brandywine Valley, the gardens home is in Wayne, Pennsylvania.