Cold Spring Harbor, New York
The Whaling Museum
Whale bones, scrimshaw, and sperm oil make up just a part of this comprehensive collection of whaling history.
Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Cold Spring Harbor, New York
Whale bones, scrimshaw, and sperm oil make up just a part of this comprehensive collection of whaling history.
Ocean City, Maryland
One of the oldest active carousels in the country—but it might be missed by all but the keenest-eyed boardwalk strollers.
Smith Island, Maryland
An isolated island home to one of the oldest English-speaking communities in the region and Maryland's state dessert.
Annapolis, Maryland
This statue honors the author's groundbreaking family story.
Fort Washington, Maryland
A mammoth pair of Civil War artillery guns abandoned out in the forest.
Arlington, Virginia
This isn't your average roadway—it's actually a National Park and a transportation pioneer.
Arlington, Virginia
The romance of early commercial flight still fills this Art Deco destination.
Washington, D.C.
Washington D.C.'s most famous pianist, composer, and bandleader still tickles the ivories outside Howard Theater.
Washington, D.C.
Through the decades, Black music stars have performed at this historic hub for music and the arts.
Washington, D.C.
The first memorial dedicated solely to the Black troops who fought for the Union.
Washington, D.C.
A gorgeous mural outside a beloved D.C. restaurant pays homage to famous Black Americans.
Washington, D.C.
Sit where JFK proposed to Jackie or where Nixon dined on meatloaf at this storied pub.
Washington, D.C.
The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.
Washington, D.C.
This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.
Washington, D.C.
The early data processor factory founded in Washington for the 1890 U.S. Census went on to become IBM.
Washington, D.C.
Before Metro, Washington had a robust streetcar network—and you see the remains of this infrastructure if you know where to look.
Washington, D.C.
The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.
Washington, D.C.
The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.
Washington, D.C.
These abandoned waterworks are crumbling into the Potomac River.
Arlington, Virginia
At 207 feet, one of the world's longest continuous escalators.
Washington, D.C.
The national park was once a plantation estate.
McLean, Virginia
The local community brought back this land to transform it into a nature preserve.
McLean, Virginia
The semi-reclaimed ruins of this canal were once part of an ambitious plan to reroute the mighty potomac.
Lorton, Virginia
The former home of the man whose radical ideas changed the nation.