peregrine79

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2018

I've been a reader of Atlas Obscura's articles since I discovered the website about 5 years ago. When I found the discussion forums, I signed up for them. Recently AO began to offer memberships, so I became a member. I spend a lot of time perusing the fascinating stories. I'm a history lover and am especially interested in the very early Native Americans, the first settlers of the United States, and natural history. My passion is ancient cultures of Latin America, especially Peru. My interest began when I was a child and I devoured every book in the school library and in the large public library located in the county seat near my home. At the same time my interest developed in history (first grade), I also began to read books about religions of the world. Again, the libraries were my source for years of reading material. In 1973, I had the honor of spending Summer in Peru as an exchange student. My stay there broadened my horizons and changed my life. I was able to go to Cusco and Machu Picchu as well as several sites near Cusco. Sacshuaman was especially mind-boggling in its beauty and scale. I lived with a family in Lima in a nice neighborhood only a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Because school was cold and boring, I spent my days being shown around the city by two Peruvian friends. They took me to every cathedral and cultural or historical site they could think of. I was introduced to the many markets, where the prices were low, the goods were absolutely beautiful and haggling over prices was expected. Back home in Pennsylvania, my parents continued taking us on family vacations to most of the states in the Northeast. Instead of amusement parks, we went to historical sites and museums, toured factories and graveyards, watched jets take off and land at large airports, and engsged in other educational activities. A half-century later, I asked my mother why we went to such interesting places. Her reply? "Because they were free," she replied as tears welled up in her eyes. During my career as an architectural designer, I traveled on a number of business trips. How badly I wanted to explore the cities we were in, but ut time constraints ruled it out. In my life, I've been to about 35 states, 6 Canadian provinces and one foreign country. I also spent several hours killing time in the airports in Panama and Ecuador. Now that I'm 64 and a citizen of the world, I look back on these marvelous adventures very fondly. The memories of them are indelibly etched in my mind and and vividly recalled at will. At present, physical disabilities prevent me from traveling, so I depend on AO to take me to new places near and far.

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Places peregrine79 Wants to Go

392

Places I want to go

Places on this traveler's wishlist.

Chesterfield, New Hampshire

Madame Sherri's Castle

Ruins of the elaborate house where the enigmatic costume designer threw glamorous parties for New York's theatrical elite.

New Haven, Connecticut

Pirelli Building

After decades of neglect, a brutalist icon is getting new life as an eco-friendly hotel.

Hunter, New York

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church

This stave church nestled in the Catskills was built in the 1960s by a community of Ukrainian immigrants and refugees.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Chapel In The Hills

This replica stave church looks like a piece of Norway was simply plopped down in South Dakota.

Washington, Wisconsin

Washington Island Stave Church

Vikings and Evangelicals have both had a hand in this replica medieval church.

Bloomingdale, Indiana

Jungle Park Speedway

The overgrown remains of one of the premier auto-racing speedways in the Midwest—and also one of the most deadly.

Clinton, Massachusetts

Wachusett Dam and Reservoir

Once the largest gravity dam in the world.

Willoughby, Ohio

The Girl in Blue

Solving a 60-year mystery finally gave a name to the young woman known only by the color of her clothes.

New Orleans, Louisiana

FLOAT House

An architectural experiment in the Lower Ninth Ward, this row house is capable of floating as high as the Katrina floodwaters.

Monrovia, California

The Aztec Hotel

This bizarre hotel on historic Route 66 has been plagued by rumors of paranormal activity.

Key West, Florida

Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery

A small poultry graveyard in the courtyard of a popular Key West watering hole.

Denver, Colorado

Linger Eatuaries

Once a mortuary that held the remains of Buffalo Bill, this Denver hotspot is now a death-fixated restaurant.

Stowe, Vermont

Emily’s Bridge

This New England covered bridge is home to the tale of a jilted lover known to haunt the area.

Brattleboro, Vermont

Retreat Tower

Designed as a place for patients to take in the scenery, this tower has a dark history.

Craftsbury, Vermont

Witch Windows

According to folklore, Vermont's slanted windows were installed to keep witches from flying into the house.

Rutland, Vermont

Wilson Castle

A beautiful, creepy 19th-century castle stands incongruously in rural Vermont.

A not-quite-exact replica of Michelangelo's Pieta. (Wikimedia Commons)

Barre, Vermont

Hope Cemetery

This large cemetery is known as the museum of granite sculptures.

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Abandoned Virginia Renaissance Faire

The remains of a failed attempt at medieval nerdery are hidden deep in the woods of Virginia.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Thomas Pursell’s Escape Burial Hatch

A retired firefighter created this contraption so he and his family wouldn't die if accidentally buried alive.

The original hot dog stand, shuttered in 2006

Permanently Closed

Arlington, Virginia

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