Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part 2)

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part 2)

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go and spend a week with my brother in southern New Hampshire. We went out to explore some of the most beautiful parts of the area by car, by boat and on foot. The fall colors were just starting to kick into high gear, and some of the scenes we saw were truly spectacular. We saw covered bridges over the Ashuelot River, beautiful rural countryside and charming small towns like Hancock and Harrisville. I took a lot of photos, and this is the second post I’ve published with them to allow you to see the area through my lens. I hope you enjoy these photos from fabulous southern New Hampshire.

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 28

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 28

Hello Everyone. It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through October. It definitely feels like time is speeding up on me here. I have been enjoying the cooler weather, although it’s almost too cold some mornings when I get up for my walk. The extra hour of daylight will help with that in a couple of weeks though. A couple of months ago I told y’all that one of my photos was going to be featured on a wooden jigsaw puzzle, and my sample copy came in the mail last week. It is really beautiful and very exciting and I will definitely let you know when it’s available for purchase, but that was a nice boost since last week. I also got an email from someone who wants to use a photo in an upcoming book he is working on – it sounds like a small printing on a fairly niche subject, but I’m always excited to see my photos in print. I also got a message this week from someone interested in discussing some other photos, but unfortunately the email address they left was incomplete. I’ve tried to sleuth it out, but haven’t been able to figure it out – if you’re reading this, I’m not ignoring you, please give me another holler. It’s been a pretty good week from that perspective and it’s nice to feel like my work is reaching a wider audience again as it’s been a really quiet summer in that regard.

I got my flu shot today, and I would definitely encourage you all to do the same. I try and get mine every year, but I’m definitely not messing around with it this year. I voted this week too, and I really hope that all of my American readers have a plan to make sure their votes are in and counted. I’ve always been cynical about voting since I know that, as a registered D.C. voter, my vote for president won’t change the outcome and we have no representation in congress so there’s no help there either. Beyond our city council and school board elections, which I probably should pay more attention to, there isn’t much need to vote here. But this year I want to contribute my voice to the popular vote count and hope that one day all our votes will count equally. I’ve always wondered and often commented as to why so many people in this country think their vote should be more important than mine. Personally I would like to see everyone be able to vote, and everyone’s vote to count. The whole thing should be about finding people who represent us well, not about gaming the system. Our entire election process in this country is broken from top to bottom and needs a reboot. That being said, I’m happy to have had the opportunity to vote in this election because this year it seems more important than ever before.

I’ve been keeping busy with 2 year-old Mason this week as well. We continued our adventures in the woods, expanding our territory as always and enjoying the changing of the leaves and the emergence of some new kinds of fall berries. We also got some rain this week, so there were some cool new mushrooms around as well. Mason continues to work on his letters and, as seems normal, associates new letters he learns with words he already knows. I think it’s pretty incredible to watch, and he’s quick to point out the letters he knows on my T-shirt and any signs we may encounter. While obviously I encourage this, it amuses me as well and I can’t help but think he’s calling out battle coordinates in code – “Uncle Mike – Lion, Elephant, Ohio, Apple”. It’s been great to see so many Halloween decorations go up around his neighborhood as well, and these provide us with a great deal of conversation fodder as we wander the streets every day. He tries to feed berries and acorns to the skeletons because apparently they look hungry (can’t argue with that), and carries on endless conversations with the witches, wolfmen, demons, ghosts, vampires and ghouls we encounter. He got his own pumpkins this week as well and is very proud of them and loves showing them to me and admiring the long stems they have. We’ve also started to name some of the places we visit on our walks for easy reference. From the Calvert Cliffs (a series of walls on Calvert Street he likes to walk on) to the Rock Water Bridge where we usually pause to throw acorns and rocks into the creek, we enjoy the variety of scenery the neighborhood and park provides. I think our favorite is the Counting Tree – a log where we sit every day and count rocks and sticks and leave them in cool patterns to see if they’ll still be there when we return. He seems to really look forward to it every day and we always find time for a rest there. We sure do have great adventures together.

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part One)

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part One)

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go and spend a week with my brother in southern New Hampshire. We went out to explore some of the most beautiful parts of the area by car, by boat and on foot. The fall colors were just starting to kick into high gear, and some of the scenes we saw were truly spectacular. We saw covered bridges over the Ashuelot River, lakefront vistas at Lake Winnipesaukee, and charming small towns like Peterborough and Amherst. I took a lot of photos, and this is the first of at least two posts which will allow you to see the area through my lens. I hope you enjoy these photos from fabulous southern New Hampshire.

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 27

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 27

Hello Everyone! We’re a week into October and the weather in Washington has been fabulous. The leaves are starting to change and while the days are getting noticeably shorter, they’re still long enough to enjoy some time outside in the evening. It’s probably just about my favorite time of year. It was nice to get away to New Hampshire last week and get away from the news for a while, but it’s almost like they were saving it up while we were gone because this week was a crazy one. When the president is sick, whether you like him or not, it’s hard not to keep checking the news. I certainly wish everyone who has contracted the virus, whether they are newsworthy or average Joes like me, a full and speedy recovery. Beyond that, it’s been a full week of getting back on schedule and trying to keep some of my projects moving forward while carving out some time for enjoying my friends and the weather.

It’s been a full week with my 2 year-old friend Mason who is really enjoying the leaves changing color and the Halloween decorations which have sprung up around the neighborhood. I think it’s fascinating that because he’s never really seen any of these things in the context of being scary, he looks at a dog skeleton as just a dog, hands coming from the ground as hands and giant spiders as, well, giant spiders which he likes (we saw our first daddy longlegs today in the woods and he thought it was hilarious). I guess he is demonstrating to me that fear is often a learned behavior, and this kid is pretty fearless. The weather has been so good we’ve been out almost all morning every morning which has been wonderful. We’ve been having some interesting discussions this week which I think are worth sharing here.

Since the acorns have been coming down, we’ve been picking up a pocket-full on the way to the creek so that we can throw them in when we get there. If I take two out of my pocket and hold them out to Mason, he will grab the first and throw it without looking while he’s already grabbing for the second one. I think many of us are guilty of this behavior in that we are always looking towards the next thing and are often unable to savor the experience that’s happening in the moment. If you enjoy throwing acorns in the water, focus on the acorn you have and the experience of throwing it and hearing the plunk in the stream and the ripples that come from it. Watch as it bobs in the current and makes its way downstream. Think about its course, watch it float away, listen to the leaves rustle overhead and feel the cool breeze of fall on your face. Then reach for the next acorn. If we’re just thinking about the next acorn and not the one we currently have in our hand, then what is the sense of bringing more than one?

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Snapshots: Covered Bridges of S.W. New Hampshire

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Snapshots: Covered Bridges of S.W. New Hampshire

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of traveling around southwestern New Hampshire to photograph these wonderful covered bridges. I’ve always had a thing for covered bridges, and these were no exception. Much like the lighthouses and Mail Pouch Barns I’ve featured in the past on this blog, covered bridges are such a beloved and photogenic part of the American landscape. Autumn had just begun when I was out taking these pictures, and was in varying stages depending on which bridge I was looking at, but it certainly was a beautiful day to be out there. I hope you enjoy these beautiful and historic covered bridges from southwestern New Hampshire.

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

Hello Everyone! Wow, it has been six months since I last published This Week on the Road. I can’t describe how great it was just to type those words. I wish I had been able to leave this week and just keep going, but alas it was just for this week. My folks and I drove up to New Hampshire last Wednesday to visit my brother and his family. The fall colors are coming in beautifully in New England and we had a wonderful visit. We got out and did a lot, and I was very happy to be checking out new places and taking photos in unfamiliar surroundings. It was a wonderful week on the road in New Hampshire.

Our decision to go was not made lightly. We’ve been keeping close to home and keeping our interactions to a minimum, maintaining our distance and wearing our masks. My folks aren’t as young as they once were and with my diabetes we’re all at heightened risk, not to mention the fact that I’m spending my days with a child who I simply cannot get sick. While my brother and his girlfriend are doing what they’re supposed to do as well, seeing them would bring more people into our safety web. But with winter and a second wave coming, New Hampshire being a state with things relatively in control and the looming election we decided that if we wanted to see them this year, this was probably the time. The fall colors and the ability to take some photos of somewhere further from home helped to seal the deal. We packed a lunch and made it a direct journey in both directions, followed best practices while we were there and hopefully managed to keep everyone safe and healthy. I’m glad we went.

The trip did help me see how difficult it would be to continue my actual long-term journey at this point in time. Many things remain closed or on limited hours, and while people in New Hampshire seemed generally compliant with safety standards I know that’s not the case for much of the country. While this week definitely tugged at my heart strings and whispered go in my ear, many of the things I would want to see remain closed and the thought of getting really sick while on the road and far from home doesn’t seem like a great idea. So for now I will have to be content with my week away and settle in here in D.C. for the winter. The short days and cold nights of winter on the road are pretty brutal anyway, and without a warm safe pub to tuck into, it would probably be a bit much.

We left on Wednesday and made good time, arriving at my brother’s house at around 3:30 in the afternoon. He and his girlfriend, Errin, have a wonderful home on a windy back road with a nice chunk of land and some room to breathe. I know maintaining it takes a lot of hard work, but they’ve really made a nice home for themselves and their family. After the long ride, we were happy to just settle in, have a few cold beers and catch up a little bit. It feels like a long time since we were there in December, but it all seemed very familiar as well.

Thursday we went for a visit to Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire. It is a beautiful 20 acre garden full of interesting sculptures and beautiful plants and flowers. It took quite a while to meander through the many paths that wound around the property. Bedrock Gardens was quite a unique and special place and is probably phenomenal in spring when all the flowers are starting to bloom. It was very cool.

On Friday, we loaded my brother’s boat onto the trailer and set off for Lake Winnipesaukee in the central part of the state. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire and is just over an hour north of my brother’s house.

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 26

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 26

Hello Everyone, well this week officially marks the half-year point of being sheltered-in-place here in Washington D.C. This is definitely not what I had planned for my 2020, but it is what it is and I’m still grateful to be here all things considered. I have watched spring turn to summer, hung on through the long, humid summer days and now I am watching the temperatures drop and the leaves start to change. I’ve tried to keep myself and my folks active and busy the best I can and I’ve really enjoyed being able to read more, play some music, do some writing and learn more about the history of my hometown. I’ve made friends with a 2 year-old who shares my daytime adventures with me and traveled with my mom around the region to explore Civil War sites and local scenic byways and neighborhoods. I’ve tried hard to keep this blog going despite the fact that it’s supposed to be a travel blog which 2020 simply had other plans for. If you’re still reading and following along, I really appreciate you. Believe me when I say I hope that I can get back on the road sooner rather than later and continue my adventures around the country. There are a lot of unknowns in the future, even on the other side of this, but I’m excited and hopeful for what’s to come.

This week has been pretty quiet. There is definitely a chill in the air and nighttime temperatures have dipped near freezing. Mason and I continue our exploration of the woods near his house and have found several new-to-me trails to wander down. Now that it’s cooler I can’t have him splashing around in the water, so we spend more time walking and exploring and less time throwing things in the creek. He seems to learn and grow every day and we both continue to learn from each other. He definitely wears me out, and when he takes an afternoon nap, I take one too.

I’ve finished The Pirate Hunters book and enjoyed it so much I’m staying on that vein for a while as I picked up a book I had started many years ago called …and a Bottle of Rum. It’s a fun look at the history of rum from its origins in the Caribbean through to more modern times. I bought it when I worked as a kayak guide on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands to have something to teach my adult participants, which was fun but I never got through to the end of it. I’ve got another book on pirates lined up for after this one as well before I shift gears to something else.

On Friday, we did our weekly basement party with a theme of Blues, Brews and Barbecues. We tapped into our home-brewed IPA which is finally ready to drink and we really enjoyed it…

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D.C.'s Oldest Homes - The Sewall-Belmont-Paul House

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D.C.'s Oldest Homes - The Sewall-Belmont-Paul House

In 1632, King Charles of England granted a charter for a huge tract of land in what was then the colony of Maryland to Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord of Baltimore. Within that tract was a hill known as Jenkins Hill which today we know by its far more famous name: Capitol Hill. In 1663, lawyer George Thompson acquired 1800 acres from Lord Baltimore and leased the land to future Proprietary Governor of Maryland Thomas Notley for 1000 years at the rental rate of “40,000 pounds of tobacco and one pepper corn” per year. Notley called his plantation Cerne Abbey Manor.

Cerne Abbey Manor would remain in Thomas Notley’s family for several generations and eventually was inherited by his great-great-grandson Daniel Carroll. When Washington D.C. was established, Daniel Carroll ceded Jenkins Hill to the Federal Government, and later received part of that land back which he then leased to Robert Sewall. On that lot was a small one-room farmhouse which had been built perhaps as early as 1750. Sewall built a considerably larger house facing the newly designated B Street (now Constitution Ave), keeping the farmhouse as his kitchen. It is likely that this house was completed around 1800. The architect of the house is unknown, but there is some conjecture that the designer was Leonard Harbaugh, who we remember for his designs of Old North for Georgetown University, the old U.S. Treasury Building and Holy Trinity Church and who is buried in D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery. Sewall had this house built as his “town house” but soon thereafter his uncle died and left him a large tobacco plantation in Southern Maryland called His Lordship’s Kindness. The fact that the manor house on that plantation was designed by Harbaugh lends some further credibility to his designing the Sewall House.

Because Sewall was busy sorting out his newly inherited plantation, the house was leased to Albert Gallatin who served as Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. A disproven rumor once existed that the Louisiana Purchase was signed in the house while Gallatin was in residence there, but it would certainly have been an important discussion around the dinner table, perhaps with Thomas Jefferson himself in attendance. Gallatin lived in the house from 1801 to 1813 and after he left, Sewall left his son, William, to watch the house, but it is unlikely that William ever lived there.

After the Battle of Bladensburg in the War of 1812, British troops marched towards Washington. It is believed that shots were fired from inside the Sewall House, marking the only American resistance to the invasion of the Capital. Whether shots were fired or not, the British did set fire to the house which lends credibility to the story because as we learned when discussing the Octagon House in this series it was not British policy to burn private residences. Regardless, the house did burn and Sewall rebuilt it in its current form soon after the war making some small changes to the original design. He applied for reimbursement for this work from the U.S. government, but his application was denied. Robert Sewall died in the house in 1820, leaving it to his wife and four daughters…

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 25

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 25

Hello Everyone, another week has come and gone as I continue to wait patiently for an end to the pandemic. We’re already halfway through September which is really hard for me to believe. Next week will be week 26 in this series, marking half a year since I turned my headlights towards home and chose to wait this pandemic out here in D.C. Some of that time has passed really slowly, and yet it doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for six months at all. I’m still just trying to make the best of it. As always, I’m very grateful to my folks for having me and giving me a safe harbor through this storm. It’s not how I would have chosen to spend my 2020, but as the saying goes: life is what happens when you’re making other plans.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week with young Mason as we set out on our daily adventures into the neighborhood together. This week we’ve crossed mighty rivers (or maybe just meandering streams), faced off against fierce (decorative stone) lions and ventured deep into the heart of darkness (aka Glover Archbold Park). He’s added some letters to his knowledge base – “E” (for elephant) and “O” (for Ohio) and is getting closer to understanding how many three is. It’s truly special and remarkable to watch him grow and learn and discover and I think every day he learns something from me, and I learn something from him. It’s great when he sees a bumblebee or a butterfly and the way he points it out to me is like it’s the single most remarkable thing that’s ever existed. When he’s really enjoying something, he just coos which is one of the best sounds on earth. He loves big trucks and busses, and it’s fun for us when the bus drivers honk their horns and wave back to us. We continue to have a really good time together and every day is a new adventure.

Last Friday my folks and I once again retired to the basement for our weekly Forget-About-It Friday festivities. We started out this week with a brewing session as we had to get our Oktoberfest brewed if we want it ready to drink by October (which is fast approaching). Then we relaxed into a Renaissance Night in Sherwood Forrest with beer, roast turkey legs, breads, meats and cheeses. We listened to some great old music, played a fun game of Gluckhouse, and generally had a merry old time. It was another successful night.

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In Focus: Bryce Canyon National Park

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In Focus: Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the most striking and beautiful places in all of North America, and I’ve seen a lot of beautiful places on this continent in my 14 years as a cross-country tour guide. My very first visit to Bryce was back in May of 2000 and I had truly never seen anything like it in my life. It felt like I had arrived on some alien landscape. Unlike Grand Canyon, it seemed as though I could take in Bryce in one sweeping view, but yet my mind couldn’t comprehend how such a beautiful and fragile landscape could exist at all. It was truly striking. The awe I felt at that first breathtaking view out over the canyon has only grown with each subsequent visit, and there have been many in the intervening years although not as many recently as I would have liked. To hike among the Hoodoos, as the colorful spires are called, is the best way to experience the park and gain a better understanding of the scale of the formations. While beautiful at any time of day, the colors are most vivid at sunrise which is definitely the best time to visit the park. Be sure to bring your jacket though because at 8,000’ above sea level, Bryce is cold even in the middle of summer. In winter it can be downright brutal, but the snow makes an incredible contrast to the pink and orange spires. Bryce Canyon is one of my very favorite National Parks and is worth the drive to get there. You can get a good feel for the park with one full day to spend there, but I would definitely recommend an overnight stay so you can be there for sunrise. To find out more about Bryce Canyon National Park, visit the park’s website here. I hope you enjoy these photos I’ve taken over the years on my many trips to the park.

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 24

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 24

Hello Everyone, well, September is getting into full swing and I’m certainly enjoying the cooler temperatures here in Washington D.C. Summertime flowers are starting to disappear and I know that the leaves aren’t too far from starting to turn. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for it.

It’s been another quiet week here on the home front. Mason and I continue our adventures together in the woods, throwing rocks in the creek and talking about the leaves and the trees. Shadow Catcher is all fixed and ready to get back out there when the time is right. Many thanks to Flower Hill Automotive in Gaithersburg for doing an amazing job with the brakes and the seals – I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the D.C. metropolitan area. In my spare time I’ve been sitting outside and enjoying the transition weather – cool enough to be out there and warm enough to be enjoying it. I’ve been reading Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson and really enjoying that as well. It’s the story of the search for the Golden Fleece, the ship of the legendary pirate Joseph Bannister. Kurson wrote one of my favorite books of all time, Shadow Divers, and this is a wonderful follow-up to that story of the quest to identify a sunken World War II German U-Boat they found off the coast of New Jersey. If you’re a diver or a boat or pirate person, I definitely would recommend these books. I miss scuba diving and will definitely be hitting a beach and some reef as soon as all of this is over. Other than that I’ve been keeping up with my walks and trying to make the best of things as usual.

Over the weekend I found out that one of the tour brands I’ve worked for for many years, Trek America, has decided to fold entirely. This is a shame because it’s a company that’s been around since before I was born and I had thought it would be there long after I’m gone. Catering to young, independent travelers, I always enjoyed running Trek trips and will miss not having the opportunity to do so in the future. I really don’t know what my corner of the travel industry will look like on the other side of all of this, but this is one more nail in the coffin of my guiding career. I know I’ll find a job, but it’s a shame it won’t be with the same people and same clientele I’ve been with in the past. C’est la vie, I guess. I saw the writing on the wall, but it was still sad to hear the news. I was interviewed about the closure for Frommers, and you can see the story I was quoted in HERE if you’re interested.

Friday we had another great weekend kickoff party in the basement. This week took us back to the islands for another pirate party (pirates and the islands have been on my mind lately). I went out to grab some delicious bake and shark, a traditional Trinidadian meal, from a nice little Caribbean spot called the Crown Bakery on Georgia Avenue not far from home. It didn’t sit well with my mom, but I enjoyed it. We also had some rum and Ting (grapefruit soda), listened to some Bob Marley music and played a few games of Threes. It was a fun night and a great way to kick off the weekend.

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D.C.'s Oldest Homes - The Potts-Fitzhugh House - Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home

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D.C.'s Oldest Homes - The Potts-Fitzhugh House - Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home

The Potts-Fitzhugh house at 601-607 Oronoco Street in Alexandria is one of the most interesting houses still standing in the area. Known most famously as the Boyhood Home of Robert E. Lee, the house’s history goes much deeper. The house was built in 1795 in what was then the Alexandria section of Washington D.C. for John Potts. Potts was the secretary of the Potomac Canal Company, which was attempting to link the Potomac and Ohio Rivers with a canal around Great Falls. Potts was an old friend of George Washington who visited the house often and sometimes even spent the night during the year Potts resided in the house.

Potts lived in the Oronoco Street house for only about a year, and then sold it to William Fitzhugh, a wealthy Virginia tobacco planter and racehorse breeder who was looking for a city home. Fitshugh owned beautiful Chatham Manor in Fredericksburg which was right down the road from Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of George Washington. The two had served together in the Virginia House of Burgesses before the Revolution, and remained friends. In fact, Washington dined with Fitzhugh at this house on Oronoco Street just one month before he died, on his last visit to Alexandria. Fitzhugh was married to Ann Randolph and the couple had three children. One of their children, Mary Lee Fitzhugh, would grow up to marry George Washington Parke Custis, a grandchild of Martha Washington from her first marriage. The wedding took place in the parlor on Oronoco Street. George and Mary Lee had one daughter, Mary Anne Randolph Custis, who would grow up to marry Robert E. Lee in 1831, two years after he graduated from West Point. During the Civil War, the Lees would take refuge on the Fitzhughs’ country estate, Ravensworth, which they built after selling Chatham. When William Fitzhugh died in 1809, his city home on Oronoco Street passed to his son, also named William, who would rent it to the house’s most famous occupants: Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and his family which included then five-year-old Robert E. Lee.

Robert E. Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia in 1807, but he moved with his family to Washington D.C. in 1810, when he was just 3 years old, and lived at 611 Cameron Street in the Alexandria section. In 1812, they moved to this house on Oronoco Street where they lived for the next four years. The Lees would move to 407 N. Washington St. in 1816 but returned to the house on Oronoco Street in 1820. On October 14th, 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette was in Washington and wanted to visit his old Revolutionary War friend “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s widow and children,so he stopped by their home on Oronoco Street. Lafayette met 17 year-old Robert and no doubt told him of his father’s heroism in the Revolution. Robert lived on Oronoco St. until he departed for West Point in 1825 on the recommendation of William Fitzhugh the younger. When Robert left, his mother and two sisters moved across the river to Georgetown, but the house on Oronoco Street would be inhabited by other members of the Lee family for the next 62 years until it was sold to the Burson family in 1887. During the Lee family’s tenure there, Alexandria was retroceded to Virginia. One can only speculate on the fate of Robert E. Lee and the nation had his boyhood home remained a part of Washington D.C…

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