May 8 – June 8, 2016 Some trips are remembered for the places you visit. Others are remembered for the people you share them with. This one became both. What began as a Mother’s Day visit to my parents in Puerto Rico turned into one of the most meaningful journeys I’ve ever taken. My son … Read more
Most people see an abandoned prison and assume it was always meant to lock people away. Scott State Prison tells a very different story. Long before it became a correctional facility, this building stood as part of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. It was originally built to care for patients, not incarcerate inmates. Over … Read more
Some places are beautiful because of nature. Others are beautiful because of history. And then there are places like Bulow Plantation Ruins—where the beauty exists despite the painful history beneath it. When Dusty and I finished our Volusia County Bingo Passport adventure, we decided to squeeze in one last stop before heading home. Bulow Plantation … Read more
Some field trips teach you something new. Others quietly change the direction of your life. When I decided to homeschool my son, one of the things I looked forward to most was getting out of the classroom. Instead of simply reading about history and science, we could experience them together. That’s exactly how trips like … Read more
Some places seem destined for a single purpose. A school is built to educate. A courthouse is built to deliver justice. A hospital is built to heal. Then there are places like Rivers State Prison. What began as a hospital dedicated to treating one of America’s deadliest diseases eventually became a prison, only to spend … Read more
Some of the most fascinating places aren’t hidden deep in the woods. Sometimes they’re sitting right beside the road, looking so well cared for that you drive right past them. That’s exactly what happened to me when I set out to visit the Thomas R. Ayer House in Oklawaha, Florida. I had discovered the home … Read more
Some places become part of your story before you ever learn theirs. For me, Lake Eola has always been one of those places. Long before I knew anything about sinkholes, cattle barons, mysterious names, or iconic fountains, I simply knew it as somewhere my mom liked to take me. We’d walk laps around the lake … Read more
Some places leave you with photographs. Others leave you with questions. Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia, gave me both. Long before we ever reached the patient cemeteries or drove beneath the towering pecan trees, I already knew this place carried a heavy reputation. If you grew up in parts of Georgia, “Milledgeville” wasn’t just … Read more
Not every travel day goes according to plan. During our Georgia road trip, after stopping briefly at the Georgia Welcome Center, Dusty and I found ourselves visiting two museums we had hoped to explore in depth: the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village and the Georgia State Cotton Museum. Unfortunately, both visits ended with … Read more
There are some places you visit because they’re famous. There are others you visit because you feel like you should. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum fell into that second category for me. It was our final full day in Washington, D.C. The next morning, my son and I would leave the nation’s capital behind … Read more