TMP Covert Ops: Episode 2 — Ronald Reagan National Airport

Featured Image: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from the taxiing.

Operation Iron Lantern — Arrival Zone When my plane touched down at Washington National, I thought the mission was just beginning. Turns out, it had already started centuries ago. Before the runways came Abingdon Plantation — a colonial estate buried beneath the airport’s asphalt. Some say the ground still remembers. Declassified with restrictions. The Arrival … Read more

Two Faces of the French Quarter

Crowded French Quarter street at night with police car lights and people walking along Royal Street in New Orleans.

New Orleans Road Trip #1 – TMP Origins The French Quarter never looks the same twice. By night, it hums with life—music in every direction, people spilling out of bars, and the smell of gumbo, whiskey, and rain clinging to the cobblestones. By morning, it feels like a different city entirely. Quiet. Hungover. A little … Read more

Echoes in the Piney Dark: Sadler Plantation’s Civil War Secrets

Sadler Plantation House in McCalla, Alabama

An Unplanned Stop Worth the U-Turn We weren’t even supposed to be here. Dusty and I were rolling toward Tannehill Historic State Park when a weathered wooden sign caught my eye: Sadler Plantation Home, Circa 1838. Before my brain caught up with my hands, I’d whipped the truck into an illegal U-turn. Murph laughed the … Read more

Tannehill Historic State Park: Alabama’s Iron Furnace of War & Memory

Tannehill Historic State Park entrance sign in Alabama

We hadn’t planned this stop. With Sloss Furnaces closed and a little time to kill after visiting The Old Grist Mill, Dusty and I pointed the truck toward Tannehill Historic State Park, not really knowing what we’d find. Honestly, I thought it might just be a quiet patch of Alabama nature—a picnic spot, maybe a … Read more

Lover’s Leap in Hoover, Alabama: Where Legend and Poetry Meet

View from Lover’s Leap in Hoover, Alabama overlooking Shades Creek

Alabama Road Trip #2 | Travel Made Personal A Leap Into Story Dusty and I didn’t exactly plan to stop here. Lover’s Leap was one of those bonus surprises you only find when you leave the itinerary loose enough for curiosity. We’re both afraid of heights, so stepping onto a rock shelf above Shades Creek … Read more