The 138-Year-Old Secrets of First Baptist Dothan

Angled view of First Baptist Dothan’s historic architecture, highlighting its brickwork and arched windows.

Alabama Road Trip #2 – A Quiet Walk into Unexpected History Downtown Dothan has a way of waking slowly. Morning light settles on the brick storefronts, the sidewalks glow soft and empty, and the city feels like it’s still stretching from sleep. On the final morning of our trip, Dusty and I wandered those early … Read more

Dothan Visitor Center & the Kingdom of King Peanut

Front entrance of the Dothan Visitor Center, home of King Peanut and local travel information.

Alabama Road Trip #2 — Last Day, First Stop Dothan has a way of sneaking up on you.It looks like any other Southern city from a distance—busy roads, familiar storefronts, the promise of breakfast somewhere nearby. But if you linger just a moment, if you slow down enough to look, you realize this town is … Read more

Before Arlington: The Forgotten First National Cemetery

The earliest national cemetery created for the Civil War—before Arlington existed.

TMP Covert Ops — Episode 15 Before Arlington’s white rows became the symbol of American sacrifice… before marble markers flowed across the Virginia hills like silent waves… there was another place. A quieter hilltop. A desperate solution. A burial ground born not from ceremony, but from crisis. Welcome to the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s … Read more

Union Arch Bridge: The Stone Giant That Ghosted Its Creator

View of the Union Arch Bridge partially obscured by summer vegetation, with the stone arch just visible through dense green leaves.

TMP Covert Ops — Episode 12 When you only have a sliver of time before a corporate hackathon, you learn to move like a shadow. The mission kicked off the day before with my visit to President Lincoln’s Cottage and was filled with many historic sites around the area. Day Two of my Bethesda mission … Read more

The Postmaster, the Columns, and the City That Refused to Stay Small: The Story of the Dothan Federal Building

Front view of the Dothan Federal Building showing its six tall Doric columns, granite steps, and Classical Revival façade under a bright Alabama sky.

When Dusty and I found ourselves wandering the quiet early morning streets of Dothan after visiting the Cherry Street AME Church, we weren’t expecting to be stopped in our tracks by a federal building. But there it was — rising at the corner of West Troy and North Foster — a granite-anchored, column-crowned monument that … Read more

This Paradise Has a Dark Secret: The Soldier’s Home in Washington, D.C.

The Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. with Lincoln's Cottage in the foreground, framed by trees.

TMP Covert Ops — Episode 14 There’s a hilltop in Washington, D.C., where the city softens, the breeze picks up, and time seems to slow its breathing. From that rise, you can look out over the capital and almost forget the noise below. Almost. This is the Armed Forces Retirement Home, better known historically as … Read more

St. Patrick Cemetery No. 2: Buried Stories the Tours Don’t Tell

A wide view down the central pathway of St. Patrick Cemetery No. 2 in New Orleans, lined with rows of white marble tombs and coping graves under a bright summer sky.

TMP Origins – The Early Roads When Dusty and I crossed the street from Greenwood Cemetery and stepped into St. Patrick Cemetery No. 2, we didn’t know what we were walking into.We weren’t researching yet.We weren’t documenting stops, tracing lineages, or unfolding entire histories like we do today. We were just… wandering. Two travelers trying … Read more

Cherry Street AME Church: The Church That Defied Dothan

Front view of Cherry Street AME Church in Dothan, Alabama, showing the historic red-brick exterior and wide front steps beneath a clear morning sky.

Some stops don’t call ahead — they just wait quietly until you stumble into their orbit. On the last morning of Alabama Road Trip #2, Dusty and I found ourselves with a little time to kill before the Dothan Visitor’s Center opened. So we did what any good backroad wanderers do: we followed the trail … Read more

Fog, Stone, Magic — Hiking to Scott’s Run Waterfall at Sunrise

Fog drifting over the Potomac River at sunrise, soft golden light illuminating the still water and rocky shoreline.

TMP Covert Ops — Operation Iron LanternMcLean, Virginia — Scott’s Run Nature Preserve A Gorge Older Than Memory Just a few miles from the buzz of Washington, D.C., there’s a forest that doesn’t quite feel like it belongs to this century. The canopy muffles sound, the creek hums a steady hymn against stone, and the … Read more

Greenwood Cemetery: New Orleans’ Most Unusual City of the Dead

Elk monument standing atop a tumulus at the Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans from outside the fence

TMP Origins – The Early Roads | New Orleans Trip #2 A Cemetery That Broke Every Rule New Orleans cemeteries are famous for their tall walls, vaulted tombs, and tightly woven “Cities of the Dead.”But Greenwood Cemetery?It took one look at tradition… and politely declined. Born in 1852 during a yellow fever crisis that left … Read more