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
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
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
A Promise Written in Stone There’s a bend in the road where the forest thins just enough to reveal a little red building. It’s quiet here—peaceful, even—but something about the place hums with old energy.That’s the Seneca Schoolhouse Museum, built in 1866 from the same fiery red sandstone that gave the Smithsonian Castle its fairytale … Read more
Black Rock Mill doesn’t shout for attention.It waits — stone-still, tree-shadowed — tucked deep in the woods along Seneca Creek.If you stumble upon it at the right hour, it almost feels like you’ve found something you weren’t meant to see. This was my twelfth stop of the day, long after my feet had started to … Read more
TMP Covert Ops #10 | Stories stolen between meetings Hidden in the Woods, Written in Stone Just twenty miles upriver from Washington, D.C., a forest hides the skeleton of an empire.Tucked between the towpath of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Potomac’s slow bend, the Seneca Quarry Ruins sleep beneath vines and sycamores.I parked … Read more
Operation Iron Lantern — Mission Log, Stop 7 Sometimes the mission doesn’t go dark — it just goes sideways. The plan was simple: infiltrate the National Capital Trolley Museum for reconnaissance on vintage D.C. transport systems, then swing by the Giant Globe in Silver Spring for a quick geospatial morale boost before sundown. Murph, of … Read more
Operation Iron Lantern | TMP Covert Ops There’s something hypnotic about a carousel. The color, the glow, the music — it all feels timeless. So when I arrived at Glen Echo Park, I expected silence and dust. An abandoned amusement park frozen mid-spin. Instead, the air was alive with laughter. Children raced past me, their … Read more
TMP Covert Ops | Operation Iron Lantern Mission 6 Before “Uncle Tom” became an insult, he was a hero. Explore the Josiah Henson Museum & Park in North Bethesda and discover the true story of the man who defied slavery and led more than 100 souls to freedom. “History isn’t just written by the victors … Read more
Glen Echo, Maryland • Operation Angel’s Echo A Locked Door and a Lingering Presence Just nine miles from President Lincoln’s Cottage sits another piece of history—quieter, more reserved, but every bit as powerful. The Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland, was supposed to be my next stop on the itinerary. Unfortunately, I … Read more