September 2026 I continue to hope to find the name of my 4Xs great grandmother. Women’s roles were hard work, birthing children, then anonymously dying. Unless from a family of wealth or importance, many women only represented a number in a census before 1850. The woman I seek was born Read more
September 2026
I visit Richmond expecting one large history lesson rather than separate attractions. How closely do power, economics, race, government, religion, memory, and the physical landscape connect.
Historic Richmond with its brick and cobble streets and facades couldn’t look lovelier. However, under the surface and historically, Richmond proves slavery and the Confederacy were not abstract ideas.
Each represented systems built into a real city and its businesses, government, streets, cemeteries, banks, churches, warehouses, railroads, and people’s lives. So, I explore Richmond and keep asking: Who had power here? Who benefited? Who suffered? And what happened to those systems after slavery ended? There are always lessons to learn. My goal becomes not simply to understand Richmond as the Capital of the Confederacy, but as a city where enslavement, resistance, religion, medicine, the Civil War, and confederate history all intersected.
After Washington, D.C., Richmond becomes particularly meaningful because it moves me from the museum interpretation seen in D.C. into the actual heart of the Confederacy.
(more…)September 2026
As reality currently exists, I accept the later.
I travel to my nation’s capital to visit my niece and her new abode. Also, to explore two national museums. For the niece, it will be a time of exploring her environment and doing some fun shopping. With a new apartment, I am sure there are items of want. That’s what great aunts are for.
For the museums, there are plenty to see in D.C. The Smithsonian currently has 17 free museums and the National Zoo in the area. (Actually, the Smithsonian claims it has 21 museums worldwide, 17 in the D.C. area.) Just focusing on the area of the National Mall, 11 museums or buildings line its perimeter. I have been to most over the years, so this trip, I concentrate on two in particular.
(more…)11 June 2026 It’s a little unsettling to look back across the map of my travels. Not because of how many places I’ve been, but how easily some of them blur at the edges. I revisit them through old photos and my travel movies. Vivid memories do return, but often Read more
8-10 June 2026
My journey to Sweden began at Tallinn’s Bussijaam, where I boarded Bus No. 2 to the airport. True to Estonia’s reputation for efficiency, it departed and arrived exactly on schedule. Buying a ticket was a small adventure in itself. There were no ticket offices or machines in sight, so I simply tapped my credit card on the bus, received a reassuring green light, and took a seat, trusting that the system somehow knew I had paid despite providing no ticket or receipt.
(more…)8 June 2026
What an amazing exploration as I traveled through the Baltic countries of Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas, Siauliai) Latvia (Riga) and Estonia (Tallinn). Some experiences a repeat performance from my 2009 trip, other stops were new. Eleven days crammed with history, culture, cuisine and tasty ales.
6 June 2026
Tallinn has a way of blending centuries together. On this cool June day, the heavy scent of lilacs drifted through the parks and streets while Old Town seemed transformed into a medieval fair, with costumed performers, market stalls, and crowds gathering beneath ancient towers and walls.
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