I go head to head with my Philly-based colleague to help you decide which city is best to visit: Boston vs Philadelphia. When I first moved to Boston, I thought I had landed in the smartest place on the planet.…
Beauteous Beaufort
Beaufort, North Carolina – Beaufort was the best surprise of my trip to North Carolina. I fell in love with this picture-perfect town, with its white-washed Bahamian-style houses (including one where Blackbeard lived!) and its wildflower-strewn, pony-dotted offshore islands. Welcome…
Graveyard of the Atlantic
Hatteras, North Carolina – Shallow shoals, shifting sandbars and inclement weather have long posed a threat for ships navigating the waters off the North Carolina coast. Near Cape Hatteras, the Diamond Shoals are particularly treacherous. As evidence, the seafloor is…
The Lost Colony
Manteo, North Carolina – Here’s a little piece of history that I didn’t know about: the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke Island. Here was the FIRST English settlement in the Americas, dating from 1585 (more than 20 years before Jamestown!). The…
The Best Things to Do in Salem
Salem, Mass – Halloween is coming! In honor of the spooky season, we have a new article about the best things to do in Salem. “It was 1692 – a dark time indeed – when the residents of Salem village…
The Dropsical Woman
Paris, France – Anyone who read The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure knows that the Dropsical Woman – masterpiece by Gerrit Dou – used to hang in the Louvre in the Salon Carré alongside the Mona Lisa. Now, the Dropsical Woman is…
Versailles Palace
Versailles, France – We are struggling with jetlag. This is the first time we have traveled to Europe (as a family) for less than a month, and we don’t have time to hang out and adjust to the time change.…
Children’s Lit Tour
Springfield and Amherst, Mass – There must be something in the Pioneer Valley water that fosters creativity and playfulness. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence that two of America’s most celebrated kids’ lit author-illustrators lived in this region. Today they…
Mohican History of Stockbridge
Stockbridge, Mass – It’s not my first trip to the Berkshires (read about some of our previous trips here). And I am a travel writer, a so-called expert in New England and its history. But I still learned something while…
Clark Art Institute
Williamstown, Mass – The collection of Impressionist and American paintings at the Clark Art Institute is exceptional for a small museum. It is particularly strong in its Impressionist paintings, especially Monet and Renoir, as well as Americans like Winslow Homer…