Add the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898 to the list of historical events I don’t know enough about. I would “remember the Maine” if only I could. I know the incident triggered the Spanish-American War. I recall that the reason the boat exploded is perhaps a little murky. Conspiracy theories…
Tag: Washington
Making Field Trips More Fun: Gargoyles and Grotesques
It’s Wacky Wednesday! One favorite travel oddity is a certain grotesque at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque, I have learned, is that gargoyles have spouts as part of a building’s drainage system. Grotesques apparently are merely decorative. Who knew gargoyles served such a practical function?…
Three Inns I Always Want to Return to
Some places stick in your memory even decades after you’ve been there. There’s magic in their atmosphere, or good fairies floating in their mirrors, or memorable scents in their soaps that bring serenity on a visit. No matter how far away I get, these are the places to which I always want to return: The…
Arlington Strong
History classes in high school, and even in college, often, to me, were tedious exercises taught by some who just didn’t manage to bring the subject alive. It’s ironic, then, that I would be so engaged in the topic at a place for the dead: Arlington National Cemetery. Walking somewhat randomly, but generally following groups…
Of Fire, Ice, Blimps, and Ships at the National Postal Museum
The Bashful Adventurer visits the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.
The Kremlin: Napoleon Was Here
I’m not sure what I expected to see within the walls of the Kremlin, the centuries-old fortress that is the seat of the Russian government. That old cannons from Russia’s own War of 1812 were there surprised me as these belonged to Napoleon, who, with his army, took up residency, however brief. I was surprised…