Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site was the next place Tom and I headed in our quest for stamps. The house, at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, is a historic home. When Henry and Fanny Longfellow bought the house in 1844, Henry was well-acquainted with its history. The Georgian mansion overlooking the Charles …
From September 2024
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
We didn’t have to travel far for the fourth stamp of the day. Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is less than ten minutes from the JFK House. Tom and I thought the name, Frederick Law Olmsted, sounded familiar, but we couldn’t figure out why. By visiting his house, Fairsted, we soon learned. Frederick Law …
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
After getting the first two fast stamps in Boston, Tom and I headed for the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts. The house is the birthplace of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our 35th President. Brookline’s refusal to be annexed by Boston means that it is an exclave of Norfolk County. It is a …
Boston and Its Many National Park Stamps
We came to the last day of our cruise and disembarked in Boston. Tom and I were in Boston in 2015 with our friends Sandy and Eric Shaw. We camped at Salisbury State Beach Reservation and took the train in to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. We did every stop along the trail and …
Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine
Lots of people love Acadia National Park. Until the day we visited on our cruise, Tom and I were not among them. We had been to Acadia in 1994 and it was wall-to-wall people. The roads were jammed with cars. We weren’t able to find parking anywhere close to where we wanted to go. The …
Halifax, Capital City of Nova Scotia
Our second city in Nova Scotia was Halifax, the capital city. We went to Halifax on that long ago trip to Nova Scotia that I mentioned previously. The only thing I remember from that trip, however, is the excellent Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The museum is so good that Tom and I both remember …
Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
When Tom and I started this trip, our goal was to see or do one awesome thing a day. The Fortress of Louisbourg was our awesome thing on our first day in Nova Scotia. Our ship docked in Sydney, the largest town on the island of Cape Breton. Sydney is a good-sized city, with 31,000 …
Prince Edward Island, a Canadian Province
Tom and I continued our exploration of the Canadian Maritimes by traveling to Prince Edward Island, the smallest province in Canada. Prince Edward Island is the smallest province in land area and population, but is also the most densely populated. Its nickname is “The Birthplace of Confederation” because it hosted talks among the maritime provinces …
Happy 90th Birthday to my Dad!
September 1 was my dad’s 90th birthday. Happy birthday, Dad! In honor of his birthday and this big milestone, we had a blowout family celebration. We started planning this 90th birthday celebration as soon as Tom and I got back from our trip. In fact, we planned our trip so we would be back in …