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 …
From National Parks
Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland
Our second day in Newfoundland and Labrador, Tom and I hiked to Signal Hill in St. John’s. Signal Hill is a Canadian National Historic Site with lots of park land and hiking trails. Our ship docked in the center of town, which meant that the walk to Signal Hill was just 1.5 miles. Of course, …
Caldera de Bandama de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
After two days of exploring cities on our own, Tom and I were ready for a different adventure. We booked a shore excursion that took us up to Caldera de Bandama for a hike. Caldera de Bandama is part of the Bandama Natural Monument. It took us about an hour to ride our bus up …
Biscayne National Park in Florida
To fill out our week of visiting National Park sites, Tom and I stopped at Biscayne National Park just south of Miami. Biscayne National Park is 95% water, which means that the number of things you can do without a boat are limited. Biscayne National Park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. The shore of …
Everglades National Park in Florida
Tom and I made a quick trip to Everglades National Park in Florida in between Big Cypress and Biscayne. We had been to Everglades several times and weren’t really interested in seeing it again. But, in our previous visits, I had neglected to get a stamp. So we took advantage of our proximity for me …
Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida
The day after visiting De Soto National Memorial, Tom and I visited Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress is administered by the National Park Service, so I needed the stamp. In addition, Tom and I had never been there, despite previously visiting Everglades National Park. Big Cypress National Preserve is a diverse landscape of cypress …
De Soto National Memorial in Florida
Tom and I are one week into our big trip now and our first major stop was De Soto National Memorial in Florida. The first two days were long days spent driving south on I-75, but the third day we got to do some fun stuff. De Soto National Memorial is a small National Historic …
Beautiful Fort Frederica National Monument
Besides having so much interesting history, Fort Frederica National Monument is beautiful. I take a morning walk every day around 8 a.m. and love to see the changing conditions and unchanging beauty. Over the seven seasons we spent at Fort Frederica I have seen a lot of beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Lots of gorgeous days …
History Still Comes Alive at Fort Frederica
During our very short two months at Fort Frederica National Monument, Tom and I were out every weekend doing living history. Unlike previous years when we had other volunteers with us, it was mostly just the two of us. Sometimes we had a ranger out there with us and Jamieson came to weave two days. …
Setting Up for Special Events
Although people enjoy special events at National Park sites, they often don’t think about the setting up that has to happen before the special event. No matter how many people are involved in the event, there are just as many people who worked hard before the event and cleaned up after the event. At Fort …