Modern Travel Historic Destinations (2025)

12/09/2023

Even amongst all the natural beauty that is the White Mountains, we can find a little bit of history. The Russell-Colbath House is like a walk back through time. To stand there amongst the trees and wonder what it must have taken to get there back in the 17/1800s, to stake out some land for yourself, and to farm it for sustainability and the hopes of some prosperity as well. Even today driving along the Kancamagus Hwy leaves you feeling fairly isolated despite passing a car or two and the occasional die-hard biker. What must have it felt like then?

20/06/2023

Provincetown has it all! History, nightlife, beaches, seafood - you name it, you can find it at the tip of Cape Cod. It’s a saucy little town that welcomes the but also celebrates its seafaring Portuguese community. There is even a monument to the Pilgrims’ original landing seen from all over town. If, like me, you haven’t ventured yet ventured into the Outer Cape well I don’t know what you are waiting for. More details in the comments.

03/06/2023

🎵Where in the world is … 🎵
On this week’s episode 😉 we are in the Berkshires! Our first stop was the former summer home for George and Sarah Morgan (sister to J.P himself) at the height of the Gilded Age. The property, reported to be haunted, has seen many owners since George and Sarah’s time and even fallen into a state of disrepair and ruin at the hands of a previous owner before the museum association took over ownership and lovingly restored many of its rooms. Our tour guide, Paula, was incredibly well informed and engaging. I highly recommend stopping in for a tour. I was so engrossed I kept forgetting to take pictures!
The home built, a bit unusually, in the Jacobean style feels older than it is but like it’s cousin “cottages” in Newport is filled many far away features like Italian marble, Cuban-sourced wood ceiling, and more from then distant lands.
While the story of the home itself is as equally fascinating there is some family scandal to learn as well. See young viewers, history is fun!
P.S. the home may look familiar to movie aficionados as it is the outside location for Cider House Rules with Michael Caine and Tony Maguire amount others

16/05/2023

Sometimes you find history when you aren’t even looking for it. The Ogunquit Free Library was erected in August 1897. I may just have to take a trip back during the day to explore inside!

31/12/2022

Along at least part of the Eastern Prom Trail lies the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad. While only a historical recreation, it memorializes a unique part of Maine’s history. Narrow gauge railroads were built to access rocky, mountainous areas that were hard to access via traditional railroads. The narrow width of the tracks allowed for more curving and bending. Maine’s is unique because it’s tracks only lie 2 feet apart where most narrow gauge is 3 feet apart and standard gauge is 4 ft 8.5 in. This resulted in smaller train cars (like you see here) and locomotives as well. With the advent of the automobile age, most of Maine’s 200 miles of narrow gauge railroad was pulled up and destroyed. Some of it was saved and transported to Edaville Railroad in Carver, MA but before you gasp in recognition it was sold off when Edaville closed the first time sometime in the 90s. What was preserved now makes up this little engine that could known as the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad. Give them a visit if you find yourself in Portland to learn more!

26/11/2022

You are surrounded by history in Ireland and it would be impossible for me to condense any of it into a blurb here on IG. Suffice it to say that I will be back for certain. These slides show the area around Kells Priory, Jerpoint Abbey, and Kilkenny Castle (last slide). The feeing of walking in the ancient footsteps of long past history while the history of the country’s independence is so new is surreal. Still so much to explore so go out and do it my friends - wherever you may be!

23/11/2022

The history in Dublin is literally around every corner. From the the founding of Trinity College in 1599 to the site of the 1916 Easter Rising at the GPO (general post office) and everywhere in between new buildings and old reside side by side. I was tried to catch as much of it as I could from the front row of a double decker tour bus. provided an incredible overview of the city. I would highly recommend it but be sure you have multiple days in the city because there is so much I could have gone back to. So in lieu of a story or background here is 10 photos from around the city for now. Next week I’ll come back to say more.

21/11/2022

A visit to Cashel and it’s majestic St. Patrick’s Rock and surroundings makes you realize why filmmakers like George Lucas often choose Ireland as locations for films like Star Wars. The views are otherworldly (see slide X). According to “set on a dramatic outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale, the Rock of Cashel, iconic in its historic significance, possesses the most impressive cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland.” It was unreal to be standing in a spot that St. Patrick himself is believed to have visited and that dated back over 1000 years ago.
Not to be missed down the road is H**e Abbey named so after the frost in the fields. It is said that the monks building the abbey wore robes of grey matching the frosts in the field which must have been quite the ghostly sight.

21/11/2022

A visit to Cashel and it’s majestic St. Patrick’s Rock and surroundings makes you realize why filmmakers like George Lucas often choose Ireland as locations for films like Star Wars. The views are otherworldly (see slide 6). According to “set on a dramatic outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale, the Rock of Cashel, iconic in its historic significance, possesses the most impressive cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland.” It was unreal to be standing in a spot that St. Patrick himself is believed to have visited and that dated back over 1000 years ago.
Not to be missed down the road is H**e Abbey named so after the frost in the fields. It is said that the monks building the abbey wore robes of grey matching the frosts in the field which must have been quite the ghostly sight.

21/11/2022

There is so much to take in when visiting Ireland and I’m only seeing a small portion of it! Yesterday was castle day (and likely more to come). We visited Cahir Castle built in the 13th century. It is in near pristine shape with the exception of a couple of cannonballs lodged in its walls since 1599. It was home to the powerful Butler family. Its claim to fame now is as one of the most filmed castles in all of Ireland. Movies like Excalibur (1981), The Last Duel (2021), and tv shows like The Tudors were filmed here.

20/11/2022

Amazing trip and it’s only just begun. Nothing better than the Cliffs of Moher at sunrise. We had the place all to ourselves and it was nothing short of amazing. Standing at the southwestern most point along the it is a sight to behold. The round stone tower stands at about the midpoint of the cliffs.

03/11/2022

The grandeur of still survives. The definitive history of The Gilded Age (1865-1915) lies on the shores of Rhode Island. It was a boon time of major expansion in the US - factories, railroads, urban sprawl. According to the exhibit at the Rosecliff it was when the US became a nation of consumers - of want and luxury. But it was not grand for everyone. Poverty was rampant. Many workers of those mills and more barely made ends meet. Immigration was rising and the mega-wealthy were dancing the nights away at competing balls and changing their wardrobe 4x per day. Does it all sound familiar? History always repeats. It’s what we learn from it that leads us into progress. The Gilded Age so coined by Mark Twain was marked by all that you could not see behind the glitter and gold.

30/08/2022

Suffolk Downs, straddling the city lines of Revere and East Boston, finds itself on the precipice of a new day and a new purpose. The long floundering horse track still simulcasts races but it’s historic track - one that hosted Seabiscuit before he became a “national hero” (Wikipedia) - has long been silent.

Today the one-mile track hosts the odd outdoor festivals, like the Revere Block Party this past Sunday, and provides a walking track for locals. It is slated for another new neighborhood and business center though. While it’s not feasible to maintain a long shuttered racetrack just because but chalk this up to another piece of (soon-to-be) lost history except for (hopefully) it’s name.

21/08/2022

Slide 2 reads: Built ca. 1712-1715, this sturdy brick house became home
to its builder, Ebenezer Clough, the master mason who
helped construct Old North Church. He built several
similar houses on this street, including one owned by
Benjamin Franklin and occupied by his sister, Jane
Franklin Mecom. Only the Clough House still stands. It
is one of the oldest domestic structures in Boston.
The Clough family lived in the house for just two generations
in 1806, a third floor was added and the house became a
tenement for immigrants settling in the North End. Records
show over 180 families associated with this address over
the next 150 years. The 1920 census alone reported 29
individuals from eight families living in the house,
Old North acquired the Cough House in 1959. Today
it serves as a space for historic interpretation at Old
North, welcoming visitors with stories of the past

15/08/2022

🚨Natural History detour! 🚨 The mighty Merrimack River snakes it’s way 110 (hmm is that why it’s called Rt 110 🤔) through and New Hampshire. In it mingles with the Atlantic Ocean. It served as a central artery for the Native Americans who settled the land first and then later for colonists. Later it powered the mills all along it through the big cities of Lowell and Lawrence. published a great article on the history of the river in 2010 (link in comments). Sometimes we must look to the land to inform us about our history. Personally, it always wows me.

02/08/2022

We may not always think of vacation spots as having history but Martha’s Vineyard has TONS! This trip I found myself in Edgartown marveling at the well preserved houses and kicking myself for not going into the church (we were running late for the bus back to the ferry). The glimpses I could get from the street though were stunning.

Edgartown was founded in 1642 as Great Harbor and was a major whaling port. The church is called the Old Whaling Church in fact. You can see the ships may not be used for whaling anymore but there is a still a large sailing population off the waters of Edgartown (slide 4).

The town is one of the two original towns on the island both incorporated in 1671. It was renamed after James II of England’s son, Edgar who had died, unbeknownst to the townspeople just one month prior. (Wikipedia)

It was the Methodists of Edgartown who retreated for the summer to the camp up in Oak Bluffs later building those famous elaborate gingerbread houses. It was their annual meetings that first brought renown to the island as a seaside resort (mvy.com)

The island itself is loaded with a diverse history as home to the Wampanoag tribe, English colonists, then later middle and upper class African-Americans visited the island every summer.

The Vineyard, as locals on the mainland refer to it, is also home to one of the most infamous political scandals in history. The scandal known mostly by the name of a smaller island off Edgartown, Chappaquiddick, was the topic of a 2-part season finale on (and countless others I have no doubt). I wish I had re-listened to the episodes on the ferry over so I could get a better sense of what happened where when I was there. Sometimes you just never know in whose footsteps you are walking…

17/07/2022

Sometimes you just need to give up the day to unspoiled nature.

12/07/2022

The oldest timber frame house in North America is a prime example of right here in .
The house dates back to 1636/7 and was one of the very, very few built by professional builders in the time. Slide 4 showcases one of the original windows from the home shipped over from England as there were no successful glassblowers in the colonies.
[Fun fact: a glassblowing factory was built at Jamestown but failed to create any significant glass products.]

Of course, that is one reason why it is still standing. The home, originally belonging to Jonathan Fairbanks, is funded by a family foundation which is run by Fairbanks descendants to this day.
The family has quite an interesting history. Eight generations lived in the home and the last of the sons was tried and hung for the murder of his fiancé leaving his sisters ineligible for marriage themselves and near-societal pariahs. The house passed down to an unmarried niece who was eventually forced to sell to cover outstanding debts. Several artifacts were sold as well one of which was later bought back by the family at auction and is housed in the Dedham Historical Society.

Modern Travel Historic Destinations

12/09/2023

20/06/2023

03/06/2023

16/05/2023

31/12/2022

26/11/2022

23/11/2022

21/11/2022

21/11/2022

21/11/2022

20/11/2022

03/11/2022

30/08/2022

21/08/2022

15/08/2022

02/08/2022

17/07/2022

12/07/2022

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