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36 (Fun and Food-Filled) Hours in Philadelphia

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Dear readers, I’m in Maryland, having just buried my beloved uncle and now helping to tend to my ailing father. Since I’ve been distracted away from ye olde blog this week, I gratefully accepted my friend Mara Gorman’s (The Mother of All Trips) offer of a guest post. I’ll soon resume a more regular schedule, but in the meantime, I truly hope you enjoy Mara’s writing and travel advice as much as I do.

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LOVE signs in Philadelphia 36 (Fun and Food Filled) Hours in Philadelphia

LOVE signs in Philadelphia

Here’s a myth: To really relax, you need at least ten days of vacation.

As a busy parent of two busy boys, though, weekends away are often the only option for me and my husband.

Luckily for me, I’m a big believer in the restorative qualities of a quick getaway, and since I live smack in between New York City and Washington, DC I have lots of options when it comes to an urban retreat. And so, a cold spring weekend found my husband Matt and I dropping our children at my sister’s house outside of Reading, Pennsylvania and heading for downtown Philadelphia for a sybaritic, if short, visit.

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Filed Under: Northeast, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, The Americas, USA

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days

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IMG 0900 The Garden Conservancys Open DaysThis past weekend, we took a brief break from some epic spring cleaning to check out The Garden Conservancy‘s first Open Days event of the year in the Los Angeles area.

Held all over the United States each year between March and November, Open Days allow you to snoop around other people’s backyards and/or find landscaping inspiration while simultaneously raising money to provide and preserve garden spaces across the country. It’s a fun, romantic and altruistic outing, whether you’re traveling in a different city or simply exploring your own. [Read more...]

Filed Under: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New England, New York, North Carolina, Northeast, Northwest, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Southeast, Southwest, Tennessee, Texas, The Americas, USA, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin

New England: A Literary Pilgrimage

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MTH Exerior.28.25.04 New England: A Literary Pilgrimage

The Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut

I’ve had New England on the brain lately, missing my East Coast childhood trips to see cousins, family friends and historic sites.

Aside from a wedding near Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport, we’ve never traveled to the region together. It’s long been on our to-go list, under the vague heading of autumn leaves, pumpkins and scenic drives.

But why wait until Fall? When I heard that the Mark Twain House & Museum (a well-loved stop along one of those trips from my youth) designed a 6-day itinerary that takes you from one literary landmark to another, I just had to share. It sounds like a wonderful way to get out of the office and inspire yourself to do some traveling…and some reading.

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Filed Under: Amherst, Boston, Concord, Connecticut, Hartford, Lenox, Massachusetts, New England, New York, Northeast, Pittsfield, The Americas, USA, West Hills

An Autumn Weekend in the Catskills

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5008200663 4c8b4c01fe z 1 An Autumn Weekend in the CatskillsWe recently returned from a gorgeous Fall weekend in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where:

-The air is clear and cool
-Woodsy back roads run along wide, stony creeks
-Deer and butterflies frolic around marshy ponds in soft meadows
-Thin, lacy trees are just starting to turn red and gold

And there we stood, lingering outside of a local real estate office…dreaming of a parallel life.

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Filed Under: Catskills, New York, Northeast, The Americas, USA

Washington, D.C.: Ode from an Expat

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4890187029 a063d32da2 Washington, D.C.: Ode from an Expat

Moore's "King & Queen," Hirshhorn Museum - photo by Anna Boman

I grew up in the capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C., and sometimes I still dream about it in the wee hours — as though it and I have unfinished business, or I’m looking for something I can’t find.

It’s a city I haven’t called home since 1993, but because my family lives there, so does a part of me. We were just there in late summer, and with my parents as tour guides I learned two valuable things:

You can live in a place your entire life and still discover something new.

You can go home again whenever you like, as long as you’re prepared to let it change.

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Filed Under: Northeast, The Americas, USA, Washington, D.C.
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