October 9, 2024
Feeling the urge to see as much as I can before I am no longer living in the DC area, I chased down another place on my list while being on Short Call Reserve. This abandoned church is one of two in the woods–relics of a ghost town. With a Read more…
September 21, 2024
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC is the largest Roman Catholic Church in North America and one of the most beautiful man-made places I’ve ever seen. The divinely ornate mosaic domes top this tallest habitable structure in DC–home to 82 Marian chapels celebrating Read more…
September 12, 2024
In honor of James Earl Jones, I returned to Washington National Cathedral to locate the 7th story Darth Vader grotesque, a part of the Gothic architecture since 1986 following a contest announced in National Geographic For Kids. The gargoyle was designed by a 13 year old boy from Nebraska and Read more…
May 13, 2023
Scenes from a unique place on Long Island: The Shrine of Our Lady of the Island
January 15, 2023
In I go… The mushroom house in collapse Winter is a great time to explore. Vocational Center I visited the first time The characteristic Sleighton stonework Inside the Education Center Lovely murals Higher learning The “@” wall “What is Right Is Not Always Easy” At the Gym Trying to look Read more…
After some additional recon, I was finally back at the Sleighton Farm School in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. My first visit a couple years back was just a small taste of the decaying sprawl of the reform school for juvenile delinquent girls. We wanted badly to find the campus’s church, but Read more…
April 17, 2022
As fate would have it, I just happened upon an abandoned church on Easter Sunday after pulling off Route 66 for some snacks at the gas station. So I went to church…
July 19, 2021
The West Virginia State Penitentiary operated for more than 100 years (1876 to 1995), holding a peak of 2,000 inmates. The cells, which I roamed in and out of freely taking the Photography Tour, were mostly 5 by 7 feet. Shockingly during overcrowded periods of operation, those small cells held Read more…
December 24, 2020
Around the block from Historic Richmond Town, The Church of Saint Andrew was established when the area was a British colony. In fact, Staten Island has New York City’s oldest churches! (Like this one established in 1680 in Port Richmond.) In the Revolutionary War it served as safe haven for Read more…
February 24, 2019
What a wonderful coincidence that the day I tripped to Baltimore, Maryland was during the extended Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week! I had a big list of eats and sites to see, starting at SweetSide for a croissant. The SweetSide is a delightful bakery that is pretty much akin to sweets Read more…
April 14, 2017
Are you really productive on Sunday? I am. There is something about the last day (of the weekend, in this example) that pushes me to action. Of course this ‘Sunday urgency’ exists today, Friday, as it is my last day here in Paris, France. With a full day at my disposal, I hoped Read more…
August 2, 2016
It costs an arm and a leg to fly into South Dakota. But that’s okay. My preferred mode of transport is auto. And it’s only a few hours from the busy, well-established Minneapolis, Minnesota. But with lofty goals for my day one, I hauled butt past a few roadside attractions Read more…
July 7, 2016
Jacksonville, Florida has vegan credibility. This I state enthusiastically in my head while the locals in Southern Roots Filling Station discuss New York City vegan eats. I could chime in, I suppose, and tell them that New York City isn’t all that spectacular. Well, I mean that the places they are Read more…
August 10, 2013
After brief appreciation (Griswald Grand Canyon style) of Kölner Dom, I moved on from Köln. With my days counting down quickly, I needed to do some cities flash pan speed. I boarded an early train north, foolishly thinking it’d be a quiet and secluded ride. Right smack in the middle Read more…
August 8, 2013
I left the bustle of Frankfurt by way of a double decker diesel train. Thankfully day 2 of my train adventure did not involve elbowing anyone in the head. It did, however, involve my missing a key transfer point. Thanks to the collective efforts of amused fellow passengers, it was Read more…
August 2, 2013
Nürnberg, a Bavarian city about an hour away from where I am staying, is a bit bustling. It at points felt like San Francisco, then Boston… and then like a Medieval village with an impressive Imperial castle and exquisitely ornate spired churches… and then there’s the city’s significance in the Read more…