Road Trips

Road Trips

  • Lisbon Christmas Markets - Kelly M and I decided to go to Lisbon to see the Christmas markets. We took the Flixbus from Lagos to the Lisbon Oriental station. The bus stops at Portimao and another location before taking the highway north. It’s about a 4 hour trip. I thought the train would be faster but from Lagos you have to take a fairly slow train to Faro then can catch the express to Lisbon so it can take just as long. We left...

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  • Washington, D.C. - I spent two very busy weeks in Washington D.C. just over a year ago. Even though I didn’t do everything I wanted to, I wasn’t planning on returning so soon but this was where I had to come for my VFS (visa) appointment for Portugal. Like most large, world class cities, there is always something to do, so I found plenty of new activities to enjoy. The AirBNB in the Eastern Market I had in April 2022 was booked unfortunately....

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  • Manassas National Battlefield Park - I stopped in Manassas National Battlefield Park on the way from Hampton to Washington DC. I arrived around noon and saw the exhibits at the visitor center then joined a Ranger walk for the Henry Hill battle site. This was the site of the major battle during First Manassas/First Bull Run, July 1861. After that walk I went over to Chinn Ridge for a second Ranger walk. This was the site of a major offensive during Second Manassas/Second Bull Run...

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  • Colonial Virginia: Jamestown to Yorktown - I stayed in Hampton close to the waterfront; it was a lovely area. I drove around the peninsula for a week to see the several historic sites. Fort Monroe I spent the first day at Fort Monroe. Advance timed tickets to the Casemate Museum are required. This was a great museum, lots of artifacts and history about the fort, including the cell where Jefferson Davis was held for 2 years. I spent the entire day here. After the museum I...

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  • Civil War: Endgame at Appomattox - Appomattox Court House National Historic Site I’ve been wanting to visit Appomattox Court House to see where General Grant took Lee’s surrender. I missed this site 18 months ago when I was in Virginia and Washington so planned a stop this trip. Leaving Cincinnati, I drove to Concord, Virginia for two nights, to spend a day at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. After a 9 1/2 month siege of Petersburg, trench warfare and cutting off the railroads supplying Petersburg...

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  • Weekend in Cincinnati - Using my NPS site map, I decided to stop in Cincinnati for a couple nights on the way to Washington for my Visa appointment. I wanted to the see the Taft historic site. I booked a great AirBNB for 3 nights. I visited the William Howard Taft NHS Saturday morning for several hours. There is a nice visitor center with a video about Taft and his family; the home was the one he grew up in and you can visit...

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  • Mackinac Island, Michigan - I spent a week in Saint Ignace and went to the island by ferry. I wish I had checked prices better for some of the B&Bs or hotels on the island, I definitely would have enjoyed more time on the island to explore. While visiting I learned Mackinac and Mackinaw are pronounced the same – with a ‘w’ sound but both should be spelled with a ‘c’. Both came from Michilimackinac. I also learned there was a national park here...

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  • Finger Lakes, New York - After a month in Michigan, and a week in Niagara Falls I needed somewhere to go close by before flying out of O’Hare to Portugal in September so decided to return to this lovely area. I visited some things I had seen 3 years ago, but many things weren’t open in 2020 due to COVID and I found plenty of new things to do. Kelly came out for a week, also. I had a 2 bedroom right outside of Geneva...

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  • Niagara Falls, Ontario - I’ve visited the falls several times. My first visit was with my parents and sisters in the late 1960s. My daughter and I stopped by for one afternoon and one night on the way to Maine in 1993 and we rode the Maid of the Mist. We were in Toronto for a week in 2004 and drove over for a day; we did Journey Behind the Falls. I’ve never spent any time in the area, however, to see anything other...

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  • Southwest Michigan - My daughter took a new job early in 2021, moving to central Michigan between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. I‘ve visited many times since then, for a few days here, a week there, a month around the holidays last year and finally decided to write up some activities and places I’ve visited and enjoyed across several towns in the area. I’ll probably update this post each time I visit if I find new activities unlike separate posts for other destinations. Kalamazoo...

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