For a small shire town, Bennington, Vermont is packed with interesting things to do. This is thanks in part to its storied past. Founded in 1749, Bennington was the first town in what would eventually become the State of Vermont. (Hence the town slogan, “Vermont Begins Here!”) At the time, however, America was a set […]
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7 Reasons You Should Visit Cleveland Right Now
Cleveland, Ohio has a bit of a bad rap. In 1969, the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River running through downtown Cleveland caught fire and Time Magazine published a photo of the flames engulfing a ship. This was followed by a major economic recession in the 1970s and 1980s. The factories closed, unemployment rates soared and there […]
Snapshot: Cleveland’s West Side Market
Whenever I travel to a new city, I like to visit the market to get a taste of the local culture. This is easy enough in Europe and Asia, where nearly every town has a market. I’ve sampled fresh honey in Portugal, cured meats in Madrid and langos in Budapest; bahn mi in Vietnam, miso katsu […]
A Peaceful Afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery
Last week I wrote about some of the many presidential monuments and war memorials in Washington, DC. I shared statistics such as the 54,000 American soldiers killed during the three-year Korean War and the staggering 400,000 who gave their lives during World War II. It is difficult to comprehend losses of that magnitude, so many young men […]
Best of DC: Monuments and Memorials
As world capitals go, Washington, DC is among the most impressive. Sure, it’s relatively young, without the distinguished history of the grand dames of Europe. But what it lacks in age, it makes up for in stately monuments and memorials. Many of the most significant are grouped around the National Mall, a large public park and gathering place also known […]