It was a beautiful day for a Juneteenth Jazz in the Garden concert. There was plenty of seating…read moresurrounding the pond, both grass and concrete benches. I enjoyed walking the grounds prior to the concert to take in some of the gigantic sculptures. Georgia Heers is a talented singer, and my friends and I were glad she was our first concert in the garden.

Free sculpture garden just outside of the national gallery of art. Beautiful to enjoy the breeze by…read moresitting down in one of the many benches. Really nice cafe as well that sells sandwiches, salads, drinks.

This is another gem within Alexandria city limits that's worth stopping by. Julie was really…read morefriendly and resourceful, which enhanced the experience. The city has done a superb job preserving and expanding this historical building. There is a small gift shop, and several rooms on the main floor with historical artifacts. The upstairs Lyseum is still used for lectures and other events, which you can learn more about on their website. It is not a huge museum but you could easily spend at least an hour perusing the exhibits and learning about Alexandria's history. It is an interesting, informative museum and I'd imagine even long-time locals can learn something new about Alexandria. There is a small parking lot with a handful of dedicated spots so I'd imagine during events that nearby street parking is the way to go. Inside, there are public restrooms available. Admission is free for Alexandria residents.

A wonderful little museum showcasing important history in Alexandria. Very educational displays and…read moreawesome pieces of art throughout the museum. A souvenir store is also available with great little finds inside. Check them out.

I have driven by the Galesville Heritage Museum before, but today was the first time it was open…read more I love local historical societies (I was the head of one for a decade in rural MoCo). So I pulled in. This one is located in a historic house, which is very well maintained. They have exhibits inside and some nice features outside as well. They are open on Sunday afternoons. I perused the exhibits and talked to the docents, who were well versed in local history. They have done a nice job with exhibits in a limited space. I learned about steamboats, local schools, the old general stores, canning factories, and other aspects of daily life in Galesville. Because it was Mothers Day, they had lemonade and cookies. Outside, there is a nice boardwalk walkway with signage, gardens, and a historic boat behind the house. I joined as a member so I will hear about upcoming events and festivals.

Amazing little gem of a museum. Well designed and constructed, and our hosts that day were the…read morewonderful Karen and Tilly. So much information shared in such an interesting way! Now we know what the sticks in the water of the bay are! (I won't tell) And along with the nautical ephemera, there were prehistoric animal bones on display! Nice little gift shop, too.

Bottom Line: A delightful museum about Tilghman Island and life in the Chesapeake Bay region that…read moreis a must-visit site for first time visitors to the area. I am fascinated with the unique and rich subculture of the Chesapeake Bay region. Like the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, The Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Chesapeake Beach and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, the Tilghman Watermen's Museum tells the history of life on and around the bay. As the name implies, the museum also recounts history specific to Tilghman Island. What I like most about the museum is that it is located inside the beautifully restored historic Lee house. The historic home is built in the "W" architecture style which is an offshoot of Victorian architecture. This style is unique to Tilghman Island. In fact, there were only 13 of them built and only seven survive. I enjoyed learning about this specific architectural style so much that I was very pleased to be able to purchase a Christmas ornament that features the Lee House. Also, we enjoyed driving around the island and identifying other W style homes. There are various exhibits in the museum including a rotating exhibit that changes annually in addition to the permanent exhibits. Currently, the rotating exhibit is about waterfowling in the area as Tilghman Island is located along the Atlantic Flyway - the north-south migratory route for birds. My father has hunted ducks and geese on the Eastern Shore his entire life and I have studied the Atlantic Flyway a bit but I still learned something new, albeit a bit horrifying about big gun boats. The permanent exhibits cover fishing, crabbing, oystering, canning and boat building. I really appreciated the pound net model because I'd only seen them from the water and never could quite grasp how they worked. The exhibit that I spent the most time marveling at was about the Tilghman Packing Company. I can almost imagine being there - I can hear the boats arriving with their bounty, I can see the workers hustling and I can smell the bizarrely delightful and familiar salty, musty smell of aging, empty oyster shells piling up. The exhibit that was most surprising was about beloved Tilghman Island resident Bill Cummings. He was a commercial waterman by trade but had a natural talent for painting. He was self-taught and his work documents a time lost on the island. I assumed the museum was self-guided but that wasn't the case. We were accompanied for most of our visit. At times it was hard to immerse myself in the exhibits for that reason. My husband's take was that the docents were really excited to have us there and wanted to make sure we had a good time and got all of our questions answered. Hopefully that was the case and not that they thought we'd be disrespectful if not closely supervised. I really appreciate all of the hardwork that has gone into restoring the Lee House and creating the museum's collections and exhibits. Tilghman Island has a proud history that they graciously share. Admission is donation based and it is certainly worthy of a donation. You can drop cash in their box or donate via your credit card. I really hope people will support this neat, quaint, local museum!

This local history museum is a hidden treasure. If you are planning a day or a weekend in the Twin…read moreBeaches area (Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, MD), I highly recommend a stop here. The first floor contains exhibits and artifacts about the geology and formation of the Chesapeake Bay and the fossil beds along the Calvert shores. There are drawers of fossils to fascinate the kids. The first floor also contains fascinating exhibits and artifacts from the heyday of this area, when the boardwalk was a mile long, and the attractions included an amusement park, dance halls, salt water pools, and other forms of amusements. They have original artifacts like a Bingo pinball machine. The second floor has exhibits about the War of 1812, Scouting and Camp Roosevelt, and a fascinating "cottage exhibit" with antiques and period items from local shore cottages. So if you are planning a visit, plan to spend an hour here to get oriented to the time when droves of people headed to these little shore towns to enjoy the beach.

This museum is truly a gem! Two floors of exhibits, staff is super-nice, all artifacts well…read moredocumented, and if you're lucky...you'll get a guided tour!

Beautiful museum with an impressive collection of Impressionist and Spanish art, tucked away in a…read morequaint DC neighborhood. Once the residence of the Kreeger family (founders of GEICO), this place punches well above its weight in their offerings of impressionist art such as Monet and Bonnard. With art offerings covering two floors of a very large house plus an impressive outdoor sculpture garden, this place offers a great place to enjoy the art leisurely indoors and then make your way outside to enjoy the sculptures in the beautifully manicured back yard. We went during the time in which they also allowed for picnics in their sculpture garden for free and it was an idyllic setting for both art and nature to be enjoyed. Even in this case, it was not overcrowded and as you would guess surrounded by the DC locals. Also on display was their impressive collection from Miro. An entire room dedicated to his work. If you are looking for a very relaxing way to spend a few hours in DC, this is your place.

DC has a lot of museums. I know. I get it. Here is the thing...not every great museum is nestled in…read morethe heart of the Federal District. Some museums are a little off the main thoroughfare and are nonetheless worth a visit. Such is The Kreeger Museum. I randomly came across the Kreeger while on YouTube of all places. It intrigued me that there was a museum nestled in a residential neighborhood. Okay..neighborhood, in this case, deserves some air quotes. We are in seven to eight digital home values in this "neighborhood." When you see the artwork, it all begins to make sense. The Kreeger family was a husband wife dynamo that collected modern and impressionist artwork in an exciting and approachable way. Yes, to the detractors - the couple was known to ONLY collect the works of male artists. Since their passing, the conservatorship has invested in acquiring works from female artists that blend harmoniously with the existing collection. Parking is easy, whether you Uber or drive yourself. I very much hope to go back to see the collection again as well as to walk their sculpture garden. Museum well, my friends.

Don't overlook this small museum just two blocks north of the National Mall. Inside an easy-to-miss…read more19th century building is Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office Museum. It's from this building that she helped find the whereabouts of thousands of missing Civil War soldiers, helping families begin the grieving process. Clara is better known for starting the American Red Cross and helping many during wars and natural disasters across the nation. Her personal story is one to be learned from. Open only on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm, the tour lasts an hour and includes the lobby area where you'll find a large mural about her life, photos from the Civil War, and a gift shop. The third floor is where you'll learn more about Clara Barton, her work, and the old house/office. Each room transports you back in time. It's 100% worth a visit!

Nice spot for a quick, informative stop. You'll first notice a gorgeous mural depicting the life of…read moreClara Barton done by painter, Peter Waddell. The young woman who welcomed us was very knowledgeable about Clara Barton, as was the Mr. Waddell!

I just learned that this old firehouse was a museum just recently. I walk by it almost every time I…read moream in Old Town and always remark that it is such a pretty building. Back in the day (the 1800's), it was a working firehouse, and actually the first volunteer fire department in Alexandria. I am sure with all of the wooden townhouses in Old Town this place saw bunch of action while it was operational. Inside, you can look at old firehouse equipment such as leather water buckets, old school fire engines that needed to be pulled either by horse or hand and also some of the first water hoses. Head on down here the first week of August for their festival. You can pet a dalmatian, shop for crafts and jam to some live music.

This place was adorable and the lady that runs it is very knowledgeable and fun. The tour takes…read moreless than 30 minutes and is informative. If you are a fireman, you CANNOT MISS THIS PLACE and if you tell them that you are a fireman, you get to ring the bell above the old firehouse. Which is AWESOME. They have weird hours though and are currently open only Saturday and Sundays from 1-4.