Not the usual "spirit" filled night in OC! A perfectly cool…read moresummer's evening made for a great backdrop for tales of history and mystery in Ocean City, Md. Our guide, ALLISON was the best! From the OC Lifesaving Museum through to a trifecta (accident, murder, suicide) of haunts at the Shoram. Great historical info as well as tales from the great beyond. Looking forward to the Berlin tour as well as Mindie's new book about the local area. Thank you for a very enjoyable, new, and uniquely different way to explore the resort town where I vacationed as a child and lived in my early 20s.

Great stories and entertaining tour guide! We enjoyed the walk and details, I would do another one!read more

The first thing that you will notice is that this park is beautiful. But beyond that, there's so…read moremuch to do and learn! We learned all about how tobacco is produced on the plantation. We learned about how the garden was used for medicinal purposes and food. We got to feed the chickens! We learned about cooking in colonial times. We learned about how cannons work and saw a can fired off a ship! We learned about how a print shop worked and even got to help print something! We also saw a cabin built by and for enslaved people, and learned how life changed for them after emancipation. It was such a fun day and I want to go back!

What an amazing experience! Beautiful land with knowledgeable historians throughout the property…read more I had a great afternoon exploring the Historic City. I was able to walk around the property on the paved pathways and not only see and read about the history of the buildings, but also hear from live historians and some of the locations. I arrived later in the afternoon and received my ticket at a discounted price ($3.50) compared to the $10 admission fee charged during the day for adults. I loved learning the history of this area while visiting from out of town. I highly recommend stopping if you can, but do give yourself minimum 2 hours (or more!!) to get through everything. I did miss out on viewing the plantation and a few of the smaller building

The largest living museum in the world is Colonial Williamsburg. Original 18th century homes and…read morebuildings (and many reconstructed) line blocks and blocks. There are taverns, a blacksmith, the governor's mansion, and more. With the tours and performances, you can spend the entire day here. You do need a ticket to go inside most of the buildings with the exception of the Bray School and a few others. However, it is free to wander through!

Walking around we came across this & figured why not check it out…read more U can grab tickets through their official site which is easier for the tours inside the building. This was nice, Informative it was a decent way to spend some time learning & checking out the history of this place.

What a delightful experience! We've visited Chincoteague 4 times including some boat tours and…read moretrips to the museum but Cindy told us stuff we'd never heard and helped us look at the stories we did know in a different light. I don't want to give away anything but I definitely learned about US history as well. Our tour took about 90 minutes, Cindy made sure to position us so we were out of the glare and offered options for sitting at several of the stops - the total walk was under a mile and totally manageable for the group which included my husband & myself, my 73 year old parents and my 12 & 15 year olds. It's not a standard spooky ghost story tour (although there are a few good ghost stories), it's an entertaining way to get a historical perspective of this island,

we had a tour scheduled and no one showed up . we arrived 15 minutes before the agreed time and…read morestayed an additional 15 minute.

Ordinarily, plantations would not be on my list of places to visit, given the history of slavery…read more However, I discovered a statue of Grace Sherwood while living in Virginia Beach, and I was intrigued. I had mentioned this to one of my students, and she suggested I visit Ferry Plantation House. I planned a tour with her as I was interested in their ties to Grace Sherwood and stories of paranormal activity. The tour did not disappoint, and I'm always interested in history when it is presented in creative ways. I appreciated that they include tales of the slaves that were a part of the plantations past. As for the paranormal, I felt very drawn to a particular tree on the property. Though, nothing felt menacing, I did get pushed on the stairs after visiting an upstairs room where a former slave women spent a lot of time with the children of the plantation. The push was on my leg leading me to believe it could have possibly been a child. Lastly, I did stop by the gift shop at the end of my tour. My favorite purchase was a Ferry Plantation tea blend. It's worth a visit if you are interested in Virginia Beach history or the paranormal.

I came Ferry Plantation house this past Saturday the 21st. I have been vacationing for years at the…read morebeach but due to the rain and to look for alternative things my family and I could do. While researching I cam across the story of Grace Sherwood (not going to ruin it) which lead me to the plantation. After researching it I decided it would be a great place to drop by to put the story in motion. Since it is fall and almost Halloween I knew my stepdaughter would love it. We unfortunately could not get tickets as I waited last minute so we couldn't go into the house but just roamed the property. They have signs all around of historic significance and just seeing the house puts everything into perspective. I will definitely be back to tour the inside of the house and we heard from a volunteer who was arriving as we were leaving they do tours on Thursdays and Saturdays as well as was in the process of setting up for an event (some kind of funeral/mourning) that they do every year. If we lived closer we would definitely attend. No matter if you believe in the paranormal side of things or not it is still a great place of history located smack in the middle of some beautiful million dollar homes on the waterfront.

Tangier Island is a unique, tiny island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. We took a ferry over…read moreand immediately were offered a golf cart tour of the small fishing town. Our guide gave us the fascinating and rather informative history of this quirky and one of a kind destination. Population of about 400, the island houses private residents and just a few businesses. There's one small grocer, a post office, 4 restaurants, a few souvenir shops, one school, a doctor's office (a doctor comes over twice a week but three nurses are on call). One police office, no jail. A couple of churches and the museum are on the main circular road that encompasses this charming seafaring village. While this isn't an "exciting" or "happening" town, it is thoroughly engaging and delightful! The tour lasted only 15 minutes but it packed a punch. We went over a couple of small bridges around the inlets and saw some beautiful foliage and wildlife. You could see that many of the buildings and homes were weather beaten from the bay's salty gusts and storms, but that just added to the character of the island. After the tour, we walked all around the island which didn't take long at all. We bought some Tangier merchandise at the local souvenir shop, visited the sweet museum and enjoyed informative exhibits. We went to Fisherman's Corner Seafood Restaurant for lunch and the tour guide was right, you have to get a crab cake here in Tangier! All lump crab meat, huge and piled high in a golden brown patty! Our visit ended with a soft serve cone from Four Brothers Snack Shack, where we basked in the sun and soaked in this poetic, natural wonder! Our trip home left us not a little sleepy and dreaming of the sea!

The Genocide of Tangier Island…read more To all that have never been to Tangier Island, you owe it to yourself and your family to find your way to Tangier and it's neighbor, Smith Island. The island, the people and its way of life are being politically sent to the "Gallows". There is a paraphrase saying "If man created the problem than man can solve the problem". The pollical will to let Tangier Island die is in the crosshairs of the EPA and a forever genocide of a way of life and its history. If nothing is done to change the course, Tangier Island in our life time will be gone forever and it will never return. On your visit to Tangier Island you will be able to witness in real time, the death of an island. The current government will focus on nonsense issues at the cost of helping real people that are struggling to protect their way of life. The worst of the matter, there are many less costly solutions to saving the island than the cost of letting the island die. The history of the Island and the friendly atmosphere of the people is absolutely the best. I have been to Tangier Island seven times in the last 30 years. Each time, I am moved by the challenge that the island is facing. You will find your visit to Tangier Island unlike any place of interest that you have visited in the past. Whether, you travel by plane, ferry or boat, you will be taken on how nice and friendly everyone on Tangier Island is to visitors. Enjoy a living historic island. David Silver Spring, MD

To set expectations, Yorktown Battlefield, like many battlefields in the U.S., is essentially a…read morefield. There isn't much to see, BUT the signs located throughout are helpful. They also have cannons and other items to help bring it to life. For me, the beauty of this battlefield is in the little museum in the visitor's center and the Nelson and Moore Houses. The Nelson House is a historic home that was struck by cannons during the siege. The Moore House is where the end of the war was largely negotiated. Once you arrive at the visitor's center, pay $15 for a pass that's good for a few days. It also gives you access to Historic Jamestown. Staff will give you maps and more info on the self-driving tour.

We had an incredible time exploring the battlefield and driving from location to location. My…read morehusband is a veteran so we got free admission which pleasantly surprised us that I also qualified as his wife. The staff was so nice and explained everything. We took the map and went to each site, read the plaques and paid our respect to those lost. The weather was perfect and everything was clearly labeled and well taken care of. We had a great time learning all about the battle and touring the grounds.

I love driving over the CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE tunnel - either to Cape Charles or just to enjoy the…read moreEastern Shore of Virginia which is littered with adorable small towns with amazing fish. Also, recently, we've discovered this is the best way to get to Maryland, Annapolis or Delaware - forget driving up I-95. This is it! This tunnel is over 17 miles long and is so relaxing - an engineering marvel and very well-maintained. My husband and I visited the Florida Keys a few years ago and were so excited to drive between them on the famous bridge, well, it was far less beautiful, less well-kept, and less impressive than our own bridge.

With a fear of tunnels AND bridges on our recent trip to Williamsburg I decided on some exposure…read moretherapy and tackle the bridge/tunnel I have avoided for decades. EVEN after I researched that there have been 45 fatalities from crashes and 19 involved vehicles going into the water. Result? This is no where near as bad as I made it out in my mind. The bridge is low so you don't travel high over the water. The tunnels are short. About little over a minute to get through. This is a 17 mile bridge/tunnel expanse and the anxiety level really didn't even twinge much at all. The wildfire haze affected our views but it was an exposure therapy bucket list to cross off. So if you have a fear of tunnels or bridges I can with certainty say this will no where be near as intimidating as you imagine. The side protection barriers could be higher in my opinion (especially knowing about the past incidents of cars going over) but it is much more doable than you would think. Bite the bullet, and do it. You will be stronger for it.

To start off, Lincoln is there! (If you were doubting). We took the trip up to see these heads…read morespecifically. It ended up pouring so yes, boots are recommended! The rows in between ended up flooding so I couldn't get past maybe the 3rd or 4th one in each row but this was a very unique experience. They have 42, technically 43 with Obama in the front. Well more like 42.1 compared to his size lol. To kick it off they give you background information which is cool to know and then guide you to the heads. You have the 2 hour slot to use and walk around for as little or as long as you'd like. The company was VERY organized and thorough with information beforehand and updating us on the weather. As well as accommodating, offering ticket holders to come earlier that day or next day with the weather! I didn't get the sunset pictures I wanted but a muddy rain night with the statues is a cool trade off! Worth it to see.

I've been wanting to visit this for a while and was lucky to get tickets many months in advance…read more It's on a private property and is open only ~8 times in a year. There were different 2-hour times that you can choose from when I bought the tickets. A full day pass is also available that allows you to enter multiple times in a day. The organizers send emails containing directions to get to the place, tips and other reminders. When they tell you not to wear pretty shoes, listen. Even though it had not rained for the past week when we went, there were areas that were really muddy. Wear boots. Went here on a Saturday afternoon. There was a short orientation at the start near the registration area then we went to the heads of the presidents. It was a cool experience seeing all these huge busts of the presidents. Two brief talks during the visit were (1) trivia about the presidents and (2) history of the place/presidents' heads. A gift shop at the entrance/exit had magnets, postcards, tree ornaments, posters, etc. Had a great time here and was lucky to get those tickets ahead of time because they run out quickly.

Bottom Line. Reliable and friendly transportation to Ewell on Smith Island…read more The brackish water of the Chesapeake Bay runs through my veins and I love the heritage and culture of the region. I've traveled the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore and I've now finally made it to the in between of Smith Island, in part thanks to Smith Island Cruises. My husband and I took the ferry from Crisfield to the village of Ewell on Smith Island. The ferry is a two-deck passenger ferry that probably holds around 100 people but on Labor Day weekend I think there were only about 30 aboard. Passengers are welcome to bring their luggage aboard including coolers. You can bring bikes too but there is a charge. Smith Island is dry so if you're hoping to have a drinky drink then discretely bring your own. The ferry trip is advertised to take about 45 minutes but depending on conditions, such as wind, it could take longer. During the cruise the captain pointed out some landmarks and provided a little history which was a nice touch. Overall the trip was scenic and I'm glad I had my birdnoculars in tow. The ferry is no frills. It offers a safe passage, friendly service and two bathrooms. Online ordering of tickets is easy. You can also reserve a golf cart and Smith Island cake at the same time. If departing from Crisfield then you pick up your tickets (wristband) at the Captain Tyler Motel before hand and then they'll direct you to free parking near the B pier at the marina. It was a very simple and organized process. Once on Smith Island we got a delicious lunch at the Bayside Inn and then went to the nearby Cultural center where we enjoyed the exhibits and got a walking tour map for the town. For our short 2.5 hours on the town we found waking, versus gold cart riding or biking, to be adequate. Shout out to the employee on board in the first mate/hospitality role - he was friendly and welcoming.

Took this trip from Point Lookout Captain Jack was the best!…read moreHe gave a great tour as he narrated the trip to Smith Island and gave some education along the way. We Ebenezer had a little quiz on the way back on facts that we were given on the way over. Very entertaining . The mate was really good too... he passed out sliced watermelon on the way back. We were kind of hot and a little tired and that was so nice! The boat does have bathrooms. The online tickets are very easy.