When I told my friends about starting a blog chronicling my “Nerd Trips” to sites associated with U.S. presidents, my college roommate Susan had an immediate and strong reaction, “That’s sexist!” Actually, I don’t think I can be held responsible for the fact that the United States has not had any female presidents. However, in celebration of Women’s History Month, I decided to tackle this topic: Are Nerd Trips sexist?

As much as I enjoy visiting historic homes, I also like to know how stuff works, particularly things in everyday life that we may never think about. (For example, I think airports are fascinating, there’s so much going on). I was fascinated to learn about the “Modern Marvel” of the convenience story.

Before we went to Dealey Plaza, my brother and sister-in-law told me that there are “X”s in the street that mark where President Kennedy was hit. I found this idea to be shocking at first. Do we really need to know the exact spots, marked with an X on the pavement?

How does a city mark its role in a dark part of American History? It’s a dilemma for Dallas and the JFK assassination.

A comic scene from “The Family Circus” prompts a discussion of whether being a nerd is a good or a bad thing.

“Mt. Vernon is not nerdy!” insisted my friend Susan B. when she first heard about the concept of Nerd Trips. Apparently, not everyone is comfortable with the idea that somewhere they’ve visited has been labeled as nerdy. Susan grew up in Washington, D.C. and visited Mt. Vernon nearly every year, often on a school field trip.
Her declaration was the first salvo in what I call “the Great Nerd Debate.” What exactly makes something nerdy?