From Shakespeare and Dickens to presidents ranging from Madison to Theodore Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter, it’s been quite a summer of Nerd Trips. Here’s a sneak peak of where we’ve been.

Thomas Jefferson’s accomplishments are well-known, but did you know he has his own color? That’s just one of the things we learned at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest (its full name), Jefferson’s country villa in southwestern Virginia. My aunt Viola, uncle Joe and I visited this country estate when I was  visiting them for Easter in 2013.  It...

While most people know Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (check your nickels), fewer people know Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, his country villa in Southwest Virginia. I think of it as a “mini Monticello,” because it looks so much like its more famous counterpart.

Out of respect, I know we probably shouldn’t refer of our presidents as “cute,” but look at this crate filled with Woodrow Wilsons in the gift shop at the Wilson Birthplace and Presidential Museum in Staunton, Virginia. (Only $11.95!) See what else we saw in this “Part 2” of our Nerd Trip.

The gift shop is just down the block from the presidential museum, which I visited after first touring the birthplace of our 28th president (see previous post).
At the museum, a bust of President Wilson greets you on arrival (much more stately than the doll).

Check out this cool car. It’s President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine, which was waiting for him when he returned to the United States after signing the Treaty of Versailles. It’s one of the highlights of a visit to his birthplace in Staunton (pronounced “Stan-ton”, the “u” is silent), Virginia. You can see the car at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, just a few steps from the house where our 28th president was born.

Lots of people wait in line to visit the White House, but there is little waiting for those who make the trek to the Brown House, President Hoover’s summer retreat in the Shenandoah National Park.

When modern presidents need some time away, they often head for Camp David. However, Herbert Hoover had Rapidan Camp, also as known as the Brown House and Camp Hoover. President Hoover used this wooded escape to ponder the challenges of the Great Depression. Rapidan Camp is located in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, just a few hours from Washington