Our first official stop was Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of our fifth president, James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson wanted the Monroes to live nearby, so he encouraged his friend to buy this property down the road from Monticello.

We had neither a GPS nor smart phone, so we were relying on printed Internet directions, which didn’t work so well. We had a tough time finding the memorial. I recall thinking, “Poor William Henry Harrison, if he had been in office longer, his memorial may have been better marked.”

For a president who only served a month in office and who died in 1841, William Henry Harrison is certainly hot these days. His name keeps coming up in things I see and read. Part of this interest probably comes from the publication of New York Times columnist Gail Collins’ new book on Harrison, who was 68-years-old when he was inaugurated (at a time when life expectancy was around age 40). Collins has written about Harrison in her column, making parallels between Harrison and the 2012 election. A co-worker recently stopped in my cube to ask if I had seen the recent article on our ninth president.

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?

Happy Birthday to James Madison, born March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia. Here are some not-so-random facts about our fourth president.

Now to Part 2 of my encounter with Chris Matthews and his book “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero.”

Despite early word that the MSNBC host would not sign books, at the end of his talk, Matthews said he would stay to autograph copies for anyone who wanted them.

Baltimore definitely lived up to its former slogan “the City that Reads” as about as 500 people packed the main atrium of the Enoch Pratt Free Library Thursday to hear MSNBC’s Chris Matthews speak about his book “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero.” Matthews shared his insights on Kennedy’s early years, his illnesses and how they affected his life, and his drive to be a career politician, studying and mastering the craft of “retail politics.”