The Booker T. Washington National Monument in southwestern Virginia offers more than just history. We had some fun encounters exploring this national park and meeting the farm animals.

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.

This weekend, fans of the BBC/PBS series Sherlock eagerly await Season 3′s final episode, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the famous consulting detective. Although I haven’t seen the show (despite the impassioned urging of several friends), I have seen something rather personal of Mr. Holmes…

When you enter 221B Baker Street, London, you won’t need to do much detective work to figure out that you are in the real-life version of the imaginary home of Sherlock Holmes–just look at the hats and coats hanging by the door. Actually, you’re entering the first floor of the popular Sherlock Holmes museum, which you indeed will find at 221 Baker...

He’s one of the world’s most famous detectives with one of the most famous addresses in literature: 221B Baker Street, London. Sherlock Holmes’ fictional address is the real address of the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

This is the story of the “A Christmas Story” house, a trip we have to call “not so nerdy” because this movie is such a part of pop culture. An enterprising fan bought the house in Cleveland where the movie was made, and now thousands of people pay to visit it each year, including my friend Nancy and me in the fall of 2010.