There’s so much to see and do in the US! You can find something of interest for everyone, and really do just about anything.
We all know about the stuff everyone visits when they go to a certain state. Here in NYC, visitors hit the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, and maybe a Broadway show. Yeah, it’s cool, but everyone does that stuff when they come here.
We’re going to shed light on some offbeat and often weird sightseeing spots for you to brag about on social media. We’ll give you three places. You get to look up more on your own.
So, here is your official Jammany Hall guide to offbeat travel destinations in all 50 states. The series has been organized by region, so you can visit a bunch of these during the same road trip:
- Northeast: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
- Mid-Atlantic: (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia)
- Southeast: (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
- Midwest: (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin)
- Southwest: (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas)
- Western: (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah)
- Northwest: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming)
Delaware
Discoversea Shipwreck Museum, Fenwick Island, Delaware
Who among us hasn’t had the dream of coming across an old shipwreck and finding cool and valuable artifacts?
Well, there is a group of people who do just that, and they keep you from getting your hands dirty, or death by drowning. Or shark bite.
Nautical archaeologists spend their lives searching for wrecks of ships in hopes of finding clues to how people lived way back when.
Or maybe it’s only about all those sweet gold doubloons…
The Discoversea Museum is a treasure chest (get it?) of artifacts collected mainly from shipwrecks along the Eastern Seaboard of the US, as well as from around the world.
The quantity of items possessed by the museum is no joke. At any given time, there are 10,000 items on display. The museum claims that 80% of the collection is on loan to museums around the world.
If I’m working my abacus correctly, that means the collection numbers around 50,000 artifacts.
The artifacts are always in rotation to other museums, so the exhibits are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!
So, if you are dying to see what a walrus penis bone looks like, you’d best call ahead to make sure it isn’t on loan to the Louvre or somewhere.
Come and see how you’ve wasted your working life on Wall Street or in medicine when you could have had a badass job diving on wrecks and pulling up all this cool stuff!
Bunkers of Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes, Delaware
(www. destateparks.com/Beaches/CapeHenlopen)
American civilians got lucky in WWII. Thanks to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the war never had much effect on the Lower 48.
Because of these natural barriers most Americans never experienced the horror of the war.
However, military planners understood that while the great expanses of sea would grant the US homeland protection from a large invasion, there was always the possibility of small scale attacks.
The bunkers at Cape Henlopen were constructed to repel such attacks.
Cape Henlopen was developed as a military strongpoint due to concerns that German subs could strike Philadelphia by sailing up the Delaware River.
The strongpoint was built to be almost invisible by placing heavy artillery among the sand dunes on the Cape. Other than watchtowers used to spot enemy shipping and aircraft, you would never have a clue that it was a military installation.
An underground complex of tunnels and bunkers was built to give troops protection from enemy fire, and these bunkers still exist to this day. The Park Service restricts access to these underground bunkers because some people are goofballs and would get into trouble down there.
You can check out some of the viewpoints used as lookout points, so that’s cool.
Don’t forget that Cape Henlopen is 5,200 acres of swimming beaches, hiking trails, and campgrounds.
Cape Henlopen is worth the trip just for the natural beauty, so check it out!
Steampunk Tree House, Milton, Delaware
(www. https://www.dogfish.com/brewery/tasting-room/steampunk-treehouse#fishgate-dialog)
We always suspected that working at a great brewery had to be a good time.
I mean, you’re surrounded by vats of awesome brew, and brew masters tend to be a chill group of folks.
If you’re a beer aficionado, you’ve probably heard of Dogfish Head beer. If not, you may have seen it in the beer of section of your local supermarket.
In any case, the Steampunk Tree House began as a modern art piece that was built to be shown at the crazy-ass Burning Man festival in the California desert.
Maybe you’re not familiar with Dogfish Head beer, but you know Burning Man, right?
The treehouse is built of steel. The tree trunk is composed of steel girders and it stands around 40 feet tall.
There’s a small steel and wood room at the top, but sadly enough, you can’t go inside.
There’s no sign saying, “No Girls Allowed” written with those adorable backward letters, but the tree house is reserved for use by Dogfish Head employees.
You could always befriend or bribe one.
Come check it out and have something cooler than your boring Jamaica beach photos to post on social media!
Maryland
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, Baltimore, Maryland
As modern TV crime-drama consumers, we’ve been taught that the police possess almost superhuman abilities to solve crimes.
Every TV crime-drama has a lab with a nerdy forensic specialist who can solve wildly complex crimes with a few keystrokes on the computer.
Baloney!
This concept has warped the public’s sensibilities around how quickly police should be able to solve crimes.
The reality is that it can be difficult to figure whodunnit.
And that’s with today’s bounty of scientific tools available to investigators.
Imagine how tough it must have been 100 years ago when proof might have been, “Yeah, you look guilty. You’re under arrest!”
Back around the turn of the 20th century, a wealthy Chicagoan named Mrs Frances Glessner Lee, picked up an interest in the forensic sciences.
In those days, forensic science was in its infancy, so many crimes went unsolved or the wrong person was convicted of the crime.
Mrs Lee was having none of it.
In 1931, she used her money to help establish Harvard University’s Department of Legal Medicine, where new forensic techniques could be developed.
So where do the dollhouses come in?
Mrs Lee had 18 dioramas (hence the Nutshells in the title) built to illustrate actual crime scenes. The dioramas were built to exacting accuracy, and students could search for clues in the tiny rooms with flashlights and magnifying glasses.
The dioramas even contained doll cadavers that showed the positioning when found.
When Mrs Lee died in 1962, the dioramas were given to the Maryland Medical Examiner’s office for use as training tools. Believe it or not, they are still in use today!
You can keep your newfangled computer!
If you’d like to take a peek at the roots of modern forensic crime scene examination, give the folks at the Maryland Medical Examiner’s office a call. See the website above to get more info.
National Museum of Health and Medicine, Silver Spring, Maryland
(www. https://www.medicalmuseum.mil/index.cfm)
As human beings, we’re naturally fascinated by our own bodies and how they work.
Thanks to self-awareness, we have a deep curiosity about ourselves that isn’t matched by other creatures on the planet.
The National Museum of Health and Medicine was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 with the mission to “collect, and to forward to the office of the Surgeon General all specimens of morbid anatomy, surgical or medical, which may be regarded as valuable.”
Back then, it was recognized that medicine needed to become a more professional business. Snake oil salesmen roamed the Earth selling ineffective and often dangerous substances to an unwitting public who was desperate for effective cures.
While today’s visitor might regard museum as a huge repository of some cool stuff, in its day, it provided medical researchers with specimens to examine. Unless they became grave robbers, it would be incredibly challenging for these budding researchers to explore anatomy, as well as the effects of different wounds and diseases.
Ironically, pieces of Lincoln’s skull and hair are on display, as is the bullet that killed him.
With 24 million items in the collection, you’ll never have a boring trip to this museum.
Underground Railroad Experience Trail, Ashton-Sandy Spring, Maryland
The Quaker religious group is renowned for its stance on nonviolence.
As far back as 1777, the Quakers in Sandy Spring outlawed slavery, and forbade members to own slaves.
This proved handy, as Maryland is just north of the Mason-Dixon line, and Sandy Spring became an important stop on the Underground Railroad.
As you know, the Underground Railroad was a network used by escaping slaves who were heading north.
This network was comprised of Whites and free Blacks who would aid escaping slaves by providing food, shelter, and other needs.
Dred Scott himself found shelter at Sandy Spring on his way to freedom.
The Underground Railroad Trail Experience was established by the Montgomery County Parks system to recognize the county’s role in the operation of the Underground Railroad.
The Trail Experience guides visitors along a route that escaped slaves would have used during their journey to freedom. You’ll walk along the trail as it winds its way through woods and across fields and streams. You’ll see the markers and signs used to show the slaves where to go next.
It’s a sobering tour. As a modern person who hasn’t been enslaved, it’s impossible to know what the escapees felt as they made their way north. They knew too well that capture could mean serious physical punishment or death.
And who knew what danger lay around the next corner…
The hike isn’t especially long at 4 miles, though it is over ground that could be challenging to some. You can come here and walk the trail all year, so dress for the season and wear sneakers or comfortable boots.
Virginia,
St. Albans Sanatorium, Radford, Virginia
(www.www.stalbans-sanatorium.com)
Who doesn’t love a good haunting?
According to some ghost hunters, the spooks at St Albans REALLY love to do the boo thing.
St Albans Sanatorium started life as a Lutheran school for boys.
Somehow, you know this isn’t gonna be a happy story.
Between the staff and jerk classmates, the school had what you might consider a toxic environment. The school offered all the contemporary book learnin’, with bullying being an elective for those with sociopathic tendencies. It didn’t help that staff encouraged or turned a blind eye to the problem.
This resulted in numerous suicides over the years.
The school eventually closed, but then reopened as an asylum in 1916.
Because of course it did.
The asylum operated for years and conducted business the way they do in horror movies where vengeful ghosts are birthed. Experimental and horrifically painful (and ineffective) therapies were practiced on the literally captive audience.
More suicide ensued.
Yeah, it was a ghost factory.
Thankfully, it closed in the 1990s, but they say that there are still plenty of spooky residents roaming the place.
You can roam with the ghosts on guided tours. If so inclined, you can try and join one of their ghost investigations.
Maybe a spirit will follow you home. Won’t that be fun?
Check out their website if you have the guts. I dare you!
Peanut Museum, Waverly, Virginia
(www.milesbcarpentermuseum.com)
What can be more American than a good PB&J sandwich?
Ah, to crack open the shell of a nicely roasted and salted peanut…
The peanut plant we love so much isn’t native to the US. The plant was grown and cultivated south of the border for thousands of years.
It came to the US through Africa, thanks to Spanish traders who brought the plant from Central and South America and planted it on the Dark Continent.
From there, it came back across the ocean to the American South.
At that time, in the 1700s, peanuts were considered to be feed for livestock or slaves, and without much other use.
Eventually, people realized that peanuts had tremendous value as a food source, and production went into overdrive.
And that’s how you are now able to enjoy your peanut butter and oatmeal cookies.
Go nutty and come out to the Peanut Museum and learn all about this awesome plant!
Camera Heritage Museum, Staunton, Virginia
(www.cameraheritagemuseum.com)
If all you know about cameras is how to point your cellphone and click, you’re probably OK.
There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s fine to allow technology to take the drudgery out of taking a shot. But there are those who love f-stops, and exposure, and all that stuff.
Cameras have revolutionized human life. The ability to record an image rather than trying to describe it is profound.
Today, nearly everyone has a camera with them wherever they go. Of course, I’m referring to the cameras we all have within our very own cellphones.
Our ability to share experiences is nearly complete.
The Camera Heritage Museum has an astounding collection of over 6,000 cameras.
The museum shows the development of cameras and photography over the years, and you’ll marvel at the work that used to go into capturing a great image.
That’s not to say that your cellphone camera can outperform a professional photographer who is using expensive, professional gear.
At the museum, you’ll see all the major brands of cameras and their product models throughout history.
My favorite display is the spy camera section. I worked for the US Department of State as a Marine embassy guard for three years back in the 1990s. Part of our training was detecting spy equipment that might be brought into the embassy by the bad guys of the moment.
The imagination used by spy gear developers is amazing!
Anyway, the Camera Heritage Museum is a great place to learn more about how cameras used to work back n the day, and it’s especially valuable to show the kiddoes how photos were done pre-cellphone.
Washington DC
George Washington, Male Stripper Statue, National Museum of American History,
Washington, D.C.
If your fantasies involve a jacked and ripped George Washington, this is the place for you! You know who you are, and it’s OK.
Unfortunately, the general public didn’t share those fantasies when the statue was unveiled in 1840. Well, they probably did, but people weren’t that open back then.
The public wasn’t thrilled to see Washington displayed in a toga with his abs and upper body displayed like he was on a Chippendales calendar. The Washington they remembered from paintings was always formally dressed. The sculptor disagreed with the sensibilities of the day and decided to craft Washington as a Greek statesman.
The public really, really disliked the statue.
Regardless of his six pack. Seriously, George, who’s your trainer? Do you do keto?
Washington’s statue ended up being displayed in numerous places around the Capitol because of the public’s general dislike of his portrayal.
So, the statue began its journey to different sites before the Smithsonian grabbed it and gave it a home.
Now, Washington’s bare physique can be used as a photo backdrop for your latest FB and Instagram posts.
It’s at the National Museum of American History, so there’s plenty to do there once you’ve finished ogling the First Prez…
Howard Theatre, Washington, D.C.
As most of us know there was a period in American history when human beings of different races weren’t allowed to mix in public and social environments. The stories of Black Americans not being able to sit in restaurants among White Americans or being forced to ride in the back of public transportation are well-known.
And disgraceful.
The Howard Theatre in Washington, DC was established as an entertainment venue for Black people in 1910, due to a lack of places for Blacks to enjoy the arts.
What’s most special about the Howard Theatre is that many Black musicians and singers got their early starts here. There’s no question that Black music has played a vital role in shaping American music, and Jazz, the Blues, and the bones of Rock can be traced to these musicians.
Household names such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald got their starts here or began to receive a ton of exposure through performing at the Howard.
The Howard Theatre was shuttered in 1980, but finally reopened in 2012 after being renovated. Its placement on the National Historic Landmark list guaranteed its survival into the future.
The Howard is now a busy performance venue, and you can enjoy shows here once the pandemic ends.
Check their website to view the schedule of upcoming performances.
Frederick Douglass’s House, Cedar Hill, Washington, D.C.
Frederick Douglass lived a life that is almost unbelievable.
Douglass was born a slave in 1817 and escaped to the North in 1838. While he was a slave, he learned to read and write, at first taught by the wife of one of his owners, and then by himself once she ceased helping.
Douglass’ intelligence and skills as an orator and author made him a celebrity in the North and in Europe. He was the example that proved the abolitionist’s view that Blacks were as able as Whites and should be freed.
During his career, Douglass was able to travel throughout the North and Europe to generate support for ridding the planet of slavery. Through his interaction with political leaders of the day, Douglass himself was hard evidence that slavery was truly evil, and deprived society of the contributions of all.
Cedar Hill is the site where Douglass eventually settled and spent the final 17 years of his life.
Douglass’ home at Cedar Hill is open for visits. The National Park Service runs the site and they offer free guided tours.
The house is pretty much as Douglass left it when he died in 1895, and there are family mementos all over the home. For me, seeing the personal artifacts of people who’ve come before and had such huge impacts on modern life has always been mind-blowing.
Frederick Douglass is America’s most important abolitionist. We would do well to remember his lessons.
West Virginia
Mummies of Philippi, Barbour County Historical Museum, Philippi, West Virginia
OK, this is just plain weird. And it also involves an asylum. Shocker!
A local farmer/amateur embalmer by the name of Hamrick had been on a quest to come up with an embalming technique that would rival the Egyptian age-old ways.
He had been practicing on small animals and fruits and vegetables for years until he finally came up with his embalming solution.
He approached the administrators at a local asylum and asked for unclaimed human remains that he could use to demonstrate his new embalming solution.
The asylum happily (WHAT?!?) handed over two adult female corpses, an infant’s body, and a detached hand for an unknown amount of cash.
Hamrick’s solution worked very well, and he patented his work and started a company.
The mummies were so well-regarded that they made the world tour with P.T. Barnum’s circus. They were Kardashian-cool, and definitely more interesting.
Once their celebrity died off, they were returned to the area.
The bodies displayed in Philippi are claimed to be the two women that Hamrick acquired from the asylum. The infant’s body was destroyed in a flood in 1985, and the women’s bodies suffered some damage from the water.
The bodies were laid out on the front lawn of the post office to dry out. (Again: WHAT?!?)
Barbour County historical Museum has the women on display, and they are ready for you to visit. Maybe have some lunch and chill with the family.
I hear they sell a mean beef jerky…
True Treats, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Enough with the mummies and asylums!
The differentiator of True Treats in Harpers Ferry, WV is brilliant.
Sure, they could get away with selling the candy you can find anywhere.
But what makes them different and worth a trip is that they offer candies that have been lost to time.
True Treats is more a museum than a candy store, except you can buy the “artifacts.” The owner researches old candy recipes of yore and recreates them for sale.
Food Network raves over the shop!
Have you ever wondered what the Greeks enjoyed? How about the Iroquois? Or maybe you’ve always had a burning curiosity about what they ate as candy during the American Revolution? Wonder no more.
Check out this timeline on True Treats’ website: www.truetreatscandy.com/candy-timeline
The store boasts 350+ types of candy, so you and your friends and family won’t leave empty handed.
You can visit or buy online and have the same candy Thomas Jefferson was eating while he wrote the Declaration of Independence (probably).
So, there you have it.
As promised, we’ve given you food for thought for some cool and funky sites around the Mid-Atlantic. Naturally, this list isn’t exhaustive, but we wanted to toss you some bones and maybe get you out of the house and exploring.
Everyone visits the spots that are well known. It’s so much fun to go out and see these places that are out of the way and out of the view of your typical tourist.
Jammany Hall exists to help you spread your wings. Travel is a good way to do just that.
And it often seems that the offbeat places are the most flavorful. Do you get what I’m saying? I guess you can compare it to eating a chicken breast or a thigh. There’s more flavor in the less popular thigh!
Make sure you read the other parts of this US travel series. Once you’re done checking out the entire series, you’ll have a handy guide to some goofy places to visit.
You’ll have the best stories at any party you attend!
Feel free to let us know about some of the places you’ve visited that are somewhat offbeat.