8th Annual Memorial Day Roadtrip

Driving into NYC

My annual Memorial Day road trip actually started a little early this year. I drove down to our NYC office on Monday and worked from there for the week before continuing on south. While in NYC, I explored the flowers in Central Park, ate some cheesecake, and also managed to visit a National Park Site. 

Central Park flowers

Central Park

Last Memorial Day, Mom and I had visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum but did not arrive in time for a tour (they close at 5pm). I was determined to reconcile that so I made a reservation for an evening tour (only offered on Thursday’s) and I’m so glad I did. The tickets are expensive ($25) but they last 90 minutes and they are quite immersive. Instead of a guide talking to you the whole time, it’s more of a classroom experience with the guide asking questions and really getting you to think about life back then. I truly enjoyed it and hope to go back to take part in one of their other tours that take you upstairs into the tenements. 

Kitchen and bedroom

Saloon

On Friday I drove down to my base camp at Pocomoke River State Park in Maryland. I knew the traffic would be bad but it was awful. What was supposed to be a 4 hour trip turned into a 6 hour trip. I made it to camp with enough time to set up my tent before the sun set. 

Saturday morning the birds were chirping and the sunlight was filtering through the trees of my quiet campground so I felt refreshed and ready to take on the day. My plan was to check out the stops along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

Driving across MD

My first stop was in Vienna, MD at Emperor’s Landing Park which looked out over the Dorchester and Wicomico marshlands.

Vienna, MD

I then hopped on the Harriet Tubman Byway which is a 125-mile driving tour that showcases significant Tubman and Underground Railroad stories and events.