Homes With Stories
Some homes stay with me, not for their size or design, but for the lives they’ve held within their walls. I’m fascinated by how a single room can hold laughter, love, and countless moments that linger softly long after time moves on.
Recent Posts
John F. Kennedy’s Birthplace
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts offers the opportunity to step into the earliest chapters of that life that would shape world history. Touring this modest home, you are greeted by the recorded voice of Rose Kennedy. She calmly recounts the rhythms and rituals of family life. Through her reflections, the house […]
John Muir National Historic Site
John Muir’s home in California offers a intimate window into the life of one of America’s most influential conservationists. Located northeast of San Francisco, the site is preserved today as John Muir National Historic Site. Muir lived here from 1889 until his death in 1914. While many picture him wandering through Yosemite or Alaska’s glaciers, this […]
Wave Hill
Marty and I visited Wave Hill at the end of the autumn, when the Hudson shimmered below us. Perched high above the river in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, the former country estate felt worlds away from the bustle of the city with the sweeping views stretching toward the Palisades in New Jersey. Originally developed […]
First White House of the Confederacy
While visiting Montgomery, Alabama, we visited the First White House of the Confederacy. What made the house striking to us was how early it entered the story of the Civil War. The Davis family moved into this Montgomery residence in February 1861, when the Confederate States of America had only just been formed. That same month, delegates from […]
Eugene O’Neill’s Monte Cristo Cottage
Connecticut is not too far for a good road trip and on this day, it brought us to Eugene O’Neill’s home in New London. This house, known as the Monte Cristo Cottage, was the family’s summer home, and decades later it became immortalized as the setting for “Long Day’s Journey into Night”. This is one of […]
Edith Wharton’s Mount
Exploration through road trips was a big part of homeschooling in our household. Each spring, when historic homes reopened for the season, off we would go, ready to step into another life and another era. One such stop was Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Massachusetts, a place we returned to more than once, always drawn back […]
Gropius House
We have visited the Gropius House in Lincoln several times, and often the tours were international. More than once, we found ourselves alongside visitors from Europe, particularly Germany, drawn here because of the reputation of the man who designed and lived in this remarkable home. The house was built in 1938 by Walter Gropius, one of […]
Monticello
Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello reflects the depth and breadth of his extraordinary intelligence. Remembered as our third president and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s brilliance is clearly visible throughout his home. At Monticello, you encounter not only a statesman, but an inventor, writer, architect and visionary. Every room reveals his curiosity and […]
Old Manse
One homeschooling morning, I took Emmy and Erin to visit the Old Manse in Concord. As was often the case with weekday explorations, the house was nearly empty. Museums and historic sites were a big part of our schooling. Built in 1770 for the Reverend William Emerson, the Old Manse stands just steps from the […]
Wadsworth-Longfellow House
Here is a photo from one of our visits to Portland, Maine, standing in front of the Longfellow House. Sitting right on Congress Street, in the middle of downtown life. is this Wadsworth-Longfellow House, the oldest surviving structure on the Portland peninsula. It was built in 1785-1786 by General Peleg Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War hero […]
Ghandi Smriti
More than a decade ago, on my second trip to India, I visited one of the most memorable places I have ever stood: Gandhi Smriti, the site where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. What made this visit so moving were the footprints. Set into the stone pathway, I walked where Gandhi took his final steps on […]
La Casa Azul
In 2018, Erin and I had the opportunity to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City: La Casa Azul. This vibrant blue home is where she was born, lived, created and ultimately died. Walking through her sunlit courtyard and rooms, we felt the presence of a woman whose life was defined by color and resilience. Physical […]
