LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan When we left the Smokies a couple weeks ago, we said goodbye to the last national park we’ll see for a while. In the weeks ahead, our travel route will be dictated by something we have no control over: the Major League Baseball schedule. After all, we’re not just trying to see every national park in the lower 48 on this Big Trip; we’re also trying to see 29 of the 30 MLB stadiums.* We’ve hit seven so far, and we’ve got a slew of games at new stadiums coming up over the next few weeks. To get to those games, we’ve made our way northeast. We’ve meandered through the Carolinas and the Virginias, and up into Maryland. And as we went, we couldn’t help noticing a distinct shift in our surroundings. For once, we’re nowhere near a national park—no Yellowstones or Grand Canyons or Yosemites. But we’re absolutely surrounded by national historical parks. Everything out here seems to harbor a bit of U.S. history. That house over there? Built in 1765. That grassy area? The setting of a major civil war battle. That park bench? George Washington sat on it. When we’re not at a baseball game, we’ve been brushing up on our U.S. history—enough so that I feel more ready for the AP test now than I did back in high school. Here’s a look at where we’ve been learning lately. Where have we been?Cincinnati, Ohio  We had one day in Cincinnati, and we devoted it to—you guessed it—baseball. We may not have learned much history here, but we did get to see our Angels, chow down on some Skyline chili, and meet a local Reds fan who uttered “dadgarmit” with so much sincerity I couldn’t help grinning. And you can’t beat that view of the Ohio River. Harpers Ferry, W. Va.; Antietam, Md.; & Gettysburg, Pa.  Talk about a historical deep dive. While camping in Maryland, we managed to visit three sites that played a significant role in the civil war: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and Gettysburg National Military Park. Each was bigger and demanded more of our time than expected, and I don’t know what felt more surreal: visiting places we’d only ever read about in textbooks, or driving through modern-day neighborhoods to get from one part of a battlefield to another. Washington, D.C.  I’d have an easier time telling you what we didn’t do in D.C. than what we did do. We were here for a week—a lengthy stop for us—and in that time, we caught up with old friends; toured the National Mall and Memorial Parks, several Smithsonian museums, the Capitol, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; stopped by the White House; took a peek at the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in the National Archives; and squeezed in a game at Nationals Park. Believe it or not, we still didn’t manage to do everything on our list. Where are we going next?Like I said, we have several baseball games over the next couple weeks, so we’ll embark on a convoluted route that’ll take us to Pennsylvania, then Ohio, then back to Pennsylvania, then back to Ohio, and finally to Kentucky. Is your head spinning yet?  74. Baltimore, Md. 75. Philadelphia, Pa. 76. Cleveland, Ohio 77. Pittsburgh, Pa. 78. Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio 79. Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky. In other news...Frankly, D.C. has kept us so busy that we haven’t had time to sit down and write anything aside from this newsletter. To make up for our lack of news, here are some photos of what we’ve seen around D.C., plus a special guest who’s felt a bit neglected lately. * We’re boycotting the Oakland Coliseum in solidarity with Athletics fans as the owner plans to move the team to Las Vegas.
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