History

Paying Respects at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum

Mary Gilbert History, Tours and Sightseeing, United States February 23, 20151993 World Trade Center bombing, 9/11, 9/11 Memorial, 9/11 Memorial Museum, 9/11 Museum, 9/11/01, France, Ground Zero, Manhattan, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York City, Normandy, Normandy American Cemetery, North Tower, Pennsylvania, Pentagon, President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Shanksville, South Tower, Terrorist attack, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, World Trade Center, World War II D-Day beaches 10 Comments

Bill’s and my visit to the imposing National September 11 Memorial and Museum during a recent trip to New York City was a potent reminder that the horrific events which occurred that day in 2001 bore such monumental significance that they becameRead more

Wing Haven — Charlotte’s Hidden Gardens

Mary Gilbert History, Homes and Gardens, United States August 8, 2014A Southern Garden, Charleston, Charlotte, Eddie Clarkson, Elizabeth Clarkson, Elizabeth Lawrence, Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden, Historic gardens, Mecklenburg Audubon Society, Myers Park, National Register of Historic Places, NC, North Carolina, North Carolina State University Landscape Architecture, Ridgewood Avenue, SC, South Carolina, Southern gardens, Southern horticulture, The Garden Conservancy, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, Wing Haven, Wing Haven Foundation, Wing Haven Gardens & Bird Sanctuary 2 Comments

“Are you cruel enough to be a gardener?” That challenging question was imprinted on a T-shirt for sale at the Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden in Charlotte that I was touring on a sultry day with curator Andrea Sprott asRead more

Normandy, D-Day, and Remembrance

Mary Gilbert Europe, History, Tours and Sightseeing May 23, 20141944, 70th Anniversary of D-Day, American Landing, Battle of Normandy, D-Day, Dale Booth, English Channel, France, German Occupation of France, June 6, La Cambe German War Cemetery, Nazi occupation of France, Normandy, Normandy American Cemetery, Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Center, Normandy Battle Tours, Omaha Beach, Operation Overlord, Sainte Mere Eglise, Stuart Robertson, Sword Beach, The Allies, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, Utah Beach, World War II 4 Comments

“D-Day, June 6, 1944, was a day without precedent,” said our guide, Stuart Robertson of Normandy Battle Tours. We were on the Normandy coast of France, the region that was the site of the D-Day invasion and the subsequent 11-week-longRead more

Versailles — The Ultimate Royal Residence

Mary Gilbert Europe, History, Tours and Sightseeing May 1, 2014Apollo, Ceremony of the Rising Sun, Chateau de Versailles, France, French Revolution, Grand Trianon, Hall of Mirrors, King Louis XIV, King Louis XV, King Louis XVI, Louis III, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Palace of Versailles, Paris, Petit Trianon, Private Tours Paris, Royal Etiquitte, Sun King, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writer, UNESCO, Versailles, World Heritage Site 0 Comment

It’s good to be king. Surely that thought occurred to King Louis XIV of France in 1682 when he moved his family and the seat of the country’s government to the Chateau de Versailles, the extravagant and majestic 2,300-room palaceRead more

The Secret Bunker Where Churchill Battled World War II

Mary Gilbert Europe, History, Tours and Sightseeing April 23, 2014Adolph Hitler, Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill Museum, Churchill War Rooms, England, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Imperial War Museums, London, Luftwaffe, Number 10 Downing Street, The Blitz, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, V-bomb, Winston Churchill, World War II 6 Comments

The year was 1938. The times in London were tense and uncertain as Adolph Hitler threatened mass war in Europe. As a safeguard against sudden and unexpected air attack, the British government decided to establish a central emergency working refugeRead more

Help! We’re Imprisoned In The Tower of London!

Mary Gilbert Europe, History, Tours and Sightseeing April 21, 2014Anne Boleyn, Ceremony of the Keys, Edward II, John the London, Thames River, Tower of London, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, William the Conqueror, Yeoman Warder 4 Comments

Under the gleam of the full moon, Bill, Ann and I were locked inside the Tower of London. Literally. Locked up in the formidable stone-walled complex on the bank of the Thames River that has served as a fortress, palaceRead more

Miracle on the Hudson – A Survivor’s Story

Mary Gilbert History, Interviews, United States April 16, 2014Airplane, Airplane crash, Beth McHugh, Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte, Ellen Degeneres, Flight 1549, Miracle on the Hudson, North Carolina, Sully Sullenberger, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, US Airways 6 Comments

Beth McHugh believes in miracles, and well she should. Little did she know when she boarded US Airways Flight 1549 on January, 15, 2009, that she would be among the 150 passengers and five crew members who would survive theRead more

Miracle on the Hudson and More Stories of Flight

Mary Gilbert History, United States April 15, 2014Airbus A320, Airplane, Captain Chesley Sullenberger, Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte, Chartis Insurance Company, Congressional Medal of Honor, First Officer Jeff Skiles, Harrier jet, Hudson River, LaGuardia Airport, Miracle on the Hudson, New York City, North Carolina, Reynolds Tobacco, Smithsonian, Stearman, Sully Sullenberger, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, US Airways, Wally Coppinger, Wright Brothers 5 Comments

“It’s the white elephant in the room.” That’s how Wally Coppinger somewhat facetiously referred to the US Airways plane that was before us during my recent private tour of the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, where he’s executive director. It’sRead more

Fort Ross — The Russian Stronghold in America

Mary Gilbert History, Tours and Sightseeing, United States April 11, 2014Alexander Rotchev, American Viticultural Area, CA, California, Coast Miwok, Elena Rotchev, Fort Ross, Fort Ross Conservancy, Fort Ross State Historic Park, Hank Birnbaum, Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, Jenner, Kashaya Pomo, National Historic Landmark, Rossiia, Rotchev House, Russia, Russian River, Russian River Valley, Russian-American Company, Sea otter, Settlement Ross, Sonoma County, Southern Pomo, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing, Tsar Paul 2 Comments

Hank Birnbaum selected a sea otter pelt from a pile of skins displayed on a wooden table and let me caress the soft, luxurious fur. “Sea otters don’t have a layer of blubber to help them keep warm, unlike otherRead more

Luther Burbank – No Small Potatoes

Mary Gilbert History, Tours and Sightseeing, United States January 30, 2014Baked potato, Burbank potato, California, Elizabeth Burbank, Garden, Henry Ford, Historic home, Horticulture, Idaho potato, Luther Burbank, Luther Burbank Home & Gardens, Luther Burbank Home & Gardens Association, Russet Burbank, Santa Rosa, Shasta daisy, Thomas Edison, Travel, Travel blog, Travel writing 8 Comments

Chances are you rarely, if ever, think about Luther Burbank when you eat a baked potato. You’re too caught up in savoring the crisp golden skin on the outside, and the pure white, fluffy texture on the inside. If yourRead more

← Previous
Next →

Welcome to The Roads Traveled

Greetings! I’m Mary Gilbert, a writer and blogger sharing stories and discoveries about people, places, and passions. While I live in Charlotte, NC, travel begins as soon as I walk out the front door, and home becomes wherever I am at the moment. Click here to learn more.

Join me on the road!

I hope my stories inspire your own journeys. Sign up for free updates straight to your inbox.

Name:

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Join me on Facebook

View theroadstraveled’s profile on Facebook
View roadstraveler’s profile on Twitter
View theroadstraveled’s profile on Instagram

Home
About
Destinations
United States
Europe
Caribbean
Portfolio
Travel Resources
Blog
Contact