A collection of the best East Coast & New Englands travel stories featured in The Statesider: Connecticut | Delaware | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | New Jersey | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | Vermont | Virginia | Washington, D.C. | West Virginia
Also see: New York, Midwest
Connecticut Travel Stories
New Haven: Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you feel like reading about how a cornerstone American candy is the product of Armenian immigrants. Liana Aghajanian, Ara the Rat
Say What? There’s a direct connection between the Frisbee and pie. Keila Torres Ocasio, CT Post
Delaware Travel Stories
Fenwick Island: Folks sure had mixed feelings about the demolition of the Sands Motel on Fenwick Island. Sarah Gamard, Salisbury Daily Times
Maine Travel Stories
Maine Roots: A descendant of some of Maine’s earliest European settlers takes to the water to paddle into his past. David Howard, Down East Magazine
How to Lobster: A 20-year-old college student spends a summer on a lobster boat. We’re glad she did, because this is a beautifully written story. Luna Soley, Outside
How to Canoe with a Chicken: Finally, an answer to the question we’ve all been pondering. Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News
Maine’s Riviera: Eastport, Maine, wanted to attract cruise ships for years. Then it got one. Jaed Coffin, Downeast
Sacré bleu! That crazy time Americans feared a wave of foreign-language-speaking migrants crossing the border in search of a better life. Nuts, right? David Vermette, Zócalo Public Square
Acadia: A recent wave of African immigrants in Maine is helping to revive the state’s French-speaking history. Peter McGuire, Portland Press Herald (It isn’t all going smoothly. Kate Taylor, New York Times)
Lighthouse Madness: Every lighthouse, ranked. About time. Downeast Magazine
Kelp is on the Way: Food, climate and our human link to the water — meet a Mainer who has been harvesting wild seaweed for more than 40 years. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR
Coastal Maine: The amount of work that must have gone into the creation of this richly detailed, multimedia guide to the wonders of Maine’s section of Route 1 boggles the mind, but we’re grateful. Roadside attractions mapped on a scale of “historical to hysterical”? SOLD. We assume a large team of people, Down East Magazine
The Eastern Limits: What to do with the “PFAs” (people from away)? The easternmost village on the U.S. Atlantic navigates the gulf between tradition and change. Joyce Kryszak, Down East
Maryland Travel Stories
Monumental Maryland: There was a Washington Monument before the big D.C. obelisk. It was built in a single day in 1827, it looks like a milk bottle, and it’s still there. Atlas Obscura
Baltimore: In attempt to rectify the marginalization of women artists, the city’s Museum of Art is committing to only buying work by women in 2020. Mary Carole McCauley, The Baltimore Sun
Maryland: This “Ghost Fleet” of more than 200 sunken warships is America’s newest National Marine Sanctuary. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian
Baltimore: John Waters shares his hometown favorites, from diners to the arthouse cinema where Polyester premiered to an indie bookshop with a bar in the back. Will Coldwell, The Guardian
Massachusetts Travel Stories
Music and Places: Guy Clark. A drive to Boston. A life about to change. Sophie Haigney, The Believer
Provincetown Plus Masks: P-town’s nightclubs are closed. Mask-wearing is a must. But the show goes on. Laura Collins-Hughes, NY Times
Sign of the Times: For more than 200 years, there was a large deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard, and even hearing residents “knew how to sign as naturally as spoken English.” Now, some residents are trying to revive the local form of sign language. Brittany Bowker, MV Times.
Noodle on This: What do Fall River, Massachusetts and French Polynesia have in common? A deep love of chow mein sandwiches. Yes, you read that correctly. Sarah Mizes-Tan, NPR The Salt
Really Out There: The monument to the first “historically true” UFO encounter in the U.S. has been removed. Atlas Obscura
Martha’s Vineyard: For more than 125 years, Oak Bluffs has been the heart of the island’s African-American community, the vacation home of “seasoned black Vineyarders whose screen doors swung open in time-honored hospitality.” Nicole Taylor, New York Times
New Hampshire Travel Stories
Robert Frost Country: The mysterious beauty of the landscapes that inspired Robert Frost’s poetry. Jay Parini (words) & Nicola Muirhead (photos), Smithsonian
New Hampshire: Libertarians, paranoia, guns, a fear of cider-drunk bears, and vigilante posses. What could go wrong? Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, The Atavist Magazine
New Jersey Travel Stories
New Jersey is Perfect: Obviously. But why? How? Here’s the whole story. Sara Benincasa
Pie Tourism: For National Pie Day, one brave reporter found New Jersey’s 24 best pie shops. Peter Genovese, NJ.com
Boss Travel: Exploring Bruce Springsteen’s New Jersey roots. Michael Luongo, The Guardian
Atlantic City: Also as ubiquitous as fudge? Salt water taffy. Why? The experts explain. Alexandra Owens, Smithsonian
Unsafe at Any Speed: An oral history of America’s most dangerous amusement park. “Were the rides engineered for maximum safety like they are today? Absolutely not.” Jake Rossen, Mental Floss
Pennsylvania Travel Stories
It Puts the Butter on the Biscuit: Enjoy your stay at this new Pennsylvania bed and breakfast, aka Buffalo Bill’s house from The Silence of the Lambs. Torture well coming soon! Sarah Paynter, New York Post
Past Trespasses: “When you live in a place built on boom-and-bust, it feels only natural to kick in a locked door and enter.” Jake Maynard, Belt Magazine
Pennsylvania: American highways and the chains that love them can feel like a bland monoculture, and Breezewood’s cluster of corporate signage has become something of a symbol of sameness. But, as always, there’s more to the story. Amanda Kolson Hurley, City Lab
Rural Rabbis: A tiny congregation in rural Pennsylvania relies on the services of an itinerant rabbi. Jason Nark, The Inquirer
Eastern State Penitentiary: New restoration work on this one-time Philadelphia prison (now a museum) reveals that Al Capone’s cell wasn’t quite as posh as legend had indicated — and he had a cellmate. Tammy Paolino, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Lancaster: Pennsylvania Dutch “food groups” combine to make a regional specialty, shoo-fly pie. Erin Negley, Lancaster Online
Rhode Island Travel Stories
Did Someone Say Baklava? Syrian refugee comes to Providence, serves mind-blowing baklava…and ends up as a nominee for best restaurant in the whole damn USA. Priya Krishna, Bon Appétit
Mind Your Manors: Show-offy railway barons and knock-offy French chateaus. Find your Downton Abbey lifestyle in (checks notes) Newport, Rhode Island? Kylie McLaughlin, Traveller
Vermont Travel Stories
Robert Frost Country: The mysterious beauty of the landscapes that inspired Robert Frost’s poetry. Jay Parini (words) & Nicola Muirhead (photos), Smithsonian
This One has Been Gnawing at Us: Was this Vermont road named for a legendary Scottish cannibal? Angela Evancie, VPR Brave Little State
Virginia Travel Stories
The Vine and the Fish: A gorgeous, immersive, interactive story about an Asian-American family moving from Michigan to Virginia, and a meditation on the nature of “invasive” outsiders. Leise Hook, Believer Magazine
Shenandoah: America’s parks are confronting the past in an effort to create more inclusive wilderness spaces. Kathryn Miles, Outside
Richmond, Virginia: At first glance, it looks like yet another monument with a statue of a man on a horse. But Kehinde Wiley’s new work features a young African-American man with a knot of dreadlocks and a hoodie, an effort to reclaim history in town known for Confederate iconography. Reggie Ugwu, New York Times
From Coal to Cool: Historic Appalachian coal towns are looking to a new source of income to revive their economies: outdoor adventure. Mason Adams, Ensia
Washington, D.C. Travel Stories
Forget Statehood — How About a Monarchy? D.C. once had an Indigenous queen. Her name was Cockacoeske, the Queen of Pamunkey. Rose Powhatan, Washington Post
Lost at the Smithsonian. Comedian Aasif Mandvi explores the Smithsonian’s collection of pop-culture objects, one piece at a time, in his new podcast. Start with the episode about José Feliciano’s guitar, which goes in about 10 directions you weren’t expecting, offers truly thought-provoking questions about American identity, and includes gorgeous, gorgeous music, all in a tight 32 minutes. Lost at the Smithsonian, Stitcher
Museo Nuevo: The Smithsonian museums tell the story of America — so where’s the Latino museum? It could be in the works. Julissa Arce, Time (And a bill to create the museum just had its first congressional hearing: Nicole Acevedo, NBC News)
Washington, D.C.: Dolphins! In the Potomac! Even baby dolphins! In case you’re skimming: BABY DOLPHINS IN POTOMAC! Karen Brulliard, Washington Post
Get Pedaling: The 3,700-mile Great American Rail Trail will let you ride across the US on one trail from Washington to Washington (or vice-versa). Rails to Trails
West Virginia Travel Stories
West Virginia Breakfast Apples: How a little sour heirloom apple called the “Early June Transparent” hangs on in a corner of West Virginia. Connie Kitts, 100 Days in Appalachia
America’s Forgotten Cathedrals: Native American mounds are America’s ancient Cathedrals — you, we, all of us should be visiting them. John W. Miller, Moundsville
Chinese West Virginia: Dumplings, Road Trips and ‘Gung Hei Fat Choy!’ Peter Lo brings the flavors of Chinese New Year to West Virginia. Mike Costello, 100 Days in Appalachia