Downtown Bethesda Marriott International

The Marriott Bethesda Downtown is the 8,000th and newest addition to the Marriott collection of properties. The location was as carefully selected as the hotel’s design and décor and was chosen for its accessibility to all that Washington, D.C. has to offer as well as more suburban sites and events and yet, is cleverly situated in an area conducive to a restful and restorative destination experience. #Marriott® Bethesda Downtown

The earliest documented European to explore Bethesda was a fur trader named Henry Fleet. He entered the area via the Potomac River and he encountered the local Piscataway natives. In 1622, he was either captured or voluntarily lived among the Anacostan Indians for several years. #visitmaryland

The area took its name from the Bethesda Meeting House constructed in 1820. The original meetinghouse burned to the ground and was rebuilt in 1850. The name, Bethesda, is derived from Hebrew and later translated to Greek and means “House of Mercy”. Biblically it was the site of the healing Pool of Bethesda, a place where the infirm went for a miracle cure. More than 2,000 years later it continues the tradition of its namesake as the site of the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Institute of Health. https://www.greaterbethesdachamber

Transportation was the key to the early development of Bethesda. Tobacco was the first primary crop in the state and rural tobacco farmers populated the region until transportation into the area became readily available in the 1880s. Alta Vista, considered the first neighborhood, developed because it was the end of the trolley line. The trolley track is now a walking trail.

Modern Bethesda, just northwest of the most historic areas of Washington, D.C., is connected to the sites and attractions by metro, making a car unnecessary. It is famous for the number and variety of dining venues, shopping opportunities and entertainment offerings. There are an estimated 700 shops and businesses from which to choose and it is a shopping mecca. Holiday shopping is particularly enticing because of the seasonal events and décor.

Mere steps away from the Bethesda Metro Station the Marriott Bethesda Downtown is the threshold to all the Bethesda and Capitol experiences, features luxurious accommodations, is ideal for decompressing after an intensive day of touring and is a destination in itself. 

        Guests’ introduction to the hotel is a beautifully designed lobby, awash in natural light and showcasing a soaring, floating, staircase and inviting Great Room Lobby Bar. It is Certified LEED Gold Core and Shell. Artworks throughout the public and private spaces are specifically selected from the works of regional artists. Individual guestrooms feature large windows with cityscape panoramas. 

        Furnishings reflect an artful blend of contemporary colors, creative design and craftsmanship with an emphasis on comfort. A full complement of amenities includes designer linens as well as bath products that enhance your cleansing ritual.

Executive Chef Dupree Braswell reigns over the three dining and beverage establishments on-site. Each venue has a singular appeal and each incorporates regional products and local producers. The Seventh State restaurant takes its name from the fact that Maryland was the seventh state to enter the newly formed union. Hip Flask, the first rooftop bar in Bethesda, offers outstanding views from terrace seating and a seasonal food and cocktail menu. Hip Flask’s signature cocktail, the “Tiger Vogue”, is served a la speakeasy, hidden inside a book.

The Bethesda Marriott Downtown International has a lot to offer throughout the year but December and January take it to a new level. See the decorations, go into retail overload in the upscale and unique shops and then rest and restore in a luxury environment with a one-of-a-kind cocktail! www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/wasbd-marriott-bethesda-downtown

Meandering in St. Michael’s, Maryland

                  National Geographic recognized the Eastern Shore as one of the “22 Amazing Journeys for 2022”. The area, within the Atlantic Coastal Plain region, is comprised of the nine counties east of the Chesapeake Bay. The counties are filled with history that dates from the early 1500s and continues to provide immersive experiences that blend seamlessly with local culinary expertise and water-based activities. #Experiencestmichaelsmd

                  Captain John Smith receives credit as the earliest authenticated explorer of the bay area in 1608 but the land appears on a Spanish map, as Santa Maria, in 1556. An Algonquian indigenous population greeted the Europeans upon arrival, the Nanticoke and Pocomoke-Assateague, many of whom moved west in the 1740s.

                  Maryland became the first proprietary colony in British North America in 1632 and remained so until July 3, 1776 and in April of 1788 Maryland became the seventh state. As a colony it rebelled against British rule early and zealously even though no battles were fought within the state. Nearly 29,000 Maryland men served in the Continental Army and Maryland Militia from 1775-1783. The troops earned the honorific, the Old Line State”, when they prevented the annihilation of the Continental Army during the Battle of Long Island and subsequent Continental Army retreat in 1776.

St. Michael’s, Maryland is situated at the heart of the Eastern Shore. As a destination it offers all aspects of the region within a walkable area or by accessing the 1.3-mile rails-to-trails bike route, St. Michael’s Nature Trail, path through town. The marina and bay provide a number of water-based activities and stunning views. Along the main thoroughfare there are numerous restaurants, shops and historic structures. St. Michael’s looks and feels as if it has been preserved in amber and fortunate visitors have surprising opportunities to experience everything available within this perfect setting.

The town itself dates from the mid-17^th century when tobacco was the primary crop. A trading post was built on the site bringing settlers into the area. The 1672 construction of the Christ Episcopal Church of St Michael Archangel was founded in present day St. Michaels and led to the naming of the town.

The War of 1812 placed St. Michael’s center stage. The town was a shipbuilding center, particularly renowned for building schooners, and the British fleet deemed it and the Chesapeake Bay as primary targets and readied for an attack on August 10, 1813. The town’s militia had no hope of defeating the British forces and firepower and some citizens, aware of their precarious position, began to evacuate, others devised a plan. A total blackout was called for and lanterns were hung high in the trees causing the British to believe it was a hill town and to aim too high and miss the buildings. Only one structure was hit and is known today as the William Merchant Cannonball House. A cannonball pierced the roof and came down the stairs. No Americans were hurt in the attack. St. Michaels is referred to as "the town that fooled the British". 

In a unique town one would expect equally singular accommodations and St. Michael’s does not disappoint. The newly opened Wildset Hotel is comprised of four 19^th-century structures offering 34 rooms in total. No two rooms are alike and each features sumptuous furnishings and linens, state-of-the-art technology and designer amenities with an ambience that is reminiscent of both the history and the regional setting. Many rooms are equipped with fireplaces and luxurious soaking tubs. Complimentary on-site parking is provided. #thewildset

Complimentary snacks are available en suite and breakfast with Ceremony Coffee is in the lobby area daily. Firepits and s’mores kits are available to guests as well as bicycles and yard games to enhance the Wildset experience.

Sisters Allie Balin and K.C. Lager opened Ruse Restaurant, the in-house dining establishment, to provide an accessible upscale experience incorporating local cuisine, Eastern Shore décor and superior service. The name harkens back to the defining British attack in 1813 when a ruse was used to save the town.

The menu changes seasonally with locally sourced fresh foods that Chef Michael Correll combines to create nuanced tastes in regional dishes. The bar’s inventory is filled with specially chosen, small batch wines. There is an oyster bar with a rotating selection of oysters. Reservations are highly recommended.

To make your holiday visit even more special the Wildset celebrates from December 16-28. Christmas In St. Michaels, the town’s holiday kick-off event, takes place from December 9-11, 2022. Visitors stroll the streets amidst the historic homes and along the bayside. Some homes are listed on a tour. The historic structures in the rural areas are accessed by a holiday shuttle service. https://christmasinstmichaels

On Saturday, December 10, 2022 the St. Michael’s traditional holiday parade on Talbot Street takes place. It showcases expected types of participation in addition to kazoo bands and even llamas. The parade kicks off at 10:30 AM.

An annual Old Fashioned Eastern Shore Christmas Dinner takes place on Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 11 AM – 3 PM. Union United Methodist Church prepares a carryout feast of homemade entrees and desserts. Get a taste of the Holidays past.

Water and boats equal the spectacular Lighted Boat Parade around St. Michael’s Harbor. The parade begins at 6 PM on Saturday, December 10, 2022.

The 2022 Marketplace and Sweet Shoppe returns for the holiday weekend. This is a wonderful opportunity to round out your visit with a purchase of decorations, baked goods, gifts and mementos from this enchanting historic town. An emphasis is placed on sustainable materials and products www.stmichaelsmd.com

 

 

The Museum of the Bible

                                                                                  The Museum of the Bible

                  The Museum of the Bible was completed in 2017 in Southwest D.C., 3 blocks from the Capitol and steps from the metro. The 430,000-square-foot structure, one of the largest museums in a sea of museums, cost $500 million. Originally an early 20^th-century refrigeration warehouse, the architects retained the brick façade but every floor and the roof were removed to expand the height of each level. 

The museum was cofounded by Steve Green, a conservative Evangelical Christian, is owned by the Museum of the Bible, Inc. and states it "is not political, and it will not proselytize". The museum seeks to showcase the history and influence of the best-selling book of all time in a nonsectarian, educational, scholarly and engaging way. On exhibit are 40,000 artifacts that represent 4,000 years of history.

                  The visitors’ experience begins on the exterior. The huge entrance doors are 3” thick and 40’ tall with 118 panels of German Brass, replicating Gutenberg’s backward text printing plate of the first page of Genesis. The Gutenberg Bible was the first mass produced Bible in the world. Immediately inside the vestibule is a freestanding, 16-panel, window. Inscribed on the 32’ by 13.5’ window is Psalm 19 translated into 16 languages including German, Russian, Swahili and Hindi.

A spectacular grand hall is your entrée into the museum. The space, once a train loading bay, has been redesigned with Jerusalem stone pillars and a 40’ high, 140’ long ceiling. Moving ceiling displays feature rotating biblical images. 

“Treasures from the Vatican Museums and the Vatican Library” is a special exhibit located on the first floor. It relates the story of the creation of the library, through its construction in 1589 and into the modern era. Currently the library has 1.5 million printed works and 31 miles of shelving. Manuscripts are on display along with an informational video.

                  At the end of the lobby visitors can access all six floors via a staircase or an elevator that shows an introductory film as you ride. Windows along the staircase give the effect of ascending into the light.

                  On the second floor there is a small theater with an introductory video on Biblical architecture.  This floor is devoted to “The Impact of the Bible”.

                  “Stories of the Bible” are featured on the third level. Visitors can experience first-century Nazareth in “The World of Jesus of Nazareth”. Docents explain what life was like in that era as you walk-thru village structures.

“The History of the Bible” is featured on the fourth floor. 

                  Each floor presents videos, movies and interactive stations to amplify the exhibits. Videos range in length from 3 to 30 minutes and visitors should allot a minimum of three hours to tour. There are two on-site eateries, the Milk and Honey Café and the Manna Restaurant, and a children’s play area where families and individuals can take a break.

                  Highlights of the massive collection, and the most sought after displays, are a page from the first edition of the Gutenberg Bible and Lincoln’s Bible. Gutenberg printed about 185 Bibles and completed his publication of the first edition in 1454.

                  Five hundred African Americans gifted the Bible to Lincoln. A group from Baltimore paid $580, more than $8000 in today’s money, to thank him for emancipation and enlisting black soldiers in the Civil War.

                  This is a wonderful time to visit the Museum of the Bible because of the related holiday events.

The Bells of Bethlehem: Sounds from the Church of the Nativity opens Nov. 9. The presentation features six 12th-century bells from the Church of the Nativity, exhibited for the first time outside of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. In the 13th century the bells were buried to save them from invaders and they were not rediscovered until 1906. Additionally a wooden model of the church will be displayed.

At noon daily, November 25 – December 31, the Christmas story as written in the Gospels will be related. Hot cocoa and cookies will be available.

On December 10 Liberty University’s gospel choir, Praise, and Shine, a contemporary acapella group, will present a Christmas concert.

From December 18–26, daily at 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m., Hanukkah Storytelling will take place. The stories told by interpreters are of the Maccabean Revolt and the Miracle of Light. 

Don’t forget to look for unique and meaningful gifts in the Christmas Market and Museum Shop. #museumoftheBible

 

Lawrence, Kansas and the Course of Freedom

                  Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery reached Kansas in June 0f 1804 and it was largely that exploratory mission that led to increased American westward expansion beyond the previously established western Missouri border. The Kansas/Missouri area became the natural starting point for travelers because it afforded the last access to western water routes and western trails began. Prior to the explosion of pioneers Kansas was deemed Indian Territory, a new “homeland” for natives forcibly displaced from other regions. #VisitKansas

                  Settlers came from many previously settled regions, bringing with them their ideas on the government and political stance in the new territories. These conflicting ideas led to the Kansas/Missouri border wars. Congress passed the Kansas/Nebraska Act in 1854. Kansas and Nebraska became territories with the understanding that upon joining the Union they would each vote whether to enter as a slave or a free state. 

                  Kansas, bordered by a slave state, became the focal point of the controversy and possible power shift. People moved into Kansas in anticipation of the vote, fighting broke out on both sides and the area became known as “Bleeding Kansas”. This intense conflict, especially events that occurred in Lawrence, Kansas, is considered one of the factors leading directly to the Civil War. #UnmistakablyLawrence 

                  Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area, Inc. (FFNHA), in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, preserves and presents the Border Wars, frontier history and the enduring struggle for freedom. A tour of the national heritage area should begin in Lawrence with the Kansas-Nebraska Act Exhibit created by Central Plains Region of the National Archives. The exhibit interprets all of the major events and individuals involved through pictures and documents. www.FreedomsFrontier.org 

                  

                The New England Emigrant Aid Company was formed in 1854 to settle ant-slavery immigrants in Kansas. In Lawrence in 1855 they constructed the Free State Hotel as temporary housing for the settlers. It was originally 3-stories tall with a roof promenade and a 50 horse stable. On May 21, 1856 a pro-slavery faction burned it down. Shalor Eldridge renamed and rebuilt it and it stood until August 21, 1863 when Quantrill’s raiders attacked the town and again burned it down.

                  Lawrence has developed a 10-site Quantrill’s Raid Tour that encompasses the sites connected with the infamous attack. U.S. Senator James Lane, leader of a Jayhawker military troop that conducted raids into Missouri, resided in Lawrence and is believed to have been the primary target. On August 21, 1863 approximately 400 guerrillas, including Frank James, dressed in Union uniforms, rode into town. They looted, robbed, murdered as many as 200 men and boys and burned down the Eldridge Hotel. Oddly there were two documented African Americans who rode with Quantrill. One of them, John Noland, is said to have scouted the town. @eXploreLawrence 


                  The current Eldridge Hotel is a prestigious 48-room hotel with a menu of luxury amenities, fine dining and plush public spaces. It is a member of the noted Historic Hotels of America. In 1932 Bonnie and Clyde booked a room in order to watch the activities in the bank across the street. They robbed the bank and fled the town. The hotel is said to be haunted and is a portal to the spirit world. Ghosts are often reported on the 5^th floor and certain rooms must be booked far in advance for a possible encounter. Eldridgehotel.com

                  Watkins Museum of History, housed in a Romanesque former 1888 bank, is an outstanding introduction to all aspects of Lawrence. The museum is filled with artifacts, memorabilia and interactive experiences. Unique highlights include Civil War objects, a Langston Hughes display and Basketball history gallery.

                  Langston Hughes attended grades 2 and 3 in the city and later worked in the Eldridge Hotel. He lived with his grandmother, Mary Leary Langston, widow of Harpers Ferry participant Lewis S. Leary. Mary was a free abolitionist who strongly influenced Langston. The museum exhibits family photographs and a sculpture of a boyhood Hughes.

                  Grover Barn UGRR station is documented as a site where John Brown stopped. On this site in 

January 1859 he met 12 enslaved and guided them on a 3-month journey to freedom in Canada. 

                  In 1891 a Springfield, MA physical education professor, James Naismith, recognized a need for his students to have a winter sport. With a peach basket, a soccer ball and thirteen rules, he invented the game of basketball. The first Kansas University (KU) game took place in 1899. Wilt Chamberlain was recruited and while at KU, a segregated city, he refused to participate in segregation. As a result restaurants and stores began to breakdown the color line realizing he was an economic benefit to the city. 

                  The 1862 Morrill Land Grant College Act set aside federal lands to establish agricultural and mechanical arts colleges in each state. Grants were 30,000-acres each and greater than 10-million acres were confiscated tribal lands. The first college with land grant status was KU. A second Morrill Act was enacted in 1890 because people of color did not have equal access the earlier educational institutions.

                  In 1830 the Delaware were the first tribe to be given Kansas territorial land by treaty but the state was home to a numerous Native tribes. In 1884 twenty-two American Indian children, grades one to five and as young as 3, were enrolled in the United States Indian Industrial Training School in Lawrence. The emphasis was on teaching students to assimilate into the larger culture and to that end students attended 10 years without seeing their parents. The institution has developed into Haskell Indian Nations University, attended by American Indians and Alaska Natives, where a robust academic program blends with indigenous culture. 

The university offers a walking tour that includes the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum. Museum exhibits include memorabilia from the early years of the school, the Frank A. Rinehart Collection of photographs of Native American leaders in late 1800s and information on Haskell’s legendary sports program. Until the 1930s their football program was known as the “Powerhouse of the West”. Both Billy Mills and Jim Thorpe attended Haskell.

                  Lawrence’s main thoroughfare, Massachusetts Street, named by early New England abolitionists, has been designated “one of the most beautiful main streets in America”. It, and the surrounding area, is filled with unique shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.   

     

                   African American Quilt Museum and Textile Academy is the home of Marla Quilts Inc. Historical events and individuals serve as inspiration for her designs. Her textiles have been exhibited nationally and internationally including the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

                  Leeway Franks & Butcher is Native American Owned and has twice been awarded Minority Owned Retail Enterprise of the Year by the Kansas Department of Commerce and is a finalist for the Kansas Governor’s Award of Excellence. 

Gold Medal BBQ is owned and operated by Olympic Gold medalist Kyle Clemons and his wife Christina. They use freshly sourced ingredients to create memorable dishes. 

Lawrence is a surprising destination any time of year but it excels during the holidays. The 29^th Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade is one-of-a-kind. The parade consists of authentic horse-drawn carriages decorated for the season. The route passes the historic Eldridge Hotel in a nod to its history on December 3, 2022.

The city lights up the nights with an annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony and Santa Rescue. On November 25 the countdown begins at 5:45 PM Downtown. Immediately following the ceremony Santa appears on the rooftop of Weaver’s Department Store. He is sleighless but never fear, the Lawrence Douglas County Fire & Medical Service appear to rescue him with their ladder fire truck.

Seek the exceptional in Lawrence, Kansas.