Author: Ms. R.

From the front, this bakery looks handsome and unassuming. Walk around the back at night, though, and you’ll stumble on a sight that practically defines Martha Vineyard summers: dozens of customers lining up to buy freshly prepared fritters and donuts through the back door between a dumpster and an alley. This back-door business has a long history: The location has been a bakery since Walmsley’s Bakery opened there in 1948. While there are legends that Walmsley employees threw unused donuts out the……

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Hiking to Conundrum Hot Springs might look like an impossible feat (the hike is 18 miles round trip), but don’t be put off just yet by the distance. Some avid hikers will complete the trek in one day, but it is by far more enjoyable and rewarding to spread the hike out over at least two days. This is the perfect overnight hike for backpacking beginners! Less than a 20-minute drive from downtown Aspen, the trailhead to get to……

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From 1958 to 1972, the Department of Defense deployed a contingent of surface-to-air missiles intended to shoot down any incoming nuclear missiles aimed at United States cities.  This program, known as Project Nike, was the first operational American anti-aircraft system. The missiles were decommissioned in 1974 as the Cold War came to an end, but remnants remain all around the country to this day. A few, such as site C-44 in southeastern Chicago can still be visited.  Nike missile……

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In the small, charming town of Rome, Georgia, visitors will find a historic street that is the meeting place of three rivers—and the location of the only labyrinth within 50 miles. In the 1930s, the site began as an erosion control pond developed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Folk artists later used the location to read poetry and play music throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  Later, Ed Baker worked with the local government of Rome to establish the……

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Amidst the cool, breezy trees in the South Mumbai district of Colaba, a tall church spire rises from their midst. This 60-meter structure once served as a landmark for ships in the harbor. The spire belongs to the Church of St. John the Evangelist, also known as the Afghan Church. During the early years of the 19th century, both Russian and British forces were seeking to establish control over Central Asia. The British sought to conquer Kabul, which led……

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Sweden is full of runestones, most of which are used as memorials to lost family members, (such as Uppland Runic Inscription 53 in Stockholm), descriptions of historical events (such as Sigurdsristningen in Eskilstuna). Often these come with decorations, often in the form of dragons, and in rare instances, a person is depicted.  The runestone, officially known as Uppland Runic Inscription Fv1946;258, is one such rune stone that dates back to the 11th century. This inscription and is carved on a rock-face……

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