Travel
my travels as a history nerd and park enthusiast
As I majored in history, it’s probably no surprise that I am a major history nerd: particularly in U.S. and Texas history.
If there is a history museum anywhere in my vicinity, I try to make time to visit it. I am a huge fan of the National Park System and one day hope to visit every significant NPS site and complete my National Parks passport. So far, I have visited 7 of the 14 sites in Texas (and an assortment of sites outside of Texas), which might not seem like much of an accomplishment until you remember how huge Texas is!
Unfortunately, I underutilized my time at Amherst in regards to visiting historical sites. I essentially lost two years of opportunities due to COVID, and you really needed a car to get around in Western Massachusetts (which, as a Texan, I did not have). I still managed to hit a few highlights such as the Springfield Armory, Old Slater Mill, Saint-Gaudens NHP, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP, Independence Hall, The Met, and The American Museum of Natural History. However, considering Boston alone has dozens of historical sites and I somehow never managed to visit, I still have a lot to see.
My next targets to visit in Texas are the historic French Legation in Austin (as I saw the French half in Paris) and the Blackwell School NHS in Marfa when it fully opens.
