Beyond the Beltway : Side Roads Surrounding Washington, D.C. [Mass Market Paperback]

Bill Rau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 1999

Not far from Washington, D.C.'s grand monuments and museums - but far less known - is a wealth of Americana. "Beyond the Beltway" takes readers from a historic environmental center to a potato chip factory to a polka parlor, with a unique view of places and events around the capital. The focus is on lesser visited areas largely unknown even to local residents, with illustrations, maps, and visiting hours. Just three miles east of the Beltway is the National Wildlife Refuge Center. Its indoor and outdoor exhibits tell fasinating stories about efforts to conserve the environment and protect wildlife. The damaging effects of DDT were discovered on these lands. In the opposite direction is the State Arboretum of Virginia, a few miles from Winchester, but at least a half century removed from the hectic pace of everyday life. "My favorite place," offers Rau, "is a round barn in Cashville, Pennsylvania. It is so unexpected and so beautifully made. And it is just 10 miles from Gettysburg, but known only by local people!"

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Beyond the Beltway" guides curious visitors with the unique perspective and distinctive layout that are typical of Side Roads books. With this book's easy-to-use combination of engaging narrative, maps, and notes, visitors can learn about some of the issues that shape local communities surrounding Washington, DC - how they are protecting the environment, building viable economies, and sustaining the multiple heritages that make up North America. They can also polka in a real family-oriented polka parlor, see potato chips being made, bathe where George Washington did, and count hundreds and hundreds of Canada geese.

Side Roads is skeptical of the commercial domination and homogenization of our landscape. "Beyond the Beltway" is one example of how we seek to provide new ways of looking at and enjoying the wonders of North America. We encourage travelers to ask questions and to sample local communities.

The four tours described here are suggestions of ways to explore the area beyond Washington, DC, in smaller or larger chunks. All the places described here are within a two-hour drive of Washington - unless you find yourself diverted by another Side Roads site! From the environmental refuges of southern Maryland, to an exploration of American eating habits in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, to new connections with American's heritage in rural central Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, to discoveries about colonial leaders in Virginia and West Virginia, Side Roads travelers using "Beyond the Beltway" will enjoy the essence of America.

From the Inside Flap

NOTES

A Word about Maps... We have provided a few maps throughout this book to help guide you along some of the Side Roads tours. But we encourage the use of a good road map.

Be Creative These left-hand pages are where we put photographs and maps, directions to the various Side Roads sites, and contact information for the different attractions.

But we also invite you to use this space for your own notes. For example, use it as a trip journal, with our itinerary suggestions sitting nicely alongside your own discoveries. Or use these pages as an impromptu sketch-book. Let this guidebook become a living document of your Side Roads adventures.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 69 pages
• Publisher: Side Roads, LLC (August 10, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 0967047102
• ISBN-13: 978-0967047102
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,626,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and fascinating travel guide book, June 12, 2000

By 

Diane Bradford (Aspen, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Beltway : Side Roads Surrounding Washington, D.C. (Mass Market Paperback)

This book inspired and excited me about visiting and more fully understanding places near Washington D.C. that are off the beaten path. It is unlike any other travel guide I've seen in that it suggests several specific "ways to" (as opposed to "how to") travel and learn about the places that are covered. Now I want to take others along to share the discovery possible in these under-exposed places. This book gave me a much deeper sense of this area. The content makes me think differently about the places I've seen before and want to go back with a larger perspective.