New York to D.C.: Taking the Backroads

About the Journey

The key to enjoying this busy East Coast commute? Slow it down, and take a break from the highway. Join Oneika Raymond as she discovers the hidden treasures between these two hubs, from world-class birdwatching to the area’s Black history to three rival sandwich shops competing for the throne.

First out of New York, we’ll go on a Garden State birding tour through Sandy Hook, New Jersey, with Lindsay McNamara from the American Bird Conservancy. At the Gateway National Recreation Area, we’ll look for loons, scooters and sea ducks, skimmers, terns, herons, gulls and other shorebirds. In an area called “The Bowl”, you can see warblers and songbirds, and the true bird enthusiasts may go all the way down to Cape May, known as the “Raptor Capital of North America.”

Heading down I-95 toward Philly, we’ll pick up the Harriet Tubman Byway. This scenic drive winds all the way to Maryland's Eastern Shore. Along the drive, we’ll pass landmarks of the Underground Railroad. In downtown Philly, we’ll see the final residence of William Still, a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. Then, we’ll make our way to Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park in Wilmington, Delaware. This park celebrates American abolitionist Thomas Garrett and Harriet Tubman, plus it offers great views of the snaking Christina River.

Next, it’s sandwich warfare in Wilmington, Delaware. We hear the locals’ take on who has the best subs: Casapulla’s, Capriotti’s, or Yatz’s.

We’ll hop onto US 301 towards the famous Chesapeake Bay Bridge, one of the longest dual span bridges in the world, making a pitstop on Kent Island before heading over to Matapeake Park to enjoy a beautiful view of the bay, and feast on some Maryland crabs at Stevensville Crab Shack.

Then, we’ll hear a story about the artistic battle that rocked Annapolis’s historic district. Jeff Huntington, better known as “Jahru”, is a muralist whose art spans the globe, but he calls Annapolis home. Gavin Buckley, a restaurant owner who commissioned a Jahru mural called Agony and Ecstasy, was inspired by a controversy the mural created to run for and become the mayor of Annapolis. Jahru and his wife, Julia, continue to fight to maintain the lost African American history of the city, such as Carr’s Beach, a music venue that hosted Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder. The husband and wife pair founded a nonprofit called Future History Now, which facilitated the creation of other public art pieces such as the Breonna Taylor mural in Chambers Park.

We’ll end our journey by taking Route 50 to Washington D.C..

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Thanks to our guests on this episode for sharing their stories along the route. For more on The American Bird Conservancy, check out abcbirds.org. To learn how you can get involved with Future History Now, head to futurehistorynow.org.

For more about this route — and to get other road trip ideas — visit Marriott Bonvoy Traveler attraveler.marriott.com/road-trips. If you enjoyed this episode of About the Journey, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe.

About the Journey is a podcast produced by Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, AT WILL MEDIA, MNTRA, and Oneika Raymond. Listen and follow the show here.

To read full episode transcripts from About the Journey and see photos of each featured destination, head to About the Journey on Marriott Bonvoy Traveler. Starting this season, you can watch full videos of each episode on the Marriott Bonvoy YouTube channel.