2026 is the nation’s semi-quincentennial…or, in its more pronounceable form, the 250th Anniversary of American Independence. For Presidents and Patriots, it’s a unique opportunity to visit a number of sites with Revolutionary associations, while exploring for ourselves the meaning of Independence, both then and since. This spring, we’ll be deep diving into one of the most independent – not to mention scenic and historic – states in the Union …

Talk about Independence. For thirteen years after the Revolution, Vermont was its own separate republic. Even now, it retains the flinty New England character that characterized the original Green Mountain Boys. Some call it quirky, a side of the state we will experience at the Dog Chapel, where you are invited to leave your own tribute to canines loved or lost. It’s also the home of the Morgan Horse, as unique to Vermont as Ethan Allen and Lake Champlain (we’ve planned a visit to Allen’s home, and an evening dinner cruise on the lake that shares a mystery with Loch Ness).

At the Shelburne Museum we’ll immerse ourselves in the history, art and culture that perfectly introduces the creative genius of a country 250 years in the making. Robert Todd Lincoln’s Hildene country estate recalls America’s greatest president and the surprising connection his family had with Manchester. We’ll tour the Vermont State House, centerpiece of America’s smallest capital city.

Just across the Connecticut River we’ll explore the home, studios and artistry of Augustus Saint Gaudens, perhaps America’s greatest sculptor. Vermont’s only castle is on the itinerary, as is the woodland cottage that Robert Frost called home for forty years. And two of the most impressive Revolutionary War sites in the northeast remind us of Vermont’s critical role in securing American nationhood.

Our primary hotel is the ideally situated Middlebury Inn, circa 1827. We’ll start and finish at the equally sumptuous Green Mountain Suites in Burlington. You can count on plenty of hearty Yankee fare served in atmospheric surroundings. Believe me, there’s a lot more to Vermont than covered bridges and maple syrup. There’s a Vermont we haven’t visited before. More independent than ever.

On the cusp of America’s 250th birthday, we’re planning an excursion into the frontier country “over the mountains” and distant from the coastal republic. In Kentucky hollows and by Tennessee creeks, an earthier, more democratic lifestyle took root. We can see it for ourselves in the rustic cabin Abraham Lincoln remembered as his childhood home; and in the pillared mansion Andrew Jackson built on the outskirts of Nashville (and on the back of his enslaved workforce). We can experience its sequel on the Civil War battlefield of Franklin, TN and the restored splendor of nearby Carnton Plantation.

Exactly one hundred years have passed since the trial that captivated a nation: In a remote Tennessee village, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow debated theories of evolution in the famed Scopes Monkey Trial. We’ll visit the courthouse where it all unfolded. The same 1920’s also gave rise to the uniquely American art form known as Country Music. In Nashville we’ve included a nighttime trolley ride past such landmarks as the Ryman Auditorium and Music Row. In addition, the Tennessee State Capitol and nearby State Museum will immerse us in several thousand years of Volunteer State history.

You can’t get much more American than Churchill Downs or Stephen Foster’s rousing anthem, My Old Kentucky Home. We’ll tour the magnificent estate that inspired Foster’s song and place a bet or two at the racetrack that’s still very much in use today. Also on our itinerary: the Kentucky Horse Park, a kind of Disneyland for all things equine. Plus, the home distillery of that other noted Kentucky export – straight bourbon whiskey (aka Jim Beam). One day we start at Locust Grove, the sprawling home of Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark… before visiting Louisville’s ultra-modern, hands-on museum dedicated to another local hero, Mohammed Ali.

Each of our trips has its own theme and flavor. I don’t think any of them has included two such distinctive hotels as The Harpeth, a riverfront hostelry located in the heart of Franklin Tennessee, steps away from all the shops, restaurants and other attractions that make Franklin a destination for history lovers. More elegant still is Louisville’s Seelbach, favored by U.S. presidents for over a century; and a favorite hideout for Al Capone and other bootleggers, one of whom served F. Scott Fitzgerald as the model for Jay Gatsby.

Before there was a United States of America there was an American frontier, a country in the making. This fall we’ve planned a deep dive into that raw land, tracing its development over two centuries. A great way to get ready for the 250th.