Greetings, friends! We are the Nowaks from Maryland. Mark and I (Marla) are parents to Lauren, now a careerwoman, and are in our tenth year of homeschooling our other four: Emily, Stephen, Lila, and Seth. We are thankful God has allowed us this privilege.

Growing up in Virginia, I had a heritage rich in history, and Virginia was a virtual geographic-historical gold mine. Marks comes from Pennsylvania and might argue his state the winner in our best home-state competitions. (I sometimes refer to Virginia as the Promised Land and to Maryland as the Great Compromise.) True, Pennsylvania has some impressive historical boasts ... so it should come as no surprise that our family getaways often include historical outings.

From time to time, Mark travels for work, and we found that tagging along has given us some economical and exciting work/family vacation adventures. The planner can calculate what to do, and the spontaneous will discover historical treasure en route, as we did when discovering Edison's birthplace.

Our focus-one of our favorites-is historic homes. True, not all children eagerly embrace homes that sometimes include no-touch zones of roped off chairs, nor are they amazed by priceless artifacts. Some prefer to run through garden mazes, pet animals, and visit gift shops. At Magnolia Plantation, South Carolina, we opted to simply walk the grounds and delighted in a drenching downpour that stilled the September heat. For a family get-together, my dad suggested Montpelier, James and Dolly Madison's then-pink brick mansion, currently being restored. My sister took the older children for a walking tour, while Mom held my newborn. It was a fun, wholesome outing, and as is true with most historical homes, something to please a diverse age group.

Nothing has brought the past closer than entering Laura Ingalls Wilder's quaint home in Mansfield, Missouri. Stepping into her miniaturized kitchen, admiring the low cabinets Almanzo built, one can imagine Laura at the custom down-sized counter, all five feet of her. You can almost see her putting glassware in the warm yellow cupboards and smell the apples and onions cooking on her gleaming white and aqua cookstove. Inhaling the smell of old linoleum that reminded me of my great-grandmother's house, seeing the simple magazine pictures Laura had framed and hung in her bedroom, and holding the wooden banister as she might have were all surreal moments for me. Almanzo's craftsmanship skills provided beautiful carpentry and stonework, pillows, and rugs. A February 1957 calendar hangs, and the last books and papers Laura had on her drop-lid desk are also preserved as they were.

For those who consider Laura an iconic friend, take heart. Next to the Wilders' house is an incredible museum with Pa's fiddle, the lap desk that hid the lost $100, Mary's quilt, and an amazing collection of shoes, clothes, books, papers, certificates, and dishes. The modernized Rock House on the same property was successful author daughter Rose's gift to them.

Another standout home was that of Abraham Lincoln. Located in Springfield, Illinois, it was the only home the Lincolns ever owned. A fairly modest house in a quiet neighborhood, this legendary home sits unpretentiously. Some of the furniture was owned by the Lincolns; some is period pieces. The house is preserved as it was in 1860. With the exception of the boy's and hired girl's rooms, the parlors and bedrooms are strikingly busy with diverse patterns on walls, rugs, bedding, and dragging-on-the-floor curtains. The dining area was formal yet welcoming, and the kitchen appears functional, a place you might sit and chat with Mary, who loved to lavishly entertain.

Our guide described Mark Twain's Hartford, Connecticut, house as half cuckoo clock and half medieval castle. This remarkable residence is a fascinating mirror of its original owner. Showy and bold, the nineteen-room mansion shouts for attention and deserves it. Unable to afford the real thing, Twain had the walls stenciled in the entrance to give the impressive appearance of mother of pearl.

Twain loved improvements. (Life on the Mississippi was the first book written on the typewriting machine.) His red brick home had modern features, including one of the first telephones in Hartford, which he used to harass people. The comfort of seven bathrooms (with flush potties!) may have been his last laugh. No signs of bathrooms have been found. Twain turned his overpriced bed backwards and enjoyed looking at the decorative headboard adorned with carved cherubs. His girls liked unscrewing the ornate angels from the bedposts and using them for play. A gas tube ran from the ceiling lamp to the lamp by his bed-the lamp he used to light his famous cigars. Mark Twain had a famous next-door neighbor, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and her charming house can also be toured.

The Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, is the plain but friendly home of Louisa May Alcott. Admittedly, some mothers and daughters love this home while some fathers and brothers may not be interested. When visiting historical homes one can often find additional history nearby, as in this case. A few minutes from Orchard House is Minute Man National Park. Lexington and Concord is a charming area and an architectural feast for the eye. The homes of the Alcotts' neighbors, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson, are nearby, including the Wayside House, home to three authors: Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Harriet Lothrop (Margaret Sidney).

Originally built in the 1600s, the Orchard House was named for the Alcotts' apple orchards. Looking nearly as it did in the Alcotts' day, mostly original pieces, such as the window desk, decorate the house. Louisa May's father built it-the desk she used to pen Little Women.

Louisa's artist sister May's bedroom features original wall drawings preserved under glass. Additionally, Orchard House housed a school where May taught art. One of her students, Daniel Chester French, went on to create the Lincoln Memorial.

So we have come around in our show and tell tour, back to Lincoln. Unfortunately, we have no room for Robert E. Lee's birthplace, Stratford Hall, the Betsy Ross House, or Jefferson's Monticello. Monticello in the fall offers a next-door apple orchard atop a mountain with a panoramic view not to miss. The discipline of words and time leaves no room for Lucy Maude Montgomery's childhood homes, complete with lakes of shining waters and haunted woods, handmade quilts, Matthew look-alikes, and kindred spirits. These homes and others welcomed us to a world that cannot be found in books. And we hope our show and tell has whetted your appetite to knock upon some old doors.

Marla has accomplished her childhood dream, to be a mommy. She is the mother to seven children, four at home, one on her own, and two with the Lord. Story time is her favorite part of the school day. Simple pleasures such as a good cup of coffee and the first hydrangea bloom are appreciated by her. Admittedly a bit of a homebody, Marla delights in her family (most days!). She is in the tenth year of homeschooling her children, including two with Down syndrome.