Northampton, England 2019 This may be the oldest gravestone in Britain, dating to the 13th century. When the Jews were expelled in 1290, their cemeteries were looted; six centuries later, this marker was found in the rubble of an old house. www.nytimes.com/.../medieval.... richardrubinwriter.com

Arracourt, France 2014 You could build a new deck, I suppose, and stain and weatherproof it every few years; or you could just re-purpose a German #WWI bunker. Your call. richardrubinwriter.com

Spokane, WA 2004 Perhaps the most intriguing ghost sign I've ever come across. I wonder if it's still there. richardrubinwriter.com

If you go to the "Geographical Center of North America," chances are youi'll meet some memorable people there. When I went for @nytimes.com , I met three members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. (Four if you count Little Frank.) www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/t... richardrubinwriter.com

St. John, NB 2015. It was in St. John that I first learned Canadians are not, in fact, more polite than we are in the US; here we have the tact to refer to certain cheeses as "aged." You can read my @nytimes.com piece on St. John here: www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/t... richardrubinwriter.com

Stone County, Arkansas 2023. Blanchard Springs Caverns, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, was a side trip while reporting this @nytimes.com article on the little town of Mountain View, AR. I tried to describe it, but words failed me. www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/t... richardrubinwriter.com

Cap-de-Madeleine, Quebec, 2022. After many years of just looking at Canada's remote Gaspe peninsula on maps, I finally went there, learned the tragic backstory behind its many charming lighthouses, and then wrote about it for @nytimes.com : www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/t... richardrubinwriter.com

Jews Court, Lincoln, England 2019. Medieval Lincoln's Jewish community had its synagogue here before King Edward I expelled them from the country, along with the rest of England's Jews, in 1290. Today it's back. I visited for @nytimes.com : www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/t... richardrubinwriter.com

Bowbells, ND 2005. Bowbells was one of many once-thriving but rapidly-shrinking towns I visited in North Dakota while reporting this story for @nytimes : www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/m... I would be curious to hear how Bowbells is doing these days, if anyone can tell me. richardrubinwriter.com

Not sure why, but for some reason I've been thinking about Mississippi a lot recently. So much there fires my imagination and always has, like Louise, whom I first came across in 1988, and who was a big reason I pitched this piece to @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/t...

We should all enjoy our work as much as whoever shelves the books at my local Goodwill.

In early 1918 John Russell Elliott of Bangor, Maine wrote his name on a wall of an underground shelter in France. It's still there. Pvt. Elliott was killed on the last full day of the war, November 10, 1918. He was 18 years old. For more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKrW... richardrubinwriter.com

Douaumont Ossuary, Douaumont, France 2015. The ossuary contains the bones of more than 130,000 unidentified French and German soldiers killed at the Battle of Verdun. In all, more than 300,000 men were killed at Verdun in 1916; their remains are still being uncovered. richardrubinwriter.com

British World War I cemetery, Longueval, France 2015. richardrubinwriter.com

German World War I cemetery, Veslud, France 2015. richardrubinwriter.com

This is one of the eeriest historical markers I've ever come across. It's in Schuylerville, NY, part of the 1777 Saratoga battlefield. You can read my @nytimes.com piece on Revolutionary War sites, in commemoration of America's 250th, here: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/t... richardrubinwriter.com

Does the price of gas have you rethinking that summer road trip? I took @amtrak.com from Chicago to Seattle and back for @nytimes.com, saw the country and met lots of people, including a guy who *really* likes his cider. Read about it here: www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/t... richardrubinwriter.com

One of the places I stopped at for 24 hours on my @amtrak.com Empire Builder odyssey for @nytimes.com was Sandpoint, Idaho, on Lake Pend Oreille, so deep the Navy tests stealth submarines in it. It's Amtrak's only stop in Idaho. To read more: www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/t... richardrubinwriter.com

I spotted this trippy sculpture of Henry Knox's Noble Train of Artillery in a little pocket park off Route 4 outside Schuylerville, NY. You can read my @nytimes.com article about the Knox Trail here: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/t... For more, check out richardrubinwriter.com