Surprises along the Hudson River
As we approached New England, we took some serendipitous diversions along the Hudson River : the CIA (training cooks, not spies), Valley Forge, where Washington’s army weathered a challenging winter, and the stately grounds of Hyde Park, FDR’s home where his and...
War and Peace, in Pennsylvania
April 29-30 Gettysburg and Bird-in-Hand, PA Driving through Pennsylvania, we stopped at the Gettysburg battlefield, where Lincoln’s Union army defeated the South in the final turning point of the Civil War. Vicksburg’s 47 days of siege and death still haunted me, from...
To my subscribers…apologies
The email versions of my trip blog are frustrating! They are not up to the standard of what is seen on the actual website, where the Boston-Bound travel blog is actually published. Sorry for the broken links and sideways pictures. The website has the proper views!...
St. Louis Blues
April 24-26 St. Louis, MO We were surprised at how deserted the Mississippi River waterfront was, including the tourist area around the St. Louis Arch. Where was everyone? We found a lovely grassy park and flower garden, and plenty of parking places nearby, along the...
Fighting Commies, in the American Midwest
April 22-23, Abilene, KS to Independence, MO In Abilene, Kansas, we stopped by the Eisenhower Presidential Library to see its version of America. Not only was John curious to see what was there, as the former head of the JFK Presidential Library Foundation, but I...
The World’s Largest Czech Easter Egg … in Kansas!
April 21-22, 2018 Kansas We left the dinosaur tracks behind and headed toward Kansas's Chisholm Trail, stopping at the historic watering holes of Hays and Abilene. This was truly the wild west 150 years ago, when gun-slinging cowboys herded 5 million Texas longhorn...
Hot Springs and Dinosaurs
We recover in the hot springs, cross the Continental Divide, and stumble onto ancient dinosaur tracks.
Desperados and God’s Workshop
April 18-20, Area 54, Zion and Arches national parks At the Nevada casino where we had breakfast, we slipped past the all-night desperados, with cigarettes hanging from their lips, pumping away at the slot machines. We paused out front just long enough to read the...
Finding Your Way in a Hostile World
April 17-18: Death Valley and the Amargosa Opera House As we drove south on Rte 395 and east on 190 through the menacing landscape called Death Valley, we imagined the extraordinary hardships that pioneers, explorers, Mormons and gold rushers endured as they tried to...
Bears and Bowling Balls
April 15-16 We packed up Easy Rider in the 65-degree sunshine at Sanchez St. in the Castro, and savored a final cup of tea, overlooking the hidden garden of our neighbor. We bid goodbye to this fragrant bower with two resident turtle doves, a little green humming...
Heading Home to Boston
We've had an amazing three months in San Francisco and Berkeley, but now that the snows are melting back East, and the boys are swinging their bats, it's time to head home. Easy Rider is tanned, rested and ready. We the drivers, not so much, thanks to a wonderful...
Open Letter to Trump Supporters
Opposing Trump does not mean disrepecting those who are supporting him.
Surprises along the Hudson River
As we approached New England, we took some serendipitous diversions along the Hudson River : the CIA (training cooks, not spies), Valley Forge, where Washington’s army weathered a challenging winter, and the stately grounds of Hyde Park, FDR’s home where his and...
War and Peace, in Pennsylvania
April 29-30 Gettysburg and Bird-in-Hand, PA Driving through Pennsylvania, we stopped at the Gettysburg battlefield, where Lincoln’s Union army defeated the South in the final turning point of the Civil War. Vicksburg’s 47 days of siege and death still haunted me, from...
To my subscribers…apologies
The email versions of my trip blog are frustrating! They are not up to the standard of what is seen on the actual website, where the Boston-Bound travel blog is actually published. Sorry for the broken links and sideways pictures. The website has the proper views!...
St. Louis Blues
April 24-26 St. Louis, MO We were surprised at how deserted the Mississippi River waterfront was, including the tourist area around the St. Louis Arch. Where was everyone? We found a lovely grassy park and flower garden, and plenty of parking places nearby, along the...
Fighting Commies, in the American Midwest
April 22-23, Abilene, KS to Independence, MO In Abilene, Kansas, we stopped by the Eisenhower Presidential Library to see its version of America. Not only was John curious to see what was there, as the former head of the JFK Presidential Library Foundation, but I...
The World’s Largest Czech Easter Egg … in Kansas!
April 21-22, 2018 Kansas We left the dinosaur tracks behind and headed toward Kansas's Chisholm Trail, stopping at the historic watering holes of Hays and Abilene. This was truly the wild west 150 years ago, when gun-slinging cowboys herded 5 million Texas longhorn...
Hot Springs and Dinosaurs
We recover in the hot springs, cross the Continental Divide, and stumble onto ancient dinosaur tracks.
And So It Ends…
Jan. 15 Salinas to San Francisco We surprised ourselves by skipping our beloved Monterey aquarium, and setting off instead to see something new: the John Steinbeck center in Salinas. Here on display was Rocinante--his Travels With Charley camper--and other mementos of...
California Follies
Jan. 13-14: Pioneertown and Hearst’s Enchanted Castle As we left the desert, we couldn’t resist a side trip to Pioneertown, a Wild West film set still popular with tourists. All sorts of Hollywood B movies were made here. Pappy and Harriet’s, the funky café at the...
Wandering Around in the Desert
Jan. 10-13 Twentynine Palms, CA When we had picked this town out on the map, it was mostly because I knew we didn’t want to be in Palm Springs or its neighboring fancy resort towns. This would be an entirely different kind of place, a counterculture oasis. It was...
Snow and The Sun Dagger
Jan. 7-10 Santa Fe and Flagstaff Many of our friends seem to be in various stages of moving to Santa Fe, NM. The brother of one of our close Boston friends is running for Mayor here. Others, who have established themselves already in Santa Fe, participate in the...
Hangings , Helium and Headcolds
Jan. 5-6 From Gainesville, TX to Tucumcari, NM All the sinners from the Bible Belt must have migrated to Texas. As we arrived at our Gainesville B&B at dinner time, John discovered that this town was the site of the largest mass hanging in US history. Forty-two...
A Close Call in the Bible Belt
Jan 5-6 From Natchez, MS to Gainesville, TX Driving through Mississippi and northern Louisiana, we were struck by the economic hardship and lack of public services in Scotlandville, Sugartown and other small rural communities. They seemed to have only God to get them...
New Orleans and Natchez
Jan. 2-5 New Orleans To sweeten our long days in the car, we listened to an audiobook of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. Steinbeck found a way, on his 1960 journey across the country, to ask people about what was going on in America. The issues they worried...
The Frozen Confederacy
We arrive at Vicksburg, where the white South is frozen in time.
A Rock N Roll New Years
Monday Jan. 1, 2018 Day Five: New Year's Eve at Graceland (part two) It turned out that the real New Year’s Eve party was in the lobby, where piano player Rob Haynes was bringing Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles and Elvis back to life. He was banging the keyboard not just...
And So It Begins
“You do not take a trip. The trip takes us.”—John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley Thursday Dec. 28, 2017: Day One: The Cold Start: We left Boston on this bright sunny Thursday morning, hoping to say goodbye as quickly as possible to its temperature: only 6 degrees F....
Road Trip: The Plan
We are driving across America! As 2018 begins, we will be starting in snowy Boston and heading West to San Francisco. Along the way we hope to learn more about current state of our beautiful, embattled and deeply divided country. Begin Here!