We had to say bye to a friend last week. John Campbell, a former Prince Howard neighbor, passed away recently. For those who knew him, you know he was a character. Jo, John’s wife, called to inform me and share her grief about the loss of John, and asked me if I would say a… Read More Notorious John – Oct 2021
We travel 1,200 miles to get out of town, and who follows us? Our neighbors! Stalkers. And where does it go from there? Do they think we want to go out and see beautiful sights, eat lobster, shuck oysters and eat fresh seafood with them? I mean, what’s next. Seriously, we were delighted to have… Read More Out of Town Guests – Sept 2021
The surf on the NH coast has been up for the last two days as a result of some offshore storms, so I took my camera out to catch some of the sights. All of these pictures are from either Hampton, North Hampton or Rye. A few pictures are taken from the end of our… Read More Surf’s Up NH! – Sept 2021
Good morning, class. Good morning, class. Class? Class!? SHUT UP! Thank you. Now Sister Rosetta has informed me that your assignment for the last two months has been to write an essay entitled How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Who would like to read theirs before the class? Young man in the front row, please… Read More Summer of ’21
RUN! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… our kids found us! We have moved three times in the last few years, but they keep tracking us down! Next step… Witness Protection. We had Child Unit 1, Child Unit 2, and their significant others here at the cottage… Read More Invasion of the Child Units! – Aug 2021
For some reason, this weekend at TCPC (Tennessee Cumberland Plateau Campground) in Crossville, TN, made me think of Weekend at Bernie’s. No, there was no embezzlement, heroin overdoses, or mafia hitmen (that I know of!), although there were a few shady characters. But there was a lot of laughing. And the weather couldn’t have been… Read More Weekend at Bernie’s (TCPC) – May 2021
If you have come here for how-to tips, you are treading on thin ice. Our law firm, Weir, Gonnaugh, Gettum, Good advises us not to post advice of any kind. Nonetheless, this post is about converting to a single fuel source for our traveling purposes: propane. And more specifically, our last step – converting our… Read More Propane Generator Conversion – May 2021
Some of you suspect, and some of you know that I may lean towards, shall we say, the far side. But what say you of my bride? Considered Saint Karen by some, she is most often acknowledged as the kind, smart, normal one in our trailer. Well, she is all those things… but wait –… Read More Meow Wolf – Apr 2021
I had never heard of this place, but leave it to my bride to always find really cool places. Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, TX must be one of the biggest state parks in the country, is listed as the second largest canyon in the country, and clearly one of the most interesting… Read More Palo Duro Canyon – Apr 2021
If you are vegan, please stop reading now. You won’t find anything I say or do even slightly amusing or entertaining. You’ll just get the same feeling my wife feels about me. Many years back during a multi-city, multi-day marketing event, a colleague and good friend who shall remain nameless (Brian Giuffrida) nicknamed our marketing… Read More Carnivore Tour – Apr 2021
I’ll get to Goose Island in a second – bear with me. We are headed to see our kids, and we are jazzed! They moved away. Now we go to them. You can run, but you can’t hide from your parents. Our trip to see our son in Denver begins in Atlanta and heads towards… Read More Goose Island – Apr 2021
I believe this is the last of my letters home to my parents from our cross-country trip in 1975, from Boston to Denver (the long way). Some of our experiences from this trip are lost in the rubble, some are reflected in these letters, and some are only vaguely remembered. One such vaguely remembered incident… Read More Road Trip ’75 (part 3) – Mar 2021
Here is part 2 of our road trip from 1975, as portrayed in another letter (from October 1975) written to my parents at the time about our cross-country travels, with my buddy David Trainor. What is amazing is the level of detail In these letters, points which I could only generalize were it not for… Read More Road Trip ’75 (part 2) – Mar 2021
The other day I found an old letter I had written to my parents from a cross country trip I was taking with my good buddy David Trainor in his 1967 Buick Special back in 1975. Think of the letter (below) as a travel blog – before there were blogs… or travel… or intelligent life… Read More Road Trip ’75 – Mar 2021
Crown jewel. That’s what Oscar Shearer is to the Florida State Park system. Located in Osprey, FL (near Venice on the west coast), this is a flat-out great state park, and it really is a beautiful cocoon away from the hustle and bustle. We may not be the only ones who think that – just… Read More Oscar Shearer State Park – Feb. 2021
The new year has started, and, yes, we are out on the road – albeit without any social plans, dinners out, friends, or family until things get better. We pulled the “Get Out of Cold Weather” card, and decided to head to Florida for a few weeks – warm up a bit. I know Georgia… Read More Head’n South – Jan 2021
I thought I’d share a little holiday/Christmas story. Maybe it’s not so little, but there is a treat for you at the end. I won’t be insulted if you skip to the end. But what kind of person does that make you? Probably like me. This story is really about the world-famous (??) Flintlock, a… Read More A Christmas Story – Dec 2020
2020 has been the worst year ever – right? Watching 2020 unfold was like watching porn. First it was titillating, then it felt unseemly, and lastly you got a sinking feeling in the pit in your stomach like you get two minutes after wolfing down a quarter pounder and large fry. No happy ending, so… Read More 2020 in Review – Dec 2020
Thanksgiving won’t be the same this year with Covid; limited or no travel, no big gatherings – I think we all know the list of “not that”. We won’t be with our kids this year – first time ever. Nevertheless, it is a time for thanks! We will be doing a Zoom call with the… Read More Thanksgiving Retro Style – Nov 2020
Any excuse to go see your kids is a great excuse. We didn’t need an excuse, so off to Denver we went, since it was right on our way to… well, Denver. Queue whisper-like Nat Geo voice: “Here you see the Child Unit in its’ native habitat.” We camped at our go-to campground, Cherry Creek… Read More Denver – Oct 2020
Occasionally, one comes across some spectacular event or sighting that stops you in your tracks. This is not that. However, on our trip through the Midwest we came across a few sightings that made us glad we were off the interstate. These (and so many other sightings) make up the rich tapestry of this country… Read More Midwest Corn Musings – Oct 2020
I said to Karen, “Did you know that Sparta, Wisconsin is the bicycling capitol of America?” Duh. It was a layup, right? We all know that. She thinks to herself, what does he know? Less and less as I prove every day. However, there is a billboard on Interstate 90 in Wisconsin that tells you… Read More Bike 4 Trails – Sept 2020
I have posted several “heading west” blog posts over the years. But the truth of the matter is that if you live on the east coast, you inevitably need to, well, head west. I suppose you could go north or south, but really – who does that. Crazy talk. We headed west from New Hampshire… Read More Heading West – Sept 2020
Most people attribute the term “dismal science” to the study of economics, but I maintain it is the study and execution of the game of golf. Summer is winding down and I thought I would capture a few thoughts on one of the activities that, particularly in these strange times, can provide a little outside… Read More Golf: The Dismal Science – Sept 2020
You had to know I would be the one to point out there are meteorological and astronomical ends of summer. “How do you come up with this shit” should your first thought. The mind works in curious ways. So yes, this is the end of the meteorological summer – the 3 months of June, July… Read More End of the Meteorological Summer – Aug 2020
This may be a lot about naught. We are, after all, largely in shutdown mode. Being retired as we are, we have nothing to complain about, given all the unemployment, health, emotional and psychological tolls, and the myriad of issues young families face. But if you wanted to be depressed, you’d simply turn on the… Read More Summer Sequester – Aug 2020
There is something mystical about buying and trying a new meat smoker; a new device to smoke meat, a new technique to improve cooking results. What do you suppose was the genesis of slow cooking? Do you suppose cavemen (cavewomen, cavepeople?) sat around the fire and said, “Hey, let’s smoke this brontosaurus leg low and… Read More New Smoker Ooh-ee-Ooh – June 2020
OK, we weren’t really in Atlanta and we didn’t really go to Boston. But you get the idea – we headed north. In our never-ending search for the perfect climate, we have departed the Atlanta area and have headed north to New England. Nothing says leave Atlanta better than 90+ degree temperatures. Our first stop… Read More ATL to BOS – June 2020
Another year of graduating students! Or was it just another year!?! I believe this year was, shall we say, distinctive. Let’s consider the traditional high school or college graduation ceremony. I won’t lie – I don’t remember a damn thing about my graduation ceremonies. I don’t have pictures of my high school graduation, and my… Read More Graduation Day – May 2020
Since this is (arguably) a travel blog, I thought I might talk about… travel. You can be forgiven if you have already forgotten what “travel” is. Perhaps this is where you queue the Dave Matthews Band, The Space Between… or the Eagles, Taking it Easy. This post in particular is about tweens. No, not teens,… Read More Tweens – May 2020