Another notch in the belt of spending our kids’ inheritance… we recently arrived for the coveted Airstream service appointment at the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, OH. I delight in explaining to people that over the years we have almost single handedly paid for their new manufacturing facilities. And as you might expect, this place… Read More Airstream Service – May 2023
Yesseree! Child Unit 2 (you may know him as Drew) has gotten hitched! Drew met Rachel Bolin, his betrothed, at a conference several years ago and pretty much they became a thing. First things first, for this post you don’t need to be Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz to figure out who took which photos,… Read More Child Unit 2 Marries! – Nov 2022
If for some reason you are headed west from New England on I-90 and I-80 towards Denver, this post might be mildly interesting. If not, don’t say I didn’t warn you. We are spending most of our time on this part of our trip on interstate highways, which is not our usual MO. We are headed… Read More Heading West – Aug 2022
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
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
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
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
It doesn’t seem possible, but at the end of this month (technically a month later for Karen) we will have been retired for 5 years! What the hell have we done? Retirement, for those uninitiated, is when you shovel your driveway down to bare pavement two hours after a major storm. Being anal retentive helps. Retirement is… Read More 5 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2019
Imagine if you will – crossing the state of Nebraska (you know, the corn husker state). This will not be a photo expose; rather, you’re going to have to use your imagination. Imagine driving for hours (days really) and seeing rolling corn fields, train tracks running parallel to the road, and massive farm cooperative… Read More Nebraska – July 2018
We have made our way across Kansas and we have come to appreciate Kansas. Often considered a “fly-over” state, this is a really pretty state – we enjoyed it as a “drive-over” state! We have avoided interstates as much as possible, and have held largely to secondary state and county roads. Most of our roads… Read More Kansas – June 2018
Kansas City Chiefs. Is that a Kansas football team… or a Missouri team? I thought Nurse Karen was going to call a Code as a result of too much BBQ in Kansas City. Yes, we may have pushed the limits on BBQ in this town, but oh so good! Tomorrow it’s vegan for me. That’s a… Read More Kansas City – June 2018
As mentioned previously, we are headed west, the first meaningful stop being to visit our son (the poor thing) in Denver. From there we will head further west to Santa Barbara to torment the daughter of one of my best friends at her wedding. We headed west from our highly regarded (by me only) escapade… Read More Heading West – May 2018
She thinks my tractor’s sexy. Those were the lyrics I was thinking about as I started to write this post. What can I tell you. So I said this post was about Ohio. I lied a little bit. This trip started in Romeo, Michigan, where I went to the manufacturing location for the Hensley Hitch… Read More Ohio – Nov 2017
Define middle. I’m going out on a limb here and say, well, it isn’t on the ends, it isn’t on the top or the bottom… It’s kind of like, in… the middle. I know what you are thinking… corn. But the “middle” is way more than corn. Here are but a few of our experiences… Read More Middle America – Sept 2017
Ever watch one of those National Geographic wildlife films? The images that come to my mind are the mountain lion racing down a poor isolated elk, and a buffalo stampeding on some hapless mountain lion. Mountain lions need a better agent.. Not to go off on a technical rant, but buffalos are found only in… Read More Theodore Roosevelt NP – May 2017
Defining moments. Life is about defining moments. As both of my readers know, we are on our way to Alaska. I have dreaded making this blog a blow-by-blow account of our stops and stays along the way. You know, on Tuesday night we ordered Mexican and Wednesday we drove with the windows down. Fear not.… Read More Michigan, ND – May 2017
In the scheme of things, luck was the least significant contributor. Child Unit 2, otherwise known as our son Drew, just graduated Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering! He chose to stretch himself, put himself into a completely foreign environment over 1,100 miles away from home, in… Read More Child Unit 2 Graduates! – Apr 2017
I fully realize looking at someone else’s photos might be close to torture, but none-the-less I put together some of my favorites from our travels in 2016. For me the criteria for choosing these photos was simple: does the photo stir an emotion, trigger a cool memory, or just put a smile on my face.… Read More Favorite 2016 Photos
The National Park Service was created this month in 1916, one hundred years ago, “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”, and… Read More National Park Service 100th Anniversary – Aug 2016
Did Drew escape to the Great White North never to be heard from again? Well, sort of. Truth is, Child Unit 2 has fallen in love with the UP. Upper Peninsula, that is. Michigan. Lake Superior. We are talking north of the 47th parallel, so it is closer to Santa’s workshop than it is to… Read More Houghton, MI – June 2016
Needing to bring our Airstream in for service at the Airstream “mother ship” in Jackson Center, OH and pulling into the Terraport (campsites at the factory), who greets me but friends Terry, Annie and Joe! We open a cold beer, set up Thor – Cauldron of Death for a campfire, and relax. And, we met… Read More A Week in Ohio – Sept 2015
We are nothing if not flexible. With an original plan for Karen to ride RAGBRAI (Rgisster’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), with participation from both kids early in the ride, plans changed. Karen with a lower back pain still unhealed, Michela with a new back pain, Drew with a cancelled flight… yikes! We yanked… Read More RAGBRAI (IA) – July 2015
Quick post: On the way to Sioux City, we stopped in Kansas City at Joe’s KC BBQ (as recommended by one of our neighbors). Good call!!! Joe’s is off the beaten path and located in a gas station, so I don’t think you’d go there unless someone recommended it. They had unbelievable brisket, beans, pork… Read More KC BBQ – July 2015
ROBERTS PARTY OF 4 TO SIOUX CITY! (Harken back to the iconic Hilltop Restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, MA). The Roberts family is about to head to the real Sioux City in Iowa to participate in RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), starting next weekend. RAGBRAI, with 8,500 participants, starts in Sioux… Read More Heading to Sioux City – July 2015