When we decided to spend a whole month in my hometown on the East End of Long Island I was confident that we’d be able to fit in a visit to New York City. I lived in the city my whole adult life since starting my freshman year at NYU in 1990 (so, so long ago),…
Hometown Visit: Family, Friends, Lobster, and Clams on Eastern Long Island
As we gradually made our way toward the East Coast we kept our itinerary loose, with one date in mind: July 28 for Lobsterfest in my hometown of Southold on Long Island, NY. Since Rita’s first bite of lobster at age 6, she declared that it was her favorite food. The name alone for this…
East Coast History, Humidity, Family, and a Flat Tire
Taking the dogs out for a walk our first morning in Massachusetts, I was struck by the fragrance and peaceful beauty of the towering pine trees surrounding us at our new campground. I also had a renewed appreciation for the escort and assistance backing into our narrow campsite after arriving in the dark the night…
The Adirondacks, Lake Champlain, and Our First Breakdown
After our stay in the 1000 Islands we headed east from Lake Ontario, towards the Adirondacks and Vermont. We found a campsite in Lyon Mountain, NY that happened to have a cell tower on the premises. High speed connection in a remote setting, a super nice owner, spacious site with panoramic views over rolling hills…
Exploring the Empire State
Even though I grew up on Long Island, I haven’t spent much time in the vast expanse of Upstate New York. I’m familiar with many of the names – Plattsburg, Oswego, Oneonta, Geneseo, Cortland, etc – not from knowing anything about the towns themselves but from their associated SUNY (State University of New York) schools…
The Ups and Downs of Planning on the Fly
After lingering in Northern Michigan we decided to make up time by driving over 200 miles across the state to get to New York through Canada. Similar to when we went to Mexico to go to the dentist, passports are not required for crossing into Canada and back by road; since we don’t yet have…
The Great Lakes, The Fonz, More Bald Eagles, and New Friends
I was really looking forward to spending some time near the Great Lakes. Even though we told Rita and Charlie that these lakes are so big they look like seas, they still couldn’t believe it when they laid eyes on Lake Michigan. Our first visit to Bradford Beach in Milwaukee was ideal: the sun shining,…
The Mighty Mississippi, Bald Eagles, and The Mall of America
Our first stop after crossing into Minnesota from South Dakota was Pipestone National Monument, one of the most unique Monuments we’ve visited. “Pipestone” refers to a red stone that is considered sacred by some Native American tribes and been quarried for centuries to make ceremonial pipes. Pipestone, or a similar type of stone, can be…
South Dakota Dreaming
Compared to Nebraska, I felt more familiar with what we expected to see in South Dakota: the Black Hills, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the tourist attraction landmark of Wall Drug. Our expectations were exceeded: the beauty of the Black Hills, small towns with rich history, so much more to see…
Nebraska Was So Great It Gets Its Own Post
We’re in Minnesota now, at an RV park outside of Minneapolis. It’s raining. We had a brief respite, and I got to meet up with a good friend who brought me and the kids to an awesome bakery and even better bookstore, but it’s supposed to rain for the next couple days. On Thursday we…
Neales...on wheels! 