Hello Everyone! It’s hard to believe another week has passed here in the Great Lakes State. They really seem to be flying by and while I am seeing and doing a lot, the time is really moving. I’ve finally crossed the 45th Parallel (midway between the equator and the North Pole) for the final time here in Michigan and am only heading north from here. I spent a little more time than I would have liked to have in Traverse City this week, but it was a nice town and I was able to catch up on some work. I finished another episode of my podcast (out now – listen to it here or by searching “American Anthology” wherever you get your podcasts), which is always a bit of a chore even if it’s something I really enjoy doing. I also spent a night out on far-flung Beaver Island, Lake Michigan’s largest island and an interesting place to visit. The weather has been holding up pretty well, but we’ve had some hazy days here which hasn’t made for the best photography conditions. All in all, it’s been a pretty good week on the road.
When last I wrote, I had just arrived in Traverse City. Traverse City is a very pleasant town with a good variety of services which allowed me to get some work done. In addition to the library which had good internet access, they also had a gym to shower at and plenty of shops to restock my supplies. On Thursday night, after I finished up last week’s This Week, I headed out to the Traverse City Pit-Spitters baseball game. The Pit-Spitters are a part of the Northwoods League which is a summer league for college players. The game was a lot of fun and it was $2 beer and hotdog night which you really can’t go wrong with. I also have to applaud whatever genius came up with the name “Pit-Spitters” because I absolutely had to buy a t-shirt at the game. And the Pit-Spitters won, so that made it even better.
On Friday morning I toured the old Michigan State Asylum in Traverse City. At $30 for a ticket, it was a bit pricey for a walking tour, but it was really good and I would say definitely worth it. Our guide grew up in the area and had several connections to the hospital when it was still active (which it was until the 1980s). He intertwined his personal stories in with the history of the building and what they accomplished there. The central idea by which they operated was “beauty is therapy”, which meant that the campus was full of ponds and flowers and walking trails and the buildings had big windows to let in plenty of sun and it was well appointed with nice furniture and plenty of art. Patients were expected to work, and the hospital was self-sustaining for much of its early existence, producing enough food that there was a surplus which was sold to the local community. When the hospital officially closed, the community banded together to save it from being demolished. Today the campus is getting a second life as a mixed-use complex with condos, restaurants, studios and low-income housing. The whole place was really cool and definitely worth seeing. After my tour, I enjoyed a nice lunch in one of the restaurants there. When I finished at the hospital, I embarked on an afternoon drive up the Old Mission Peninsula which took me to the Old Mission Lighthouse and past some wonderful farm stands and wineries. They’re coming to the very end of the cherry season here in Michigan, and it’s been great to eat so many cherries and taste different varieties. I’m probably about cherried out though. Heading back in Traverse City, I went to a nice winery just outside of town for some live music and a few glasses of wine and to finish writing the last bits of my podcast.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this series I’ve chosen one picture per post which brings out strong memories for me and has a story attached to it. This picture is of the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California, the place I first watched the sun set into the Pacific.
I was as far from home as I’d ever been.
When I went to college, my goal was to work for the National Park Service. My major was Wildlife and Fishery Science with a minor in American History. I spent five years working on two degrees to prepare myself for my career, but in the days of the infancy of the internet I really didn’t know what that career would entail. While there, I worked in the banquet department at a beautiful resort hotel and golf course and made pretty decent money for a college kid. I was, therefore, pretty disappointed when I started looking for a real job only to find that the only Park Service jobs available to me were 3 month temporary positions in parks I’d never heard of making $8 an hour. I couldn’t believe it – after five years of good grades and two degrees from an excellent institution I was only going to make $8 an hour? That was significantly less than I was making in my current job. And in three months I’d have to start all over again?
I decided to think on it for a while and headed to my summer home of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In my first “real world” lesson, I had to sign to a one-year lease to get a decent place to live, and went back to work at the restaurant I had worked at the previous two summers. Over the next year I worked a lot, drank too much and made some really good friends, some of whom are still my friends today, but didn’t make a lot of progress towards any career goals. I’d like to say it was fun, but looking back it just seemed like it was at the time. There were some great days, but life after college was supposed to be different.
After a year of spinning my wheels I found myself no further ahead than I had been when I arrived. I cut my losses, packed up my bags and headed north. I went back to Pennsylvania for a while, and then headed to Ocean City, Maryland for a few days to see what the work climate was like there. Nothing seemed to be working out, so I finally gave up and heading home to D.C
Hello everyone, I hope y’all are having a nice week out there wherever you are. March is upon us and I’m loving the warmer weather and longer days. Flowers are popping up, the clouds are clearing and spring is definitely in the air here in Texas. This week has brought me through some fascinating parts of East Texas as I begin my exploration of the Lone Star State.
After I signed off last week, I did indeed make my way out to Rutherford Beach in far southwest Louisiana. It’s not a beautiful beach, but the waves are nice to listen to, it’s quiet and nobody bothers you out there. The camping is free and you can stay as long as you want. I’ve been there before and was really looking forward to a day on the beach to relax, read, plan and give Shadow Catcher a good cleaning. It was definitely a wonderful place to be for a couple of nights and I left feeling refreshed and ready to go. Rutherford Beach is also as far west as this journey has taken me so far so it was a good place to sit and reflect back on the last couple of years and prepare to set off in a new direction: west to the Pacific.
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas from me! I feel very fortunate to be home for the holidays this year and happy to celebrate with friends and family. I’ve got two new babies in my close friends network, so it has been amazing to see them start out on their journeys. I also had a great opportunity to go visit my brother for a week in New Hampshire and see his beautiful new home. We got two feet of snow when I was there, so I have gotten my shoveling in for the year. With any luck I’ll be very far south of where I am now before any more snow hits. It was truly beautiful and amazing to see, but I also remember why I tend to avoid the cold weather.
I’ve been home for a little over a month now and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m catching up on all the things that I need to do before setting out again. I’ve been to the doctor and the dentist, seen a lot of old friends and gotten to catch up with my family and help out around the house. I’ve also been hard at work on all of my projects and am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. You can check out these updated photo galleries to see some of the progress I’ve been making:
Long time, no see. Today marks the 2nd anniversary of me setting off in my van towards Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and the beginning of my life’s greatest adventure. The next 18 months brought me to 10 states which I explored in great depth, trying to gain a better understanding of the people, culture and history that make each special and unique. I was able to travel thousands of miles, take tens of thousands of photos, record 20 episodes of my podcast American Anthology and generally get a better understanding of my country and myself. It was by no means a vacation, nor was it an easy ride. I found myself working long days trying to publish on this blog as frequently as I could while constantly researching my next podcast episode, trying to eat well and get enough exercise and have a little bit of fun along the way. I battled deadlines, weather, loneliness and serious bouts with depression and self-doubt. But I came out the other side a better person with a better understanding of myself and the country I call home. Looking back, it was a hell of a ride.
After 18 months alone on the road, it was time to take a break. While not gone, my savings were seriously depleted as I hadn’t been able to make as much money as I had hoped while on the road. In addition, I desperately needed some conversation and companionship - something more than the fleeting conversation of a roadside tavern could provide. I found during my 18 month stretch that it was often harder to stop and see friends than it should have been - that while it was always wonderful and joyful to catch up with them, it sometimes brought me back lower than I had been when I arrived at the thought of being on my own again. It was almost as if sharing time with my friends reminded me of just how lonely the open road is. I think anyone who has done some any long-term solo travel would agree with that. It’s not the external world that gets you, but the one that revolves solely within your own head.
I’m home, y’all! I pulled up in front of the house my great-grandparents built here in Northwest Washington D.C. late last Friday night. Shadow Catcher did well on the 9 hour drive, as it has throughout this journey, and now she can take a nice, long, well deserved rest. My van will be staying here for a few months and enjoying the summer, although I myself will not be. I will keep traveling. That’s who I am and what I do. I don’t really know anything but anymore, and I don’t necessarily care to. My life is on the road and to the road I will return in a few weeks, albeit a different road on a different trajectory. This is the end of this leg of this particular journey, not the end of my travels, my adventures, my photography or this blog. Think of it as a season finale, not a series finale. I do want to take some time in this post to reflect back on the last year and a half and to look forward at what comes next. Before I do, though, I want to say an enormous thank you to those of you who have come along for the ride. Whether you’ve been with me from the start or you’ve only just joined me I appreciate every single one of you and your support over the course of this journey. I hope along the way I’ve been able to inspire you and show you places you’ve never been or perhaps those you have in a different light. I hope I’ve been able to bring a little joy into your lives, a little beauty, a little color, a little light. If I have, then I will call this whole thing a success. Thank you for being a part of this trip.
After leaving you last week, I had a few more adventures before I packed it up and headed north though, and it would be tragic to leave them out of this post. That afternoon I went out to High Falls Park near Geraldine, Alabama, and what a wonderful place that was to visit. It was a beautiful county park with a magnificent waterfall, a pleasant beach, a bridge over the river, hiking trails and a picnic area. It was a magnificent spring day and when I got there I fell in love with the place and stayed until the park closed. I swam and got some sun and read and enjoyed the sound of the falls and the warmth on my face. I returned to Fort Payne in the evening and took a few photos around town in the fading daylight before calling it a day…
Hello everyone! It’s starting to get warm here in Alabama which means it’s about time for me to start heading north. And I guess I have! It’s been a great week here in Northern Alabama which started with music and history in The Shoals and is ending in the beauty of nature in Little River Canyon. I’ve jammed out in FAME Studios, been moved by the actions of the Freedom Riders and swam in a clear mountain river. This has been my last full week here in Alabama, and it’s about time to turn my headlights towards home for a while. I must say that Alabama has been one pleasant surprise after another. It’s clean, friendly and I’ve had a great time here. Whatever preconceived ideas I had or stereotypes I bought into have, as they have everywhere else, been shattered by the time I’ve spent here. And that’s really been the point of this whole trip - to see things with my own eyes and interpret them with my own mind and heart and come away with my own understanding. And it’s been amazing.
After I posted last week’s This Week, I worked until the library closed at 7, trying to get some photos edited and published and a few other things done. Afterwards, I went to downtown Florence and had a nice walk around the city and took some photos. Then, in the mood for some live music, I went and saw Katlyn Barnes sing at The Boiler Room in the basement of The Stricklin Hotel. The show was good and Katlyn really has a soulful voice and personality. When she was done, I headed out to Swampers Bar and Grille at the Florence Marriott to see Hank Erwin play. They’ve done a really great job with this bar which is full of old guitars, photos and memorabilia from the glory days of Muscle Shoals. Hank was great and this was a good place to round out my evening…
It’s been another great week out here on the road, despite Mother Nature trying her best to put a damper on things. The weather has been getting significantly colder, and we’ve gotten quite a bit of rain. Winter weather advisories are starting to kick in which is definitely my sign that it’s time to turn my headlights south for the winter. It was great to be around friends and family for much of the last week, as it was a much needed recharge on my spirit batteries. My last week in Kentucky will be my last week in Kentucky for the moment. I spent most of it in the lovely Kentucky State Parks, and then wound down through Appalachia and Coal Country to the Cumberland Gap where I find it fitting that I will leave Kentucky the way early explorers first entered the area.. Despite the weather closing in, it really has been a wonderful week.
My week started where my last week ended, in Charleston, West Virginia at my dad’s place. It was nice to be off the road for a few days, clean up and fix a few things, get some work done and just spend some time with my family. The weather wasn’t great, but we did get out for dinner one night at a place called Bricks and Barrels. It was amazing and nice to go for a great meal with my dad.
Ohio. The Buckeye State. A state it seems most people know very little about other than it’s out there in the middle somewhere. I’ve spent much of the summer in Ohio and come away with an intensely different opinion of it than I went in with. It’s a transition state – it connects the east to the west, the Great Lakes to the interior, the Midwest to Appalachia. It’s also a state steeped in history. In the years following the Civil War, it was the third most populous state in the country. During that time, seven of our presidents came out of Ohio, making them second only to Virginia in that regard. Besides presidents, Ohio has given us many legendary Americans. William Tecumseh Sherman, George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Edison, Neil Armstrong, Toni Morrison, Steven Spielberg, Jesse Owens and Cy Young are just a few Ohioans who come to mind who grew up to leave their mark on the country and the world. In the past, when someone told me they were from Ohio, it just passes out of my mind as somewhere in generic Middle America. I didn’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other so I would quickly move past it and forget it. I’m here to tell you I had the wrong idea about Ohio. After six solid weeks of traveling around the state I can tell you it’s a fascinating, welcoming, diverse state with tons to offer and a generally agreeable climate to offer it in. In my travels, I’ve come to think of it as “The Deep South of the Midwest” – a hidden gem and a crossroads which shouldn’t be overlooked.
