Viewing entries in
van life

This Week on the Road - July 8th-14th

Comment

This Week on the Road - July 8th-14th

Hello Everyone! Well I’m a day late and a dollar short, but what else is new? It’s been an amazing week out here on the west coast of Michigan, probably the best so far. I just got back from a wonderful 3 day, 2 night stay on lovely South Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and was hoping I would have time to get my newsletter done last night, but I was simply too tired and couldn’t get to it until today. Better late than never, though, and it was definitely worth the delay! It’s been such a busy week that it’s hard to imagine it all happened in one week, but that’s how it is sometimes. Before I get into the details of the week though, I’ve had some things come into my head this week and thought I’d share them here.

The first came from an old college friend from Penn State this week. He is on vacation with his family and wrote on Facebook about an 850+ mile day they had driving across several states. I simply can’t imagine doing that on a vacation – I’ve done it in my professional life as a tour bus driver, but never with passengers on board – and it was never a good time. I know I have another college friend and his family who are on a 14 day trip from New Orleans to California which is a little more reasonable but still a lot of miles for a family to cover. As you know, I’m obviously a fan of slow travel and smaller destinations, but I bring these up for a couple of reasons. First, because Americans put up with way too little vacation time, forcing these ridiculous cross-country sprints to try and make the most of what little time people have. I don’t know if people have any idea that much of the developed world has a minimum (by law) of 6 weeks’ paid vacation. Americans work too much and I wish they had more time off to enjoy this wonderful country and all it has to offer. With the decline of unions and our politicians in the back pockets of big businesses on whom they depend for campaign dollars, nobody is advocating for workers in the U.S. right now. My hope is that the current scramble for employees might turn that trend, even just a little bit. 10 days off a year is simply not enough to recharge your batteries, especially if you want to go see something during your time off. I wish this situation was different.

The second came from an old high school friend of mine, but was along a similar line. He posted something vague and somewhat worrisome this week about reaching the end of his rope. As I always try to do when it seems like someone is calling into the darkness for help, I sent him a private message with my phone number in case he really had nobody to talk to. We haven’t been in touch much since graduating from high school, now over 25 years ago, but he’s still a friend and someone I share a common past with. After I reached out, he sent me a message saying he wanted to come ride around with me for a while. I told him to come on up to Michigan and we’d go have some fun and catch up and he could get out of town for a while and clear his head. I don’t think he’s going to come, of course (although he’d be welcomed if he did), but it’s nice that I can give him something else to think about – an escape from the demons in his head right now. He was basically telling me he was overworked and underpaid and the day-in and day-out of it was really starting to wear on him. Again, I think if he had some time to get away and clear his head at some point during the year, he might not be in the mental state he is in now. I know in this country we hear about how “America is the greatest country in the world” all the time, but the people that shout that the loudest are usually those who haven’t spent a lot of time outside of the U.S. I love this country and most of the people in it for many reasons, but how our companies treat their workers isn’t one of them. When people ask me when I’m going to get a “real job”, I often tell them when I am offered a decent salary and a month’s vacation and I’m not kidding about that. I know a lot of people have to work these hours in these jobs and have families to support, and I definitely understand, but I’m still incredibly sympathetic as to how hard it is to work and do anything else. From watching your health to enjoying a hobby or taking a real vacation somewhere, it’s incredibly difficult to do when you’re overwhelmed by work all the time. We may have a tremendous GDP, but the quality of life of the average American could definitely be improved upon. Okay, enough of that…

When I left off last week, I was in Holland, Michigan and headed north. I made my way out to Grand Rapids for two days, but was very unimpressed by it. I tried. I tried really hard to find what the big deal is about it. After 2 days, I decided it wasn’t there to be found and I took off. I did run a permanent orienteering course about 20 minutes out of town at Siedman Park which I enjoyed. The mosquitoes ate me alive, but I loved exploring the park with my map and compass and tracking down the markers in the woods. I also enjoyed visiting the Founders Brewery while I was in Grand Rapids as well. It was the first big brewery I’ve been to in a while and definitely one of Michigan’s most widely known. I didn’t get into the brewery itself, although I could see it through the windows and smell it from the vents, but they had a nice taproom on the premises which was great. I love visiting breweries which I know and trying the beers that don’t make it out to the mass market. I can definitely report that those guys know what they’re doing and their small-batch brews are as good as their mass-produced ones, or better. Another highlight of my time in Grand Rapids was a little tiki bar called Max’s South Seas Hideaway which was an authentic tiki bar and very well put together. The atmosphere was perfect, the staff was great and their cocktails were pretty spot-on. I finished my month in Hawaii two years ago this week, so it was nice to sit at Max’s and think about those wonderful days in the South Pacific. Beyond those wonderful spots, I found Grand Rapids drab and lifeless and desperately in need of some beautification. The region it is in is amazing, and as a base of operations to work from, I can see the appeal. As a city though, it was less than impressive.

Comment

This Week on the Road - July 1st-7th

Comment

This Week on the Road - July 1st-7th

Hello Everyone. It’s been another great week on the road out here in southwestern Michigan. I had to slow down a bit because of the holiday weekend, but it’s been nice to spend some time at the beach and to have some quiet time to catch up on some work. The beaches on the shores of Lake Michigan are beautiful, and the temperature has been perfect to enjoy them without getting too hot. The water is a little chilly, but it’ll sure wake you up if you jump into it. It’s been great to see some of the beautiful lighthouses out here as well and wander through some cute little towns. Most of the 4th of July celebrations in the area were cancelled due to Covid, which was understandable but also a shame. It’s definitely been a crowded week as well and I’d just as soon avoid the crowds, so I’ve been laying lower than usual this weekl. All-in-all it’s been a good week, though, and I’m still enjoying my time in Michigan. I should probably be moving a little bit quicker than I am, but my goal is to stay happy and healthy and not wear myself out so on that front, I’m doing well. Shadow Catcher is also doing well and while I need to replace the city water connection (which I just had replaced a few months ago), that seems to be the only issue at the moment which is great.

When I left you last week, I was on my way to the Gilmore Car Museum in Richland, one of the premier automotive museums in the country, and it did not disappoint. It was clear from the minute I walked into the first exhibit that this was a museum designed and built by genuine car enthusiasts. That first exhibit was on the evolution of the Corvette from a concept car (one of which was a station wagon!) into one of the most notorious American sports cars in history. From there I went on a somewhat chronological tour through cars of different decades from the early days through to the 70s, after which cars lost all style and excitement. There were also outbuildings with different collections and themes and even an old diner brought to the museum from Connecticut. One of the coolest items was a mock-up of a Ford Model A cockpit which walked you through the steps of how to get it started. I giggled with glee and did it three times in a row (nobody was waiting or watching). I spent about 4 hours at the museum and after it closed, tons of classic cars started pouring in for some kind of event. I just enjoyed standing in the parking lot and watching them go past.

From there, I headed back to Kalamazoo and straight to the Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café. I’ve been a lover of Bell’s beer for many years now and was excited to try some of their brews that don’t make it out of their backyard. I put Bell’s right up there with Dogfish Head as one of the absolute best and most consistent breweries in the country. They didn’t disappoint and I enjoyed a few beers in their back garden while I was there. I wandered around downtown for a bit and ended up stopping in the only other brewery that was open on a Wednesday night, which was Final Gravity. Their beer was truly terrible, but the bartender was both a fellow Penn Stater and a fellow former teacher, so I really enjoyed chatting with him over my barely palatable beer. It was definitely nice to have someone to talk with for a while…

Comment

This Week on the Road - June 23rd-30th

Comment

This Week on the Road - June 23rd-30th

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer so far and are getting out and enjoying yourselves wherever you are. 2020 into 2021 was such a long year and a half and while I know we’re not out of the woods with the coronavirus yet, it is really nice to be vaccinated and on the road again. I can’t believe that I’ve been gone almost a month – it really has been flying by out here. This week wasn’t very eventful. I spent a good chunk of it in Lansing, waiting to get Shadow Catcher’s transmission fixed and hanging out with my friend, Eric. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much accomplished this week work-wise so I feel like I’ve fallen behind, but I am trying to catch up. I am going to try and buckle down a bit so I can get all of my photos edited and published this week as I make my way out to the coast and up along shores of Lake Michigan.

After finishing up last week in Flint, I headed down to Lansing and met up with my friend, Eric. Eric and I were both teachers in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We interviewed together, trained together and while we went to work at different schools, we were often together for work and after work as well. Since we both left New Orleans it’s been hard to catch up with him in person. I saw him a couple of years ago when I came up to Lansing for his office’s Grand Opening, but that was a busy day and we didn’t get to catch up much. I really enjoyed getting to spend a few days with him this week, even though it wasn’t under the best of circumstances. Eric’s friend’s 16 year-old son had just been shot and killed last week while downtown in a park. He was an athlete and a good young man who just found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I went with Eric to the young man’s repast, which was hard even though I didn’t know him, but was definitely organized as a celebration of his life. Eric had lost two other friends who were closer to our age in the last couple of weeks as well, both due to health issues. Over the four days I was in Lansing, a steady stream of people came through their house and it was great to meet so many of his friends, even under those circumstances. I was glad to be there to help support Eric through his grief. Sometimes I feel like I am exactly where I’m supposed to be, exactly when I’m supposed to be there, and this weekend definitely felt like that.

Compared to what was going on in Eric’s life, my van issues were certainly less important, but they did need to get resolved. I had ordered new house batteries for my van to be shipped to Eric’s place and they were there when I got there. Most smaller items I can pick up at an Amazon Locker, but these were too big and heavy and I was very grateful to have somewhere where they could be delivered. There are very few places in the country where I’m more than a day’s drive from a friend and for that, I’m eternally grateful. It took me about an hour to switch them out, and I am so happy to have fully charged and functional batteries again. Eric also had a friend named James who could take a look at my transmission. As you may know, I’m not a huge fan of getting van work done when I’m out here, but it’s definitely inevitable with an older van. Of course new cars and vans break down as well and are usually more expensive to fix, so there’s that too. Bringing in a vehicle with out-of-state plates can bring out the worst in a mechanic who knows you’re vulnerable, so having a personal recommendation really makes a big difference. That and the fact that I could hang out at Eric’s place while the work was being done and not have to sit there all day was also a good thing. James seemed like a really good guy and a good mechanic, and the problem turned out to be just a leaky gasket which was what I had suspected all along. While he had the pan off, he replaced the filter and fluid and it should be good to go for another 80,000 miles or so (at least as far as the transmission is concerned). It’s a huge relief to have those two issues sorted out and I’m very grateful to Eric and his wife, Wendy, for all of their help this weekend.

I did get out to see a little bit of Lansing while I was there. I toured the State Capitol which is definitely something I have tried to do in every state I’ve been to and was lucky enough to get a private tour from the lead guide. I wandered around downtown a bit to see the Lansing Lugnuts’ stadium and Lansing Brewery and definitely ate at some pretty good restaurants as well. Mostly, however, it was about spending time with Eric and getting my van ready to roll again. I got to meet his grandson, Legend, while I was there. Legend is 2 and is such a cute and sweet little boy. We had fun playing together and twirling in circles and I definitely enjoyed spending time with him. It made me miss my little buddy, Mason, but it was really great. We had tornadoes touch down while I was there as well, and I was even more grateful to be inside and in a place with a basement if the need for shelter arose.

Comment

This Week on the Road - June 16th-23rd

Comment

This Week on the Road - June 16th-23rd

Hello Everyone. It’s been a sunny and beautiful week here in Michigan, and I’ve been out exploring the peninsula that juts out into Lake Huron and is lovingly referred to as “The Thumb” of the state. If you’ve never looked closely or thought too much about it, Michigan is shaped like a mitten, and if you ever meet someone from Michigan they will inevitably point out wherever they are talking about on their hand, which is really quite endearing and very Midwestern. It is a quiet and less populated part of the state with some great small towns and tremendous lake views. I finished off the week with a run of old industrial towns and the Bavarian village of Frankenmuth. It’s been considerably cooler this week and it’s often been down in the 50s when I’m going to bed which is just perfect for me. I’ve seen some great spots this week and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

When I finished this post last week, I headed out of Port Huron and made my way north to the quaint little lakeside town of Lexington. I spent some time wandering the streets and taking some photos which you can see here. I thought it was a great little place and I really enjoyed my stroll. From there I moved up the coast through Port Sanilac to Forester Park. I don’t normally stay in campgrounds, but I decided I wanted to stay on the lake for a couple of nights and not worry about it. When I went to make the bookings, this site looked like it was right on the lake, but on arrival it was actually behind a row of private homes which blocked any possible view of the lake. The map was somewhat deceiving and I was pretty disappointed with the whole thing. Soon after pulling in, I got word that my very good friend’s father passed away, and while it wasn’t sudden or unexpected, it was still hard news to get, especially just days before Father’s Day. It was a bit of a rough afternoon and I went for a walk around the campground to clear my mind a bit. When I came back to my site, there was a big 5th Wheel pulled in right next to me. I introduced myself to the man who it belonged to and we had a wonderful chat for an hour or so. I really needed a bit of companionship in that moment and just like that, it was there. I felt a whole lot better afterwards and cooked up some dinner which I enjoyed from the picnic area which was overlooking the lake.

Thursday I meandered up the coast and spent some time in Harbor Beach, a town with a massive manmade harbor which was built to provide a safe haven for ships caught out in bad weather between Saginaw Bay and the St. Clair River at Port Huron. The town had a nice lighthouse, a pretty little beach and a long pier out into the harbor. I enjoyed a stroll to the end of the pier and then went for a wander around downtown. I particularly liked the library which had an incredible set of murals on it which paid tribute to local history and people. It seems the most famous person to come out of Harbor Beach was Frank Murphy who served as Mayor of Detroit, Governor of Michigan, Governor General of The Philippines, Attorney General of the U.S. and finally as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. During World War II he was serving on the high court and moonlighting as an army officer (seriously). Apparently his most noteworthy action on the court was writing the descent against the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war which he called out for the blatant racism which it absolutely was. Harbor Beach was interesting and learning about Murphy was as well.

In the afternoon, I headed further up the coast to Lighthouse County Park, right where the thumbnail would be on The Thumb. Everything that Forester Park wasn’t, Lighthouse Park was and then some. My campsite was right on the lake with an expansive view in every direction. It was just beyond the shadow of the Pointe Aux Barques lighthouse and right on the outside edge of the park...

Comment

This Week on the Road - June 9th-16th

2 Comments

This Week on the Road - June 9th-16th

Hello Everyone and greetings from Port Huron, Michigan, where Lake Huron funnels into the St. Clair River. It’s significantly cooler here than it was in Detroit which has been a real blessing. This is the weather I was imagining when I planned to come to Michigan this summer, not the sweltering days I found in The Motor City. I have been able to cool off a little bit, clean and repair Shadow Catcher and make sure everything is in its proper place and think with a clear head as I plan for the road ahead. I’ve seen and done some pretty great stuff this week and I’m thrilled to be able to share it all with you

When I left you last week I was on my way to The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn. It was an awesome museum - not extremely well organized, but full of extraordinary artifacts. I should have gone right when I walked in the door, but went left instead. I got caught up in fascinating displays on mathematics, early Industrial Revolution inventions and furniture. I skipped through most of the Civil Rights section as I’ve been to some of the best Civil Rights museums in the country, but definitely spent some time with the Rosa Parks bus - the actual bus she refused to give up her seat on (although I kept thinking there are better places for that bus, especially since it’s a GM). They did do a beautiful job on the restoration, though, and I’m very glad it’s there to be seen.

When I finally got to the other side of the museum where all the cars are, I was already a little tired, but I pushed through. There were 5 presidential limos, including the one JFK was shot in (which actually stayed in use for years afterward, albeit with a solid roof and bulletproof glass). There was a wonderful history of the automobile with all makes and models represented, not just Fords. Of special interest to me were the exhibit on American road travel (motels, cabins, gas stations and even campervans), one of Charles Kuralt’s original OnThe Road RVs and the first production line Mustang, Serial #1. I was there for hours and hours and could have spent longer, but the museum was closing and I had plans for the evening.

I headed back downtown and enjoyed a wonderful pizza at Buddy’s, which had come highly recommended by several friends. I have never had Detroit-style pizza before, and this was the right place to try it for the first time. There were four things right about Buddy’s pizza. First, the crust was thick but flaky and not heavy at all. Second, the sauce was perfect – savory and flavorful and not sweet like some others. Third, the cheese was real cheese and I could taste it, it wasn’t some melty, flavorless goop, and finally the toppings were also of good quality. In short, it was pretty close to a perfect pizza in my mind and I would definitely recommend it. My belly full of pizza, I headed right across the street and into the Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park. It was a perfect night for baseball – clear and cool but not cold enough for a jacket. The stadium was pretty empty, so I sidled on down to the fifth row behind the dugout on the first base side. It was a great seat and I thoroughly enjoyed the game and the stadium, despite a Tigers loss (I was routing for them because they’re Magnum P.I.’s team). After the game I headed back to Dearborn along Michigan Avenue which was just a wonderful drive. It passed through neighborhood after neighborhood packed with restaurants, bars, strip clubs, gas stations and any number of other little businesses and it just felt like a timeless route through old Detroit.

Thursday I headed back to The Henry Ford complex, this time to see Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village is an outdoor living history museum conceived of and begun by Henry Ford himself. Originally founded as a school for neighborhood and Ford employee’s kids, it opened to the public in 1933. It’s full of many wonderful original buildings like Ford’s boyhood home and school and the Wright Brothers’ Cycle Shop moved from Dayton, Ohio. Model Ts cruise the streets, as do horse-drawn carriages…

2 Comments

This Week On The Road - June 2nd-9th

Comment

This Week On The Road - June 2nd-9th

Hello Everyone! I am back on the road and very happy to be here. It’s been a week with some ups and downs, but overall it feels really good to be back in my van and back out on the open roads of America. I’m thrilled to get back to This Week on the Road and am writing to you this week from Dearborn, Michigan. It’s been hot here – like, really hot – and that’s definitely caused some struggles living the vanlife, but it’s supposed to cool off this week to something more reasonable which will be good. So let me tell you all about my week and what I’ve been getting up to.

First, the struggles! The heat has been oppressive, reaching the low 90s with high humidity, and because the sun sets after 9pm here in June in the north it doesn’t cool off until pretty late in the day. I’ve often said as long as it gets down to the low 70s by the time I go to bed, I’m okay. This week it hasn’t done that. I did plan ahead for this and brought an extra fan with me to use in case it got hot. Unfortunately, my house batteries just sat idle too long this year and don’t have anywhere near the staying power they used to. That’s okay, I can afford to replace them, but because I want the exact same batteries, I can’t just run to the store and pick them up, Because they’re so heavy I can’t send them to an Amazon Locker and get them there. That means they’ll have to wait until I visit a friend sometime next week and can get them sent to his house. It’s one of those things I wish I had known at home because it would have been a quick and painless fix. Same goes for my bathroom door which I rehung just before leaving. There was only one latch as opposed to the two there used to be, and I wanted an exact match so I didn’t have to drill new holes but I can’t seem to find one. That one latch wasn’t nearly enough to hold that heavy door closed so it’s been swinging around like crazy. It’s bungee corded to its neighbor so it’s not opening far, but it bangs around a lot. Again – this would have been an easy fix at home, and one I really should have done, but out here I will have to rent a drill this week and take care of it. It’s just more of a problem than it should be. Lastly, I’m leaking transmission fluid which I would have loved to have had my mechanics at home take care of a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t notice it then. Now I will have to find a shop to do the work which is always a pain, especially because I have to wait with it and can’t just leave it somewhere. These are all challenges to living this lifestyle, and I will get them fixed, but it’s a pain to have to deal with them right out of the gate.

The roads in Michigan so far have been terrible. I’m not saying this lightly, but I’ve seen better roads in most of the developing countries I’ve visited in the world. They are beyond bad and desperately need repair. It seems our politicians can’t get a bill passed because it’s too big and all-encompassing. I wish they would pass a roads and bridges bill and then continue to argue about the rest. We all know that we need it and even if it passed tomorrow, these roads wouldn’t get repaired for years, but I sure wish they’d get on it. Everywhere I’ve been in this country has had disgraceful roads which need repair and I think it’s something we could all agree on. Taxes are an investment, and one of the returns on that investment should be decent roads for us to drive on.

Beyond those things, I’ve been having a really good time. I wanted to write to y’all last week, but my last day in D.C. was a struggle. I stayed an extra day to be there when the internet men came to run my folks’ new internet cable into the house. Even though I knew it would be a challenge, I hoped it would take them less than 2 hours. It took them 6 ½. I was trying to help and pack and finish up some things and it all just became a bit much. I finally left about 6:30 and made it as far as Cumberland, Maryland where I crashed for the night. It rained the whole way.

Thursday was better though as I made my way north, through Pittsburg and western PA, and into Ohio via Youngstown. I got in to Chagrin Falls right at 4:30 to meet my good friend Mike Vasko, at whose house I was staying that night. We went out with a couple of his old friends from school for some amazing (and huge) sandwiches and a few beers. Then we went back to his house and played video games with his kids for a while and then chatted until way too late. I did pay off the bet I owed him from last year’s Penn State – Ohio State game though, with some Pennsylvania beer!

I had been to Chagrin Falls before, during my visit to Ohio, and thought it was such a cool little town that I went in in the morning to take some photos and have a wander around the downtown area. You can see the photos I took while I was there at the link here.

From there, I headed up to the shores of Lake Erie and started heading west. It was a sunny day and taking a long, leisurely drive along the coast was blissful. I stopped often, got out to take photos and wander around, listened to some great tunes and smiled a lot…

Comment

The Road Ahead

2 Comments

The Road Ahead

Hello Everyone!

My departure is getting closer by the day. It’s been a very busy week of trying to get everything ready and organized and packed, but I’m getting there. So far I’ve gotten many of my belongings loaded up and it still feels like there’s a ton of room in Shadow Catcher to spare – which is definitely the plan. Over the last year I’ve rethought a lot of my organizing strategy and so far it all seems to be coming together quite nicely. I have had a few family things come up this week which may delay my departure by a day or two, but I have every intention of being on the road by this time next week. I’m writing this post to make a very brief introduction of myself for those who have joined us recently, to take an introspective look back at some of the things I’ve learned and decided over the last year and a half and to look at the road ahead and where it’s going to lead me from here.

A Brief Introduction

So especially for those new to this blog: welcome. I’m thrilled that you’ve decided to come along for the ride. My name is Mike and I was born and raised here in Washington D.C. where I’ve been waiting out this pandemic for the last 14 months. I am a Penn State graduate with a degree in Wildlife and Fishery Science and a minor in American History. Putting those two interests/passions together, I became a small-group adventure camping Tour Guide back in 2000 at the age of 24. Since then, I’ve spent 14 years on the road guiding tours to every corner of the U.S. and Canada – from San Diego to Nova Scotia and Key West to the Arctic Ocean. During the early part of my career, I took my winters off to travel the world. At some point I looked up and I was 30.

Not too long thereafter, I decided to settle down a bit and see what life was like off the road. I moved to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help reopen the public school system there. I spent two years in the Big Easy and then continued teaching for a bit here at home in Washington before heading off to teach in rural Japanese public schools for two years. I enjoyed teaching and I loved working with children, but I didn’t love being inside all the time and I didn’t find that the M-F workweek suited me too well. I didn’t like counting down the hours of the day or week and I couldn’t get much of a break over the weekend (especially as a teacher as there was always something that needed to get done before Monday). I started to think of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and what came out of that very long internal discussion was this blog. I began planning and working on it in Japan and it started to come more clearly into focus. I decided I wanted to buy a van and live in it while I traveled to each U.S. state and spent at least a month learning what made each unique and individual. I bought my first DSLR camera (at a pawn shop in Japan) and started taking photography a heck of a lot more seriously.

From Japan, life blew me down to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a year and a half and then I returned home and started guiding tours again, saving all of my money to try and get this project and my dream off the ground. Sometime in there, I turned 40.

I bought Shadow Catcher, my beautiful 1998 Coach House 192KS Class B Camper Van, in 2017 and got to work outfitting it and getting it ready to hit the road - which I finally did in November of that year. Over the next 18 months I traveled to 10 states in the Deep South and Appalachia, taking photos, exploring, producing my history podcast American Anthology, and trying to live out the dream in my head. It’s been a challenging but amazing time.

I thought that I would be able to make enough money to keep this project going through advertisements and selling photos and maybe some freelance writing gigs or photo shoots along the way. That turned out to be an almost total bust, but I’ve been grateful to go and pick up some guide jobs when the money has gotten tight and be able to stay on the road. At the end of the day, it turned out I was pretty okay with being an unsuccessful travel blogger!

In January of 2020, I headed out again with the goal of crossing the country through the southern states to California, working the summer tour season out there, and then making my way back through the next layer of states up. I had an amazing month in Mississippi and had begun my long journey around Texas when the pandemic started turning up the heat. Through a lot of thinking, conversations with friends (including one who had gotten the virus early and really struggled through) and with my mother who is a nurse, and some serious soul searching on the beaches of South Padre Island, I decided to turn my headlights towards home. And here I’ve been ever since.

What I’ve Learned From My Time At Home

It’s sure been an interesting and challenging year for us all. I had no idea when I came home that I’d end up being here for as long as I have been, but I feel very blessed to have had somewhere to land during this time. As much as this wasn’t where I planned to be this year, I certainly tried to make the most of it and got to spend a lot of time with my mom and stepfather which has been great. Traveling around the area with my mom every week has helped keep me calm, let me keep practicing my photography and definitely allowed me to explore my own hometown and surrounds more deeply than I ever have before. I have been telling people for years both in this space and elsewhere that there is always something new to explore and it can be closer than you think. This year we’ve tested that theory and to be honest there are still plenty of places we never got to this year and look forward to visiting in the future.

Over the last 10 months, I got to be the best friend to a 2 year-old boy. This has been a life-altering experience for us both. I’ve dedicated plenty of space to my adventures with Mason on this site over the last year, so there’s no need to go into any great detail here. Getting older and with no kids of my own, it’s been truly special to be able to watch someone grow and learn and laugh on a daily basis for so long. We got to see the seasons change all the way through and discover things about the world and about ourselves in the process…

2 Comments

Happy New Year From Miles2Go

Comment

Happy New Year From Miles2Go

Happy New Year Everyone! We made it! It’s not as though as the bell tolled midnight on New Year’s Eve all our problems disappeared, but it still felt like a weight was lifted nonetheless. 2020 was a year I’m sure none of us will ever forget, but I hope we’ll remember the good that went with the bad. Catching up with old friends, learning new skills, starting new hobbies, or just learning to slow down a little bit – these are all really good things that I hope will balance the memories of 2020 for some of us. I’m obviously not making light of all of the challenges we faced, the loved ones we lost and the economic devastation that so many people have and will continue to experience, but I hope that in the end there will be good memories somewhere during this year for us all.

2020 started on a very positive note for me. I headed south to Mississippi, one of my favorite states and one that I was looking forward to getting to know better. It didn’t disappoint. While Mississippi is probably the deepest of the Deep South states, and one of the most economically and educationally challenged, it’s also full of wonderful people, music, history and scenery and it’s a place that keeps drawing me back.

I was there longer than I thought I would be and ended up heading to New Orleans just in time for Mardi Gras. I enjoyed catching up with some really good friends that weekend and of course feasted on crawfish and king cake. On Mardi Gras Day, I got up early to wake up the Treme neighborhood with the Northside Skull and Bones Gang. After a long morning march followed by a cup of coffee, I headed to the Marigny for brunch with my Mardi Gras Morning Krewe and then paraded for a while before chasing the Mardi Gras Indians around town in the afternoon. It was amazing and looking back I’m so glad that I was there for it.

Leaving New Orleans, I headed for Texas where I felt like a new chapter was finally beginning. As much as I loved my time exploring Appalachia and the Deep South, it was time for some new scenery and some different history to contemplate…

Comment

This Week on the Road - March 12th-19th

2 Comments

This Week on the Road - March 12th-19th

Hello Friends, boy what a difference a week makes, huh? Last week at this time things were very different than they are now. While the coronavirus was definitely making news a week ago, over the course of this week whole countries have been shut down. American travel restrictions have gone into place and cities have started to shut down non-essential businesses. Grocery shelves are bare across the country and while panic hasn’t set in yet, at least here in Texas, some of the big cities on the coasts are on high alert. New phrases like “social distancing” and “self-quarantine” have entered our lexicons, and people are, and should be worried. To read about my plans and what life has been like this week and also to get an understanding of the importance of some of the public buildings I use on a regular basis, please be sure you read my post on the coronavirus HERE. I was also sad this week to see that the Trace Theater in Port Gibson, Mississippi, which I had photographed just a few weeks ago, had caught fire and burned out pretty badly. In addition, it was the 9 year anniversary of the tsunami which rocked Japan and started the Fukushima mess - another tragedy I lived through as I was teaching in rural southern Japan at the time. It’s been a tough week out here. I decided to finally finish watching Treme, the HBO show about the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina, something else I was a part of for two years, and it reminded me that this too shall pass and soon this will just be a memory.

Very soon after I hit “Publish” on last week’s This Week on the Road post, my friend Christian called to tell me the Houston Rodeo had been cancelled for the rest of its run over concerns regarding the coronavirus. I’ll admit I was pretty disappointed because I was looking forward to it, but it seems now like it was for the best. There will be other rodeos in the future, and better safe than sorry in a case like this.

When I found out about the rodeo, I decided to pack up and head out of town. I made my way south to Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast. I had spent some time in Galveston before, but many years ago. It’s a beautiful place with an old, historic city on the bay side and a decent beach on the gulf side

2 Comments

Coronavirus and Miles2Go

Comment

Coronavirus and Miles2Go

Hi Everyone, I feel like everyone else is speaking their piece on the topic, so I thought I would update you all on my status and my plans for the coming period of time as the country and the world deals with the pandemic caused by the COVID 19 coronavirus.

First and foremost, I am safe and sound and healthy. As I write this, I’m currently in Corpus Christi, Texas and there are, as of now, no reported cases in the city or in surrounding Nueces County. The hospitals are preparing to offer testing to anyone who meets the criteria to get one and respond accordingly. The stores have weathered the initial storm and while the toilet paper and hand sanitizer supplies have been depleted everyone remains civil and courteous. I think the fact that the Gulf Coast has had its share of hurricanes and tropical storms over the years leaves it a little less likely to react over-zealously. I have made some rounds and stocked up for myself with enough food to last for several weeks if the need arises. I have plenty of water, a full propane tank and yes, I even have enough toilet paper to last me if necessary. Most of my equipment, from my camera to my computer, can run or be recharged on board my van. We’re pretty self-sufficient at this point. In short, I’m good for the foreseeable future when it comes to supplies. Also, for those of you who don’t know, my mother is a nurse so I’m getting expert professional advice on keeping safe and healthy.

I’m pretty good at the whole idea of “social distancing” and have lived most of my life in at least a somewhat isolated space. I rarely get the flu because I’m rarely in that close a contact with anyone. But I cannot park and hide out in my van for the next few weeks or months. I would lose my mind and that’s too much to ask. I don’t think driving 24 hours to get home would be very helpful either as I think I would be putting my folks at risk just being there and I would be putting myself in a far more concentrated area than I’m currently in. It seems the more spread out people are, the better situated to deal with this. So for now, I’m staying put, and by that I mean I will continue on this journey albeit on a modified course with an eye towards safety always.

I’m keeping updated on the news but trying not to overdue it. I think many people aren’t listening critically and seem to be making up their own version of what’s going on. On the one hand, some people have watched too many disaster movies and feel like the apocalypse is upon us. It is not. Others think this whole thing is a hoax or a test or something significantly less serious than it is. It is not that either. It is a time for caution and a time to pay attention to real doctors giving out real advice. People have lost faith in the media and while some of that is deserved, there are still good reporters doing real coverage out there. Try and keep informed the best you can, and as a general rule it’s better to err on the side of caution…

Comment

This Week on the Road - March 5th-12th

2 Comments

This Week on the Road - March 5th-12th

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.

2 Comments

This Week on the Road - February 27th-March 5th

4 Comments

This Week on the Road - February 27th-March 5th

Hello Everyone, I hope you’re all having a wonderful week out there. This is going to be short and sweet this week, because I’ve been off the road and hanging out in New Orleans for most of it. After Mardi Gras, I started in on getting the rest of my photos from Mississippi edited and published and am almost completely caught up in that regard. Many thanks to my friend, Luke, for letting me crash at his place all week and use his internet to do so. I think you’ll find some pretty great photos in these posts, from the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast. I enjoyed getting these photos up and hope you enjoy looking at them. It was a fast but amazing month in Mississippi.

Other than that, I’ve been catching up with some old friends, eating some wonderful New Orleans food and preparing for my dash across Texas. I’m not going to lie, Texas is a pretty daunting state. While I’m really looking forward to it, I’m trying to come up with a reasonable plan to see as much as I can in the 2 months I’ve allotted to be there. If y’all have any awesome must-see places, please feel free to leave me a comment on this post…

4 Comments