I could tell before we pulled into the campground that I was going to hate this place. Tons of out-of-town traffic, signs and parking lots for shuttles, restaurants and gift shops, all for some bunch of waterfalls or something. But Tracy insisted I go on a certain short hike he’d been on years ago. He […]
A Change of Plans
I’ll cut to the chase: We’ve canceled our summer trip to Newfoundland, which is a really big deal for us. Weeks of planning, a lot of money in reservations, where we’re going to live for three months—all have been scrapped in one afternoon. It wasn’t an easy decision, and we took more than a week […]
An Odd Bliss
There are a few moments in my travel life that really feel right, whatever that means, despite all kinds of weirdness that goes along with them. A moment like this happened a few days ago, when we were driving down a one-lane dirt road in the middle of nowhere, with no cell signal and no […]
F&F ‘24 Ends with Gratitude in Maryland
That’s the Friends and Family Tour 2024, for any uninitiated readers out there. I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants this week, in another hometown of sorts, near Frederick, Maryland, where I worked for ten years. Spending precious time with old friends, fitting in PT appointments, scrambling to take notes during important calls […]
Banjo Across the Country
I take Banjo for her morning walks, and I always try to grab a scenic shot of her to show where we are. It’s not easy to do (she hates posing), but turns out I’ve got a ton of these photos, spread across the United States and Canada. Here are my favorites. (I’m still fact-checking […]
The Absolute Freaking Weirdness of this Lifestyle
This hometown week on the Friends and Family Tour ‘24 has been a honking-big, tangled-up knot of red-hot emotions. It’s not just been about seeing people I haven’t seen in years. It’s been about being struck by aging (and in a flash of recognition that really should be hidden). It’s been about cramming what we’ve […]
Three Days at the Center of the Universe
Years ago when Tracy and I were drinking beer at Center of the Universe Brewing just a little north of Richmond, I looked over at the RV park across the street and thought, “Wouldn’t that be cool to stay there!” And, here we are, not really by choice, but it was where we could get […]
Our Fav Happy Hour Lives on in Delaware
This story began with a coupon book full of a year’s worth of deals at a brewery. This was no ordinary coupon book, though. See, back in Bethesda, Maryland, Tracy and I used to meet friends Bob and Ben after work occasionally for a beer. One day, Bob and Tracy bought Ben and me special […]
Alaska Photo Journey
I’ve been thinking back to our Alaska trip last summer (2023), and I’ve realized I don’t have a single, encompassing compilation of our memories. Here goes! British Columbia in May The Alaska Highway connects the Lower 48 with Alaska, and it’s really the only way to get to Alaska. Like a lot of road-trippers, we […]
Déjà Vu with a Twist of Wist
We’re in Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, visiting our friends Bob and Ben, who have been delightful hosts in every way. I’ll write about this visit, next. Before I do that, though, I have to get this out of the way: the photos I found and the feelings they evoke from the first time we […]
