"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free."Abraham Lincoln After a full day of driving on the original Route 66, I may need a new suspension system in my car. I'm going to be on the road for nearly two months, and I have... Continue Reading →
Gorgeous day to start Route 66! This road trip is not only an adventure twenty years in the making, but it's a work research trip. Yes, work. Fingers crossed, tours will soon resume and I'll have a coach loaded with travelers heading down the Mother Road with me. Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza. You can't come... Continue Reading →
“There never was a moment in American history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger at the side of its embattled Negroes”Martin Luther King, Jr. - Address at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March Brown Chapel AME... Continue Reading →
“The Natchez Trace seemed much safer to him than risking a sailboat from New Orleans to Washington,” Stephen E. Ambrose, quote from Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier I’m in a hotel in Louisiana eating potato salad at midnight while I write this. Why am I still up you ask? Well,... Continue Reading →
“The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see.”Albert Einstein I am obsessed with listening to true crime podcasts while I drive. My current new favorite is Park Predators. Yes, as you can probably guess, this is a stupid idea considering my... Continue Reading →
"I love nature, I love the landscape, because it is so sincere. It never cheats me. It never jests. It is cheerfully, musically earnest. I lie and relie on the earth."Henry David Thoreau Oconaluftee Visitor Center The Great Smoky Mountains lie in the midst of the Cherokee homeland for more than 1,000 years. They created... Continue Reading →
“Gradually and silently the charm comes over us; we know not exactly when or how.”Fredrick Law Olmsted Diana I can't even guess how long I've been obsessed with the Vanderbilts. This was even before I found out that my boyfriend, Anderson Cooper, is the third great-grandson of the railroad tycoon, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. Many years... Continue Reading →
I FINISHED THE BOOK! She's now up on Amazon Kindle. Kindle Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VSCCVNS A CIA officer is murdered in Virginia. FBI Agent and former spy, Maggie Swain, and her partner, Matt Evans, are assigned to the investigation. A single phone call by the victim moments before his death, leads them to a Navy SEAL Team,... Continue Reading →
Thursday, October 1, 2020 All Vermont. All Day.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 Waterbury, Stowe, Smuggler’s Notch and Danville, Vermont today. Vermont State Capitol Peacham, VT Emily’s Bridge. Stowe, VT Stowe, VT
Tuesday, September 28, 2020 A quick visit to the Vermont Country Store, a few covered bridges, Woodstock and Grafton, Vermont. Yes, we wore masks. Everywhere. #TheVirusIsReal Skye’s from scratch pancakes and One GALLON of Vermont Maple Syrup Cows on Sawdust The Farm Peacham, VT My Roadster near the original house Taftsville Covered Bridge, VT Woodstock... Continue Reading →
Monday, September 28, 2020 553 Miles from Falls Church to Peacham, Vermont with one gas stop. Arrived at the farm and of course Skye cooked homemade apple cobbler because she went apple picking earlier in the day with her mom. That’s what everyone in Vermont does, apparently. The Milking Barn Brattleboro, Vermont Apple Cider Donuts... Continue Reading →
July 8, 2020 Fort Point Lighthouse Fort Point Lighthouse Fort Point Lighthouse Fog Bell Dyce Head Lighthouse Dyce Head Lighthouse Dyce Head Lighthouse Dyce Head Coast
July 7, 2020 Doubling Point Lighthouse Hendrick's Head Lighthouse Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Marshall Point Lighthouse Marshall Point Lighthouse Marshall Point Lighthouse Owl's Head Lighthouse Owl's Head Lighthouse Owl's Head Lighthouse OWL'S Head Lighthouse Rockland Breakwater Light Rockland Breakwater Light Path to Curtis Lighthouse Lookout Curtis Lighthouse Curtis Lighthouse
July 6, 2020 Goat Island Lighthouse Kennebunkport, Maine Wood Island Lighthouse Lobstah Roll Portland Lighthouse
July 5, 2020 Marblehead Lighthouse Derby Wharf Lighthouse, Salem, MA Fort Pickering Lighthouse Hospital Point Range Rear Lighthouse Hospital Point Range Rear Lighthouse Eastern Point Lighthouse
July 4, 2020 Warwick Lighthouse, Rhode Island Warwick Lighthouse Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Nayatt Point Lighthouse Conimicut Lighthouse Bristol Ferry Lighthouse Goat Island Lighthouse Castle Hill Lighthouse Beavertail Lighthouse Butler Flats Lighthouse, Massachusetts Ned Point Lighthouse
July 3, 2020 Driving through New York yesterday sucked. SUCKED. Ran off the road once, nearly 8 wrecks from people cutting me off or just being Super Jerks. People who were taught to drive in Los Angeles in the late 80s INVENTED ROAD RAGE! With that, Eff You, Long Island! I skipped every single lighthouse... Continue Reading →
July 1, 2020 I slept in a Hampton Inn last night and it was absolutely glorious. Not just because it was an actual bed with air-conditioning and a bathroom all to myself but it was only 12,000 Marriott Bonvoy points which is like so super cheap. A serious win on all fronts. Like everybody in... Continue Reading →
June 30, 2020 I survived another night sleeping in a rest stop but not before being woken up and startled by a thunderous crash next to my car in the middle of the night. It was the ice settling in the cooler just next to me. Note: don’t listen to podcasts of roadside serial killers... Continue Reading →
June 29, 2020 I think Blackbeard WILLINGLY SURRENDERED and agreed (possibly suggested) to be shot five times, and stabbed many more, just to be finally rid of THE MOSQUITOES ON OCRACOKE ISLAND! 3 words: Deep. Woods. Off. Although a very lovely place, last night’s sleep did not go as well as one would expect in... Continue Reading →
June 27, 2020 While waiting for my ferry this afternoon, I checked my odometer’s Trip setting. I have driven 1,669 miles since leaving my condo in Falls Church, Virginia a week ago. That doesn’t even count all the miles Rick put on his car when we were wandering Richmond, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg together.... Continue Reading →
June 27, 2020 It took me three hours to get to my first lighthouse, on Oak Island, and I was already tired. At 3:15 in the morning, my rest stop turned into a disco when at least 8-9 cars packed with people showed up. All their plates....Florida. Apparently, they are bringing their Covid-infected bodies north.... Continue Reading →
June 26, 2020 I certainly got a free sauna treatment last night from sleeping in the car in the south. It’s much hotter than I expected. Nobody bothered me last night but tonight‘s rest area apparently is patrolled by police so I expect them to shoot me out at any time. I drove into Savannah... Continue Reading →
June 25, 2020 I talked to my Floridian friend, Cheryl, last night and she convinced me to abandon Florida. Florida is a NO GO for a Lighthouse adventure. I have no intention of contracting this virus. As of today, Florida had 10,000 NEW COVID-19 CASES IN TWO DAYS! Their governor is an idiot! No face... Continue Reading →
June 24, 2020 I coughed myself awake, only once, at 3:30 AM and was convinced that I had the coronavirus until 4:45 AM. Eventually back to sleep, I then dreamt that I was back in high school and a girl made fun of my pajama pants pattern. I ended up chasing her. I woke up... Continue Reading →
June 23, 2020 For some ungodly reason, I woke up at 6am. Apparently, I was excited to go to the beach and get my first lighthouse pic. Rick rolled downstairs an hour later stunned at me hunkered down without coffee reading. Coffee, bagels, pack the car, 800 SPF applied and off we went. Located right... Continue Reading →
June 22, 2020 Officially leaving the apartment for the first time in three months is an odd feeling. The car is packed, my goodbyes to my amazing roommates were said, and the navigation set for Rick's house in Richmond Virginia. My travel companions at Mile 0 The plan for the next three days is amazing!... Continue Reading →
June 19, 2020 I was in junior high when I climbed Mount Whitney. It took us two miserable days to reach the 14,505 foot peak. I was with my friend's insane family. Seriously, they were completely nuts. I don't know what my parents were thinking allowing me to go off high into the Sierra with... Continue Reading →
June 17, 2020 Ok. There are quite a few more lighthouses than I expected. New Jersey, you brought your A-Game when prepping for nautical safety back in the day. 18 that I can actually get to without a boat. But Massachusetts, I stopped counting at 35+. You came to win! (If building lighthouses was a... Continue Reading →
June 15, 2020 I can't take it anymore. I have to get out of this apartment. 2020 sucks. This year, so far, has yielded a mid-January hysterectomy, two weeks later I flew to Hong Kong (for an adult tour) and was trapped with my group for one month on the NCL Westerdam in the South... Continue Reading →
March 3, 2020 We saw so many amazing things today. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ... let’s just say we saw a lot of memorials before going to Arlington National Cemetery. My group had a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then we got access to... Continue Reading →
February 29, 2020 Almost a week since returning from my Westerdam adventure, and it is Back To Work! Reflection inside the Vessel in Hudson Yards The day after I returned home I received several phone calls from the Center for Disease Control, Virginia Department of Health, and the Fairfax County Department of Health. They knew... Continue Reading →
February 20, 2020 The PLAN WAS SUPPOSED TO WORK. A traveler's note: You never want to think to yourself, "Huh, I wonder why the plane is turning around? and why is Pakistan our new destination?" Lobby of the gorgeous Sokha Hotel It was a gorgeous morning in Phenom Penh! A fantastic breakfast and a little... Continue Reading →
January 19, 2020 It all happened pretty quick today. The Captain came on the sound system early this morning and told us that we were getting off the ship, loading onto 10 busses, heading to a hotel in Phenom Penh, and then flown home from there. We had 3 hours to get ready. Since all... Continue Reading →
February 18, 2020 The Westerdam treated all of us to Happy Hour in the BB King Blues Lounge last night. I guess they figured that if we had to have 8-inch Q-Tips shoved deep up into our brain for testing and another one down our gullets, then we deserved to be a little shit-faced. So... Continue Reading →
February 17, 2020 I BOARDED THE HOLLAND AMERICA WESTERDAM 17 DAYS AGO. Sorry, my caps lock must have been stuck. SCUTTLEBUTT: My new ship-turned-hotel-refugee-BFF, Judy Barr, who has been in 'quarantine' in a Phnom Phen hotel for the last two days with her husband and a ton of other Westerdam guests, tells me that yesterday... Continue Reading →
February 16, 2020 If I even hear the word 'quarantine', I am very calmly placing my phone, passport, credit cards and cash in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and will jump overboard, swim to shore, hire a tuk tuk, and get out of here! After disembarking over 1,100 people yesterday, one tested positive for the coronavirus... Continue Reading →
February 15, 2020 Today is the second day since docking and I still do not have flights out of Cambodia. They 'should' have me flying out sometime tomorrow, February 16. I believe there are only 60 of us who will stay onboard one more night awaiting flights home. They are certainly not kicking me off... Continue Reading →
