My Civil War journey started when visiting friends in Charleston where I learning the war began with a battle at Fort Sumpter in the harbor. Since then I’ve been to dozens of battle fields, museums, and memorials because the story drew me in. All the while my admiration for President Lincoln grew and grew. Finally today I visited the site where Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Grant thereby symbolizing the end of the war. What an odyssey. What a galvanizing event. What a tragic story!
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I thought today was the “Story of Best Friend Presidents” because at both Monticello and Montpelier they talked of the life-long friendship between Jefferson and Madison. Then I visited a place called Ash Lawn-Highland and learned it was yet another Presidential residence in the Charlottesville area. Sakes alive, three Presidents within just miles of one another! The Commonwealth of Virginia ROCKed when this nation was young!
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Every once in a while something magical happens. For a few years I’ve been traveling with Kelsey because we’re good travel companions and we have a good time. Those are reason enough, I figure. Then out of the blue she writes an essay which makes my heart soar. Read Kelsey Personal Travel Essay and then you’ll understand.
I am very proud of my girl!
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It started with a whimsical suggestion to Kelsey, “How about we take another road trip during Spring Break?” She was keen on the idea and Beth was supportive so I dug a deeper hole, “How about driving up the west coast of the U.S. from Tijuana, MX to Victoria, BC?” I made this trip a few years ago, loved it, and thought she would too. Also, if Kelsey could drive this dramatic coastline then she’d improve her driving skills while creating stunning memories for life.
The initial plan was simple: we’d fly to San Diego, rent a car and head south to Mexico, drive as close to the coast as possible on the way to Canada, and then return home from Portland after visiting my family. We’d do the whole thing in 10 days. Simple … or so I thought at the time!
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Days before setting out on this trip I had nary a clue that I’d be driving this country’s longest road. Named after the great railroad which it parallels along its western portion, the highway actually passes into Canada to connect to its eastern portion. With the Great Lakes in the way it was designed as a two-segment road since its inception in 1926. From end-to-end U.S. Highway 2 is almost 2,600 miles long.
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I don’t know what makes Acadia National Park special but each time I visit it hits me anew. Perhaps it’s the clear still water of its many lakes? Maybe it’s the beautiful vistas along Park Loop Drive? Could it be the distant views from atop Cadillac Mountain? I say “Yes” to all and will add another: the majesty of its carriage roads.
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Highway 2 across New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine is a very different experience from Highway 2 west of Lake Superior. In the west the road was straight and wide and fast; in the east it’s curvy and narrow and slow. However, it was a beautiful green ride through the Green Mountains, the White Mountains and the Mahoosuc Mountains as I drove from Burlington to Acadia National Park. As usual, I only wish I’d had more time.
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I’ve a penchant for riding along waterfronts. While spending the night in my solitary confinement cell, I realized that today I could do something really special. Each of the towns I was visiting today had tremendous waterfronts and all three I knew had great bike paths. Montreal I’ve biked before, Ottawa I have toured extensively and via satellite images I was able to confirm that Burlington had a waterfront biking trail. I had a goal for the day!
To pull this off I had to start early. My first ride started in Ottawa at 7:30AM. With lots of hustle and a good measure of luck, I was able to finish my ride in Montreal by 3:00. This put me in Burlington by 5:30 which gave me a couple of hours to enjoy those trails. All-in-all I managed to put in over 27 miles of biking across three rides in two countries … all in a single day!
Have I mentioned how much I enjoy having my folding bike with me?!
See maps of my rides …
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My drive across the great middle of this country ended when I arrived at Duluth on the extreme southwest shore of Lake Superior. For a city whose average annual temperature is 37 degrees, I found the climate in mid-April to be very comfortable.
So much did I enjoy being in the Duluth area that rather than check-in and regroup I decided instead to keep driving along the famed North Shore Drive. It was a beautiful excursion! The road shoots north from Duluth along water’s edge. I followed the road to Two Harbors where I found its namesake lighthouse. As usual at day’s end I was fighting the fading sun so I opted to take this silhouette shot of the lovely light. Two Harbor Lighthouse now operates as a bed and breakfast and, had I only known, it could have been my home for the night! The sign which read “Rooms Available” still burns in my brain.
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The Rockies-to-Plains contrast is stark no matter how many times I’ve experienced the transition. Whether I’ve just spent days running up and down and around mountains and drop into the plains or whether I’ve spent a week driving across the flat middle of our country and encountered the wall of the Rockies, I’m still never prepared for the contrast. That such great heights abut endless expanses of flatness is striking.
This time was no different though this time approaching the transition was complicated by weather. Knowing that a storm was approaching the Pacific Northwest, I tried to leave early and outrun it. My goal was to be on the east side of the Rockies before the snow hit. I almost made it
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