Winter in southeastern Pennsylvania is one of those trips through months of waist-deep snow and sub-zero temperatures. In some years, you get the full arctic treatment. (Years 1985 and 1986, I’m looking right at you.) Other years? Let’s say that winter is on one day, then off the next. Here’s a nostalgia trip through my…
My childhood memories of Philadelphia are not good. In the 1960s and 1970s, the place had a well-earned reputation as a crime-ridden hellhole. For suburban kids like me, Philadelphia was the #1 place to stay out of. And so we did. But, as they say, that was then and this is now. During a late…
In November 2012, I started taking classes at The Studio for Actors. The long-term goal is to create a show about my bicycle travels through all 50 of the United States and living car-free in Tucson. This show will combine storytelling, photos, and live music. While it’s fun to talk about long-term performance goals, there…
It’s been almost 18 years since my last trip to the mining camp-turned artists’ colony and tourist destination, Bisbee, Arizona. I’m pleased to announce that I broke my Bisbee fast yesterday. Bisbee is one of those places that’s easy to love — and satirize. Matter of fact, a local bumper sticker describes Bisbee as being…
Just got back from visiting friends in Peoria, Arizona. Another great time with my host, Judy Vorfeld, and her ever-irreverent brother, David Crook. Case in point: We’re at the Wildlife World zoo in Litchfield Park. It’s the 1 p.m. feeding time for the Lory Parrots, and zoo patrons are encouraged to participate. So, David decides…
There’s something about visiting the zoo. You can’t help but wonder who’s being more closely scrutinized, the animals or the humans. Let’s begin our tour at the pelican beauty parlor. Nothing like preening with a whole crowd watching. Not that this pelican cares… If you’re a giant iguana, you can pretty well forget about having…
My two previous posts covered Vermont’s annual fall color extravaganza and the impact of a (we hope) once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Time to look at some other aspects of the Green Mountain State. My visit to Vermont coincided with the peak of the fall colors. It also rained just about every day that I was in the…
Just got back from visiting family in Waterbury, Vermont. October in the state of Vermont means one thing: Fall Foliage. The aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene was very much in evidence, but it didn’t stop the annual party thrown by the trees. Let’s start our fall foliage tour at the Waterbury Public Library… The library…
When I was in my early twenties, I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a twelve-year period, traveling more than 15,000 miles in the United States, plus a bit of Mexico and Canada. Traveling without the protective bubble of a vehicle provides a wonderful opportunity…
My recent trip to southeastern Pennsylvania featured no-problem air travel and foul weather that didn’t materialize until after I was on the ground. What the weather forecasters billed as a blizzard turned out to be underwhelming. We didn’t even get half a foot of snow. After the weather cleared, it was time to go exploring….
Eastern Pennsylvania’s Christmas weekend blizzard came in with a vengeance. The bitterly cold winds and driving snow got my attention in a hurry. I had to go outside and investigate. First lesson: Avoid looking north into the wind, because it bites. Hard… This was a lesson that our family’s super-smart border collie mix took to…
I just got back from visiting family in eastern Pennsylvania. Arrived there just ahead of a blizzard that was racing up from the South. The following photos show the calm before the storm. The approaching blizzard wasn’t about to affect the behavior of these affectionate trees… But the decorated for Christmas sled would soon get…
I just got back from a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Being a northern city with only so many snow-free months, Ann Arbor has a “go flat-out while you can” approach to road construction. This year, there’s been quite a bit of road work in and around Ann Arbor. Meaning that you’ll be seeing a…
While outsiders think that Arizona is nothing but dry, barren desert, we residents know better. This state has a surprising amount of biodiversity. Take, for example, our riparian areas. Here’s an impressive stand of cottonwoods growing near the banks of the Hassayampa River, which doesn’t flow during dry seasons like the one we’re having now…….
When I was in my early twenties, I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a 12-year period, and wrote and published two books about my experiences. My travels also took me into Canada. During a 1987 ride down the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Banff,…
While I was back east visiting family, my father and I took a day trip to Washington, D.C. With Congress out of session and President Obama on vacation, Our Nation’s Capital seemed a bit empty. On the other hand, if you prefer to leave the people out of your photos, Capitol Hill was a great…
This photo’s a true blast from the past. I took it back in 1981, while I was bicycling around the United States. While heading down the California coast, I stopped for an overnight in a state park south of Big Sur. The park offered many things to explore, including giant redwoods that I couldn’t begin…
This one’s from a late July 2008 visit to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Great time to be there and see the persimmons ripening…
I just returned from another Homecoming weekend at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. And, just as during my student days, I got to experience Ann Arbor’s weather in all its glory. In other words, if you like variety in your cloud cover, Ann Arbor is your kind of place. It seemed as if…
My recent visit to Vermont included an afternoon in Montpelier, the state capital. It’s more like a small town than anything else. Population’s just over 8,000, which makes Montpelier the smallest capital city in the United States. My Montpelier afternoon centered on the Vermont State House, where my Aunt Jean is a volunteer tour guide……
Since mid-April, I’ve been blogging about Tucson’s weekly Meet Me at Maynards Social Run and Walk. And here I go, I’m doing it again. This past Monday marked the 14th running (or walking) of MMM. And, once again, I went walkabout with my camera. I’m not going to be one of those Downtown Tucson cheerleaders…