The years go by and while some traditions fade away, some new ones take shape. This is the fourth summer I’ve visited my friends on Flathead Lake in the month of August, and I could get used to it. In Montana, early summer is as unpredictable any other season, but once you get into […]
Way down upon the Suwannee River
On Saturday we floated a few miles of the Suwannee River, a placid stretch of water on the Florida Panhandle. This is the same river Stephen Foster was talking about in the song, although he misspelled it, and, it appears, never actually visited it. Canoeing in Florida is a little different than canoeing in […]
In the land of rum and roosters
Havana is home to 2 million people and about 10 million roosters. The roosters all start crowing just before the sun comes up, so there’s never any question of sleeping in. If visitors eventually find themselves retiring earlier than usual, it’s because they have accepted that the roosters will abide, and will do their […]
Ray Milland, please report to security
For all the controversy surrounding these advanced body scanners at airports, I have yet to see a good naked picture of any hapless air-traveler. The one I’m displaying here, a bald woman wearing necklace, earrings and .40 caliber Sig Sauer, is not quite as titillating as one would hope. Other body-scanner pictures posted on […]
American dream: Next five exits
Every road trip I take, I always imagine that this will be the one where I discover the real America. Now it’s not yet July and I’ve already driven a few thousand miles; I’ll drive a few thousand more in the next few weeks. I’m finally willing to concede that the forest of signs […]
A bit of heaven, a bit of hell
Tess likes to observe that the bigger the room rate, the fewer things you get for free. Which is one reason we ended up at the The Latham Hotel in Philadelphia’s Center City. We got a great rate (about $130 a night), free Internet and every amenity that matters. Also, the maid service was […]