After Alaska, 2011
5 stories, in order from the beginning of the trip.
1July 24, 2011
Dateline July 24, 2011, Glacier National Park, Custer's Last Stand, Crazy Horse, and Mount Rushmore
From Calgary down to the Montana border, into Glacier National Park with its mountains that somehow still impress after Alaska, then east through Missoula (where the people are absurdly good to strangers), across to Little Bighorn for a version of Custer's Last Stand we hadn't heard before, and on into the Black Hills for the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore. The first chapter of After Alaska.
2August 8, 2011
Dateline August 8, 2011, Across Michigan to Mackinac, and on to Indiana
Across the Upper Peninsula on the UP Golf Trail. Mackinac Island with the Grand Hotel, the red phone booth, no cars since 1898, and clubs hauled between the front and back nine by horse-drawn carriage. Sleeping Bear Dunes with Pat and Anna Carney, who were also on the long road home from Alaska. Traverse City with our friend Robin Vaught and her family. And on to Noblesville, Indiana, where Janice took a swing at qualifying for the USGA Women's Senior Amateur.
3August 25, 2011
Dateline August 25, 2011, Family Visits and Maine
Pittsburgh with our son James and his fiancée Mary, and the great mouse caper that began in the Midwest. Clinton NY with Janice's cousin Bobbie. Elvis Weekend at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino with Steve and Marilyn. Long Lake with Kim, Tony, Stella, and Daphne. Vermont, then a quiet visit to Janice's parents Stanley and Jeanne at Eastman Cemetery. Connie and Lee in Derry, the Bush home at Walker's Point, Cape Arundel at sunset, lobster in Rockport, and Cape Cod with Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret as Hurricane Irene rolled through.
4September 5, 2011
Dateline September 5, 2011, Long Island, Labor Day at Shinnecock
Out of New England with Irene behind us, a stop in New Bedford with the fishing fleet still in port, the ferry from New London to Orient Point, and on to Carol's in Locust Valley. A run into the city to see our daughter Kieran and son James, with the inimitable Panna II in the East Village (chili-pepper Christmas lights, disco ball, and a fake birthday). Then Labor Day weekend at Carol and Parker's beach trailer at Shinnecock Inlet, where this family has been gathering for 35 years.
5October 10, 2011
Dateline October 2011, A Look Back at Our Spectacular Adventure
Travels have ended for now. We've landed in Flagler Beach, Florida, where we're looking for a new home. A look back at the whole year, the miles, the bears and moose and orcas, the wine consumed (sixty bottles), the people we met, and the day on Tracy Arm to Sawyer Glacier that has to count as the single biggest thrill of the trip. We'll restart in the spring with new adventures.