San Francisco, CA – September, 2019 Day 1: 34,714 Steps When I walked up a carpeted staircase that smelled of cardboard and ginger, the proprietor flashed a peace sign, her two fingers inquiring if I had company. She looked dejected when I requested a table by myself but led me to a seat by aContinue reading “100,000 Steps In San Francisco: An Anxious Outsider’s Walking Tour”
Tag Archives: travel
Ascending the Indian Staircase: Red River Gorge with Lauren
Red River Gorge, KY: August, 2019 We began by walking down the Sheltowee Trace, a trans-Kentucky trail that starts just north of here and winds its way to the Tennessee border, the little cousin of the Appalachian Trail through the Appalachian state the original one forgot. It was a bumpy and shady single track andContinue reading “Ascending the Indian Staircase: Red River Gorge with Lauren”
Wilderness Something: Red River Gorge with Friends
Red River Gorge, KY: July, 2016 Danny was staring up into the branches of a tree when Lauren and I drove down the skinny lane to the cabin, listening to the familiar popping of gravel on the car’s belly. His girlfriend Veronica was on the balcony looking in the same direction, hand above her eyebrowsContinue reading “Wilderness Something: Red River Gorge with Friends”
South of the Bay: A Layover in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Point Lobos
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA: September, 2019 “In your piece on San Francisco, I’d like to be referred to as ‘the Baron Salvatore Luis IV or else you cannot use my likeness” – My brother Mike, after reading the first two installments in this series. It was checkout time at the hotel and I had a flight toContinue reading “South of the Bay: A Layover in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Point Lobos”
Below Treeline: Spring in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain NP, CO – May, 2017 We entered the National Park during a driving rainstorm after a perfectly clear drive up from Lyons. Longs Peak was shrouded in several layers of gray, after appearing dauntingly above the foothills for most of the trip. Pyramidal with snow covering the top third, Longs Peak looks likeContinue reading “Below Treeline: Spring in Rocky Mountain National Park”
North of the Bay: Redwoods and Sonoma with my Brother
Sonoma County, CA: September, 2019 I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in the northbound lane again, this time by car and with my brother. We had one last full day in the Bay Area and wanted explore the areas north of the city, mostly the coast and redwood forests of Marin and Sonoma Counties butContinue reading “North of the Bay: Redwoods and Sonoma with my Brother”
Lanterns and Microbats: A Nighttime Tour of Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave NP, KY: August, 2018 Mammoth Cave National Park is the nearest to where I live, just edging out Cuyahoga Valley by minutes, but I had yet to visit. It is not named for the prehistoric elephantine species, but the cave’s position as the world’s largest, though the adjective itself comes from the iceContinue reading “Lanterns and Microbats: A Nighttime Tour of Mammoth Cave”
A Storm at Sea and a Snake in the Tree: A Race around Clearwater
Clearwater, FL: May, 2019 Uncle Gabe lived with his greyhound rescue, Archie, in northern St. Petersburg, toward the back of a mid-century block pleasantly shaded by gargantuan oaks. It’s a testament to these trees that they survived the post-air conditioning sprawl that created this and other areas of its age. The neighborhood also held ontoContinue reading “A Storm at Sea and a Snake in the Tree: A Race around Clearwater”
The World’s Best Sunset and a Bar That Doesn’t Clothes: A Farewell to Key West
Key West, FL: May, 2019 (Key West Trilogy Part 1 and Part 2 here) North Duval runs into the Historic Seaport area which is now thronged by docked cruisers and boozy tourists. One interesting thing in this area that was worth a stop though is the original Key Lime Pie Bakery. The outside is aContinue reading “The World’s Best Sunset and a Bar That Doesn’t Clothes: A Farewell to Key West”
The Actual Southernmost Point: Then and Now on Florida’s Beaches
Key West, Fl – May, 2019 (Key West Trilogy Part 1 and Part 3 here) This one actually starts at…. Panama City Beach, June (I think) 1996 (I think): Dad spotted a conch lying on the seabed about ten feet below the surface and told me to stay where my feet could touch the sandyContinue reading “The Actual Southernmost Point: Then and Now on Florida’s Beaches”
Hug, The Traveler* 