King of the World (or at least Maine)

Growing up as an inspired young writer, Stephen King was always the one whose work I was most drawn to. So, when I was planning ahead for this trip and I knew the easternmost part of my travels would be Maine, I knew I was going to have to make sure I attempted to get to King’s home.

Before I was able to make that happen, however, that day started exiting Boston (or Chelsea, to be more exact). My first stop was going to be Salem, which is home to the House of Seven Gables and the famed Salem Witch House. I was told by a bartender while in Boston that there were many myths about the witch trials and where they actually happened, but his words sounded more like a conspiracy theory and the truth is the trials happened in a nearby city (Danvers) that at the time had been known as Salem Village. So, maybe he was partly right.

Having read that the tours were overrated, I chose to just get pics of the house exteriors. The rush hour traffic I had to go through to get into and out of Salem was worse than I had prepared for, so time was already my foe on this day. As quickly as I was able on this early Monday morning, I drove to Kittery, Maine, with the intention of doing a little shopping. Little did I know that most of the shops were either closed for the day or hadn’t opened yet. So, it was off to Portsmouth (I’m not much of a shopper anyway), and a fantastic view of the Atlantic Ocean.

I finally took some time to walk around and allow all of my senses (minus taste, since lunch was scheduled for later) to take in all that Great Island Common had to offer on what turned out to be a really nice late September day. This was where I was able to view my first lighthouses of the day, but not my last.

Traveling up the coast in Maine offered up some incredible views and as I discovered, delicious lobster rolls. I checked out the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and the Marshall Point Lighthouse (yeah, the one from “Forrest Gump”) before leaving the coast and heading inland to Bangor.

After checking out a couple of sites referenced in past King books (Paul Bunyan Statue, WKIT sign), I drove to the day’s primary destination. A fence that wasn’t particularly imposing surrounded the property, which was significantly smaller than one might have expected. A few items that aligned with what might expect from King were a part of the fence design, but his home otherwise gave off the appearance of any other home. I had been forewarned that King wasn’t particularly social with tourists seeking out his residence and that while pics were allowed, it would be wise to keep it at that.

Having taken my pics (the Paul Bunyan statue is really cool) in Bangor, I had a nice dinner that night before preparing for the next day of the trip - off to New Hampshire, Vermont and back into the Empire State as I continued to head south and west en route to the next stop.

"Shipping Up" to Boston

For all the history I experienced in Philadelphia, trekking around Boston brought about memories of a time when some of the most famous historical references in our nation’s history took place.

Pulling into Boston, it was a real-life Chelsea to Chelsea trip as I started the morning in Chelsea, New York and checked into my Boston-area hotel in Chelsea. After a quick change of clothes I was en route to my dinner reservation in the North End. I got to enjoy a dinner of lobster ravioli, a couple of drinks and another couple of shots with the bartender and a new friend I made at the bar. My new friend gave great advice on how to tackle the next day, especially in getting across Boston Harbor into the heart of Boston.

Waking up early the next morning (yes, I was feeling a little hazy), I began the historical part of my Boston journey at the Boston National Historical Park, which included the USS Constitution Museum, the Bunker Hill Monument, the Charlestown Navy Yard and an incredible view of Boston Harbor.

After taking a scenic view on a water taxi across the harbor, I traversed along the Freedom Trail and took in all of the historical sites I could handle - Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Old North Church, Paul Revere House, Faneuil Hall, Boston Massacre Site, Old State House, Massachusett’s State House, and Boston Common.

The day didn’t end there. I also got to check out a place associated with one of my favorite memories of all time - the Cheers bar. Not only did I get a chance to sit at the bar, but I was able to drink a couple of beers and have some lunch. I also grabbed some Mike’s Pastry while I was out on the trail that afternoon.

With the day winding down but still more to do, I hopped in my rental car and headed to Cambridge to see Harvard University. How ‘bout ‘dem apples!

The day couldn’t be complete without heading to Fenway Park to catch one of America’s biggest baseball rivalries with the Yankees in town to play the Red Sox. And as luck would have it, Big Papi just happened to be there as part of a pre-game ceremony. The downside was that the seats weren’t exactly set up for guys my size and the guys around me apparently were on the same diet. I managed to stick around for five or six innings of a game that ultimately got exciting later in the game. But I was exhausted and needed to get my rest before I headed off to see the northeast coast on my way to Bangor, Maine.

My First Real-Life Introduction to New England

For anyone who knows me, the mention of “New England” makes me immediately think about cheating and underserved championships. But on this trip, I could not be more excited about the opportunity to see the New England states for the first time in my life. And I was not disappointed.

Leaving NYC, I very quickly was introduced to Connecticut and was pleasantly surprised at just how much traveling I was able to do in what I had thought to be a relatively small state. Of course, I had to start with New Haven and a trip to Yale, which was my third Ivy League school so far on this trip (Penn and Columbia). This was a decent oceanside city and I saw my first lighthouse of the trip while I was here (Five Mile Point Lighthouse).

After a quick lunch, I headed northward and, after a quick stop in Bristol to check out the ESPN campus, it was a visit to the basketball hall of fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. So, when I say I am enshrined permanently in the basketball hall of fame, I can assure you I left behind enough skin cells to always have a home in this illustrious site.

Back on the road in Connecticut, I headed back south and visited two places with a limited amount of fame and with mixed results. The Foxwoods Resort Casino wasn’t much more than any other casino I’ve been to, but at least now I can say I’ve been there. The oceanside city of Mystic, on the other hand, was quite impressive and definitely a place I’d like to return to on a future trip. It seemed like a great place to hang out for a few days and enjoy in a less hurried manner.

With Connecticut in the rearview mirror, I was off to the smallest state in our massive country and also the only one to have “island” in its name. I didn’t spend much time in Rhode Island but did take enough time to check out the capital city (Providence, or Quahog for us Family Guy fans). Providence didn’t offer up a whole lot to look at other than a couple of statues, but then again it wasn’t expected to be one of the highlights of the trip.

Having been on the road most of the day, it was time to pull into one of the trip’s definitely highlights - Boston.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple

On a trip like this one, it can be hard to identify what the actual destination is. With so many states on the itinerary, every place I stop feels like a destination. But when I arrived in New York City in the early evening of my second day of the trip, I was relatively certain I was about to experience some of the more memorable highlights of the trip.

Getting to NYC wasn’t too bad either, as I left Philadelphia and drove into New Jersey, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was a much nicer-looking city than it had always been described, even if my brief time in Atlantic City wasn’t all that exciting. Once I rolled past Newark and drove into the Holland Tunnel, I knew I was on the verge of a great time.

My first night in town wasn’t all that productive as I took a few pics as I walked around and then focused on being on time to my dinner reservation to Harding’s and then off to check out the local bar scene in Chelsea. The night itself offered up little excitement but I did get to have a nice chat with a couple sitting next to me at the restaurant. That conversation broke up my people watching but only briefly. Once I was back out on the streets heading back to the hotel, I was taking in the sights and sounds (and smells) around me.

My second day in NYC was an adventurous one, starting with me taking longer than expected to learn the subway system. But once I learned how everything ran, I became enough of an expert that I was actually able to help a couple of tourists get on the right train to reach their destination. Theoretically.

I visited the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Central Park, and took in a Broadway play (Wicked) that night. It was definitely an exciting and memorable day! Alas, recognizing that I should have probably booked a couple of additional days in the Big Apple, I had to move on the morning of my third day and begin my trek to the next destination - off to my first time in Beantown.

The interesting thing about NYC is that this was my third time there and I still feel like I have so much I haven’t seen yet. Maybe next time!

The City of Brotherly Love?

Ah, Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly Love. Well, it took me a short amount of time to learn that wasn’t necessarily the case (see prior blogpost about the car rental business). If I didn’t already know from reading stories about Philly sports fans, it didn’t take long for me to find out that Pennsylvania’s most populated city (more than 1.3 million more people than Pittsburgh) has plenty of opinionated and somewhat disgruntled people. The good news, however, is that the historical nature and interesting sites of one of our nation’s most famous cities outshone the negativity that occasionally presented itself during my time in Philadelphia (basically half of my first day and the half of the second day).

On the historic side, there were plenty to see. Starting with the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, I was able to also see the Betsy Ross House and Penn’s Landing. Philadelphia was a major city in the early part of our nation’s history and these sites were evidence of the pride the city has shown in promoting that history.

An unexpected treat early on in my journey was walking up to a local drinking establishment called Paddy’s Pub. Having read and been told that there was no such bar as Paddy’s Pub in Philadelphia (the show is mostly filmed in California), I had to go inside. This was definitely not the same place - it was a fairly small dive bar - but they took full advantage of having the namesake of one of the best shows still going.

In addition to the history and the coolness factor that goes with Paddy’s Pub, Philadelphia is also well known as the home of Rocky Balboa. He is well represented outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I added my name to the long list of those who ran the steps as they were run in the movie. I actually handled it relatively well, but I have to admit it was my first exercise of the day on my second day of the trip.

I was able to check out some other cool locations such as Penn University, the famed Dickens and Little Nell statue, Citizens Bank Park, and Love Park. But I also had to make sure I checked out what Philadelphia is most known for - for foodies, anyway - the Philly cheesesteak. I went to the corner where two of the more known cheesesteak locations are separated only by intersecting streets - Geno’s and Pat’s. I chose the former and while I thought it was good, I also learned that cheesesteaks in general are a little overrated.

With Philadelphia out of the way (until my final night of the trip), I was now focused on moving on to my next destination to close out day two - a drive through New Jersey (with a brief stop in Atlantic City) before arriving to the brights lights of the Big Apple!

What You Don't See On Vacations

With every vacation I’ve taken, I tend to focus on the highlights and keep the negative details to myself. My big vacation near the end of 2021 may have seemed like a trip of a lifetime (and it was), but the start of the trip was not without complications and certainly was the most nerve-wracking of my trips since I decided to make traveling a priority.

Going into the trip, I was nervous about a couple of things. Since it was a flight following back-to-back multi-state trips that involved all driving, I had to prepare for taking just enough clothing and miscellaneous items to bring with me to the airport. Since it was American Airlines, I was allowed one 50-pound suitcase at check-in, one carry-on computer bag, and one carry-on personal bag. 

As it turns out, being nice at the counter paid off in Oklahoma City and Philadelphia as I was slightly over at both places. In OKC, I had to shift a couple of clothing items over to my personal bag. In Philadelphia, they were willing to overlook that I was a pound over the limit. But, at the end of the vacation, this turned out to be a concern that was no big deal.

What did turn out to be an issue - and a learning experience - was the car rental situation. For years, I have used Enterprise for car rentals. Mostly due to their willingness to accept debit cards. But this time, Enterprise was so much higher than everyone else that I decided to look at other options. I almost settled in on Dollar but they increased their costs before I pulled the trigger. So I ended up booking Hertz through Expedia.

With the car rental all set up and seemingly ready to go, I even double-checked via Google to make sure Hertz actually would accept my debit card. According to their website, that was an option.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, I found myself at Hertz and quickly discovered that Hertz in Philadelphia operated under its own set of rules and would not in fact be honoring our agreement to rent me a car unless I paid for it with a credit card. Exasperated and with no backup plan, I began to consider my options. Bus, train, another rental car place, or a mix of the three - everything was on the table. What I hadn’t considered turned out to be an option that was presented to me minutes later.

I decided to Uber to the hotel and get checked in and try to at least enjoy my first day in Philadelphia. I could make a decision and put together a new game plan when I settled in that night.

My Uber driver listened as I told her my predicament and immediately suggested I try something called Turo, which as it turns out is what I would call AirBNB for vehicles. I looked into it and by the time I had checked into the hotel, I had already figured out which car I was going to rent and had already signed up on the app.

This option turned out to be slightly cheaper than my original rental and saved me money on gas (I chose a 2018 Honda Accord hybrid). On the downside, on the second day the sensor showed I had a tire needing air but didn’t say which one or what the PSI was. Despite multiple attempts to locate an air pump that worked over the course of several days, I was only able to get that sensor issue remedied the day before the trip ended. But overall, it was a good experience and the owner was really nice and didn’t do anything that was outside of what was expected through the agreement.

With the negatives of the trip out of the way (mostly), the trip itself is next up. First stop, Philadelphia!

Shut Up and Go Vax Yourself!

“Latest news!”

This was the first thing I saw on a text message from my dad as I was driving as part of a side job I have delivering food on Friday night. While a text from my dad isn’t an unusual thing, his communications tend to be memes or just a response to something we are talking about in a group text. So, to receive a message with that opening is unique, to say the least.

“Sue went on that trip with Carolyn and she called today and said her family has COVID.”

I reached a point - maybe a stoplight or maybe a pickup or dropoff, I don’t recall for sure - where I was able to see more of the message. I knew a few things about Carolyn and “that trip,” which was a one-day mystery trip locally in which my stepmom was going with her friend, Carolyn, on a brief getaway that seemed to just be somewhere in the OKC metro area. The trip was just a couple of days before (maybe Tuesday or Wednesday) so I hadn’t even talked to my stepmom about where she went and what she saw.

What I knew about Carolyn, however, was that she would routinely not wear a mask and had not been someone who took COVID or vaccines seriously. And for people who know me, I consider those types of people the worst types in these modern days. They are ignorant, selfish and dangerous, and those are truly the nicest words I can use to describe their behaviors. And my emotions throughout the night went from concern to anger to sadness and then curiosity.

I read on.

“We can’t get to our doctor until Monday.”

As I mentioned before, this was a Friday evening. I later texted my dad about going to a pharmacy and getting a COVID test, and he let me know they were only testing during the week. Personally, I don’t see the logic in that at all. The time when people need testing to be available the most is on the weekend - otherwise, they could go to the doctor’s office and get checked out if they felt symptoms. I immediately felt as if even the professionals making the decisions were doing so in a way that wasn’t consistent with the needs of those who might get infected. The virus doesn’t hold off on doing its damage until Monday morning. Friday night is as good as anytime. With nothing but clinics and hospitals being open for testing on the weekends, that's not good. Especially with what we have been hearing from the hospitals about being full of unvaccinated people who learned too late that they made really bad choices in life.

“I will update you when I hear something.”

It’s hard to sit back in angst and learn about what may or may not happen next. But the alternative is to join them when it is looking like they could be hosting a deadly virus. And my presence literally would do nothing to eradicate the virus or its effects. As Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” You have no idea, Tom.

“Sue says she feels weak but not sick yet. I was having more trouble than usual breathing today.”

Of all the words I saw in this message, these were the ones that hit home the hardest. My stepmom is a wonderful person who wants to be there for everyone. She loves people and treats everyone as if they were the best person in the world. As this is her personality, she rarely says no to anyone asking for her to help with something or to join them in an activity. And her reward for being this person was to be possibly infected by a person whose selfish actions may be putting everyone around her in jeopardy.

As for my dad, he wasn’t a prime example of good health prior to the pandemic so he felt comfortable just sitting down in his recliner and waiting it out once it hit. Eighteen months later, he leaves the house only to eat sometimes, to go to doctor visits and to physically attend church a couple of times. Other than that, he has really worked hard - or maybe I should say little - to just stay put and quarantine himself against the virus.

“I pray we are OK.”

Praying is all we can do at this point. What we know factually about this virus is that everything has to be done proactively because the options on the reactive end are minimal at best. The three of us are vaccinated and have been patiently attempting to do our best to ward off any potential infections. I frequently find myself wearing a mask while being surrounded by people who aren’t (and often even around people I know to be vaccinated, based on what we have been learning over the last few weeks). At a family gathering a week ago, I was the lone person wearing a mask. The family members not wearing a mask included my stepmom. My dad didn’t go but his exposure via contact with my stepmom can’t be ignored. That is the part of virus spread we all knew well before COVID-19 ever became a part of our lives, and the events of the past 18 months have only enhanced that knowledge. COVID-19 is real, it is lethal and more than half of our nation is doing practically nothing to fight against it.

While we can pretty much do nothing for now but just hope it all works out, this is just another reminder that more than half of America (aMErica, as it is often referred to nowadays throughout the world) is still unvaccinated (48 percent is the last number I saw as vaccinated) with many of those clamoring that their perception of freedom is more important than everyone’s right to live. They are wrong. The virus is real, the vaccine isn’t a microchip or unsafe, and people are getting extremely sick and/or dying. This is no joke, people, and you need to stop screwing around or waiting on some magical moment when you finally decide to pull your head out of your ass. Get vaccinated. Wear a mask when you are around groups of people. Stay socially distanced when it is possible. And if you still don’t understand or want to argue about the realities of this virus, then move to somewhere that has other like-minded people and build a new civilization there. We are so tired of your nonsense that is absolutely killing people, and it needs to come to an end. And this time, it is absolutely personal.