Harry N. MacLean's Blog, page 7
February 28, 2014
The Accidental Mardi Gras
We stumbled into Mardi Gras. We were 100 miles out of New Orleans, having just decided to drive there from Pensacola earlier that morning, when Julya figured out we would be there for the early days of Mardi Gras. A lucky hit on the internet got us a great hotel on Saint Charles for 59 bucks a night. Last night we watched two parades from our porch. Julya stood on the curb like a child, with Annie in her arms, beseeching the float people to toss her the beads and toys. We ended up with severa...
February 25, 2014
The Wawa Thing
The WAWA Thing.
“Hey, Wawa,” the man a few yards away on the beach called. “Take a look at this.”
He was pointing to a baby hammerhead shark lying on its side a few feet from the ocean’s edge. I had seen the shark earlier, but I had never been called “Wawa” before.
This morning, on the boat over to Egmont Island, off the west coast of Florida, a lady had noticed the logo on my hat: a Canada Goose on the wing under the word “Wawa.”
“Do you work there?” she asked excitedly.
I shook my head. I had be...
January 16, 2014
Half Way There.
The great adventure is now half over. Six months to the day. Unless we decide to keep on going, that is, never to return, like Charlie on the MTA. The month here in St. Petersburg has been relaxing, and somewhat of a relief from the fast pace we were keeping. By the time we got here, I swore I had seen enough lighthouses to last a lifetime (at least 15, up and down the east coast), that I would never go on another river or harbor cruise (5), or a dolphin/whale watch (2, and quite expensive),...
December 24, 2013
Santa on the Bay
We stood in line with the kids last night for over an hour-and-a-half to see Santa. We reminded Ann and Andy that last year they had declared that Santa wasn’t real and that they didn’t want to go to the mall to see him. This was different, Annie insisted, because here in St. Petersburg Santa and his sleigh were stretched out and brilliantly lit on the park along the waterfront. So, we took them. We were the last ones in line “guaranteed” to meet Santa; the others would have to take their cha...
December 16, 2013
Merry Christmas From Ann and Andy
Merry Christmas From Ann and Andy
We’ve been on the road now for five months. A little panic is setting in that we’re almost half way through the year. Life didn’t slow down as much as I had hoped leaving town. A day is still just a snap of the finger.
A surprising piece of news is that I finished the novel the day before Thanksgiving. On the trip I had been working on it during stays in places of more than a few days. I would write in the morning and Julya would edit in the evenings, and then...
November 27, 2013
Midnight in the Garden of Money
Midnight in the Garden of Money
As an author, I was interested by the effect that the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt, has had on the town of Savannah, Georgia. The estimates are that the book and the movie (directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Kevin Spacey) has increased tourist revenue by over 40%. The statute in Bonaventure Cemetery (The Garden of Good and Evil) that formed the cover of the book has since been moved to the city museum. Tour guides point out the...
November 24, 2013
Marching Through Georgia
Marching Through Georgia
Our first stop in Savannah was the Colonial Park Cemetery, on the edge of what is now known as the Historic District (every town over 100 people now has an Historic District). It was here that the Union army encamped after it’s long march from Atlanta, in which it torched a path 300 miles long and 30 miles wide. So it was here that my great great grandfather would have pitched a tent and rested for the first time in over a month.
Cyrus Baird served as a captain in Compa...
November 9, 2013
11,000 Miles And Counting
11,000 Miles and Counting.
The speedometer says we’ve gone over 11,000 miles since we left Denver almost four months ago. We’ve spent most of the time in New England. Our last ten days in nearly-deserted Cape Cod were perhaps our favorite, although the two-week stay at a friend’s house on a lake south of Burlington, Vermont was right up there. We continue to head south, chasing the sun. We’ll end up in South America if we have to. The kids make it easy to meet an array of interesting people.
I...
October 29, 2013
Pirate festivities on Okracoke Island
We’ve stumbled on some great festivals so far in our journey: The Blueberry Festival in Macias, Maine; the Arrivalof the Godspeed (John Smith) in Onancock, Virginia; and last week the Pirate Festival on Okracoke Island, NorthCarolina. One of Pirate Blackbeard’s favorite places to hang out was a cove on Okracoke, and in response tocomplaints about his activities the royal governor of Virginia sent the Royal Navy to Okracoke to take care of him.A great naval battle took place in the harbor, and...
October 26, 2013
Near Tragedy on the Interstate
Near Tragedy on the Interstate.
We had left Cape Cod a few hours earlier and were driving down the interstate south of New Haven, Conn. at about 69 mph. We were on our way to Dover, Delaware. Traffic was bumper to bumper. We heard a loud clunk from the rear of the car. In the rear view mirror, we saw to our horror the bike rack with both bikes attached careening off into the traffic behind us. My first thought was: the rack will fly up into someone’s windshield, the car will swerve hitting ano...
