Category: Event

  • Le Tour De Shore

    It seemed like a good idea last January when a friend mentioned Le Tour De Shore to me. He wanted to try a long distance bicycle ride and what better place to try that a place almost completely devoid of hills? There’s almost nothing but flat out on the Delmarva Peninsula. So he convinced me…

  • Southern Hills, Day 4 (Serendipity)

    We were well into the journey by the time we arrived at the second race in Macon, Georgia. Afterwards we drove nearly due-north until we crossed the South Carolina border. By-and-large the route avoided Interstate Highways except for a tiny stretch of I-85 near the end. We passed through rural backcountry and small town America…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 4 (Conflicts)

    These areas near the coast were particularly valuable during a time when limited transportation options existed. Naturally new European arrivals settled there and built their towns. Even so, times were not always wonderful. Differing outlooks led to inevitable conflicts. Just as I’d discovered during my recent trip to South Carolina, military conflicts left their marks…

  • Ohio River, Part 7 (Corydon Loop)

    We used Louisville, Kentucky as our home base for the week and we took several day trips into the countryside. Because the drive to Louisville took a toll on us we decided to relax early in the week. Then our first foray focused on Corydon in nearby Indiana, barely a half-hour away. Something else figured…

  • Carolina Wetlands, Part 6 (Ruins and Tombs)

    South Carolina sure loved its old buildings whether lovingly maintained or reduced to rubble. In particularly her people revered historic churches with their requisite cemeteries filled with live oaks and draped in Spanish moss. Old churches and weathered cemeteries became a recurring theme on my journey. Or sometimes just the family cemeteries of long-lost plantations…

  • Carolina Wetlands, Part 5 (The Swamp Fox)

    So we finally get to Brigadier General Francis Marion, the so-called Swamp Fox. He was born on the family plantation sometime around 1732 although no definitive record exists, strangely enough. Then he spent much of his life there except for brief forays that included a stint in the French and Indian War. Nonetheless he was…

  • Carolina Wetlands, Part 4 (This Means War)

    I expected to run into a ton of Civil War history during my excursions. After all, the first shots of the conflict happened nearby at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. So it surprised me to see a lot less than I figured within the pocket I explored. There was some of course, but not much…

  • Marigot on Market Day

    Wednesday Market – Place du Marché; Marigot, Saint-Martin (March 2011) An international border splits the island of St. Martin into French and Dutch halves. Marigot serves at the French capital and the largest French town with about 6,000 residents. It sits on the western side of the island on a picturesque bay, facing towards Anguilla…

  • Historic Cantillon Brewery and Museum

    Brussels, Belgium (November 2003) Deep in the heart of Brussels, not far from the Grand’ Place, sits a small throwback to a simpler time. In ages past, people maintained a more intimate connection with the food and beverages they consumed. The Cantillon Brewery preserves this aesthetic. It serves a working museum (map) open for guided…

  • Belgium (November 2003)

    Monde Sauvage, Aywaille Our visit to Belgium this time was quite a bit different than any of our previous trips. We needed to focus on keeping a 2-year-old entertained so our usual options would not work. Our little guy loves animals so visiting Monde Sauvage [roughly translated: “Wild World”] seemed a natural choice (map). His…