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New Hampshire

This Week on the Road - December 21st

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This Week on the Road - December 21st

Hello Everyone. Christmas week is upon us! It snuck up on me pretty quickly this year, but I’m very grateful to have been able to spend the holiday season with friends and family at home. It’s always nice to be home in Washington this time of year as I truly think it’s the best time of the year to be in our nation’s capital. I’m writing to you this week from my brother’s house here in New Hampshire where I’ve only just arrived this evening. I figured it would be good to spend a few days in New England before heading off to old England for the New Year.

It’s been a fun and festive week here and I hope you are all enjoying the season however and wherever you celebrate it. We’ve certainly been busy and I’d love to tell you what we’ve gotten into this week. Last Tuesday my folks and I took a wonderful candlelit tour of the Tudor House, one of Washington’s oldest homes, the oldest parts of which date back to the late 18th century. We drank cocoa, ate mince pies and pound cake and heard the story of the family which called Tudor House home for 6 generations. Many of the furnishings are original to the house and the whole house was decorated for Christmas which was really special. After our tour we had a great dinner at Farmers, Fishers and Bakers on the Georgetown Waterfront while watching ice skaters cruise around the rink.

Wednesday we got up early and headed up to Columbia, Maryland to check out an afternoon matinee at Toby’s Dinner Theatre. We started with a really delicious buffet brunch and then enjoyed a fabulous production of the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life performed in the round. The actors were great and the adaptation was incredibly well done. This was definitely a highlight of the season and I will absolutely be returning to Toby’s in the future. After the show we took a spin around Historic Ellicott City, a town I’ve really enjoyed visiting over the last couple of years. The town was decorated for the season and it was fun to wind around the hills and rivers for an hour or so. We wound up the day with a few craft beers at the nearby Sapwood Cellars Brewery.

On Thursday I spent the day cleaning and packing and then headed over to my friend Sandy’s house for dinner. Sandy was my date to my senior prom and has become one of my very good friends over the last thirty years.

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 35

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 35

Hello Everyone! It’s December! That means 2020 is almost over and it’s Christmas season which are both things that make me happy. It’s definitely getting dark early these days which is not my favorite thing in the world. While I love the nighttime and the dark, I really prefer my daylight to stretch until at least 6. Thankfully it’s only three weeks until the Winter Solstice and then we can start looking towards springtime. The good thing about it getting dark earlier this time of year is that it means more time to see the beautiful Christmas lights and displays in people’s yards. I do love Christmas lights and I know from how many decorations were up for Halloween that this year will be bigger than usual. If you’re still looking for some holiday gifts for friends and family, don’t forget about my beautiful Cloudland Canyon wooden jigsaw puzzle available here from Wentworth Puzzle Company. And if you have any photos of mine that you like, I’d be happy to sell you a print or a beautiful aluminum art piece. You can check out prices at my store here, and know that I can do any photo you want, not just the ones featured there – don’t hesitate to reach out and we can make it happen.

I had a big little win this week which definitely made me smile. At the very beginning of this adventure when I was trying to build a blog from the tiny fishing village I lived in in Japan, I started to look for web addresses which would suit the project. I have always loved the Robert Frost poem which inspired the name for this blog, and was trying to figure out how to make it all work. When I looked up milestogobeforeisleep.com, it was available, but for a cost of like $1500. No page would be worth that to me, so I settled on its catchy but somewhat more complicated twin, miles2gobeforeisleep.com. I’m still happy with that decision, but the “2” can make it harder for people to remember etc. I’ve kept my eye on that page for ten years now and last week whoever owned it finally gave up the ghost and I snatched it up the very next day. It’s kind of silly at this point, but like I said it was a very small victory and it made me happy.

I also had a really nice offer come in this week from my friend Kim who owns and operated Up The Keys tours in Key West. She is planning on doing some sailing for a few months this winter and wanted to know if I would come and run her business for her while she was gone. It was a wonderful offer and I was very touched and humbled that she would ask, and who wouldn’t want to spend the winter in Key West? Any other time and I would jump at this, but I’m just not comfortable with guiding tours right now, not until I get a vaccine which is hopefully just months away at this point. I think I’m here in D.C. until that happens, which I’m not unhappy about, but I will be dreaming of the Keys for the next few weeks. I know when the time is right that something great will come along. It always does for me.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving last Thursday with my brother and his family in New Hampshire. He cooked up a real feast and I was definitely impressed with his cooking ability. It was a day of food and festivity and a very relaxed one at that…

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Snapshots: Winter in New Hampshire

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Snapshots: Winter in New Hampshire

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving in New Hampshire last week and got out to do a little bit of exploring and to take these photos. It was lovely to drive around the small towns in the south of the state and I enjoyed seeing what they had to offer. Beautiful New England spires were ubiquitous, but I also found some stoic old industrial buildings and some incredibly still water to get some reflections shots. I hope you enjoy these photos from southern New Hampshire as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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Happy Thanksgiving from Miles2Go

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Happy Thanksgiving from Miles2Go

This year I’m celebrating our American Thanksgiving Day with my brother and his family here in Amherst, New Hampshire. It will be good to be with family this Thanksgiving and to sit around the fireplace, sipping a hot drink and laughing out loud. I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve spent Thanksgiving in a lot of different places over the years. I’ve spent Thanksgiving in Key Largo and Grand Canyon, Stowe and New Orleans, West Virginia, St. Thomas and even in Japan. I’ve worked as many Thanksgivings as I’ve had off in my adult life. I’ve often found myself with 12 international guests on tour and in charge of sharing this wonderful day with people who’ve never celebrated it before. Cooking a Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 over an open campfire is quite a challenge, but a good one.

This year has been a difficult one and it’s important to remember how much we have to be thankful for. I’m thankful for family and friends both near and far. I’m thankful for my health. I’m incredibly thankful for the roof over my head, the food in my stomach and the clean water in my bottle knowing that there are so many who don’t have even that in this world. I’m thankful for all of the opportunities I’ve had in my life - both those which have worked out and those which haven’t. I don’t have much money in the bank, but I consider myself a very wealthy man for the experiences I’ve had, the places I’ve seen and the wonderful people I’ve met over the years. And in this space, I’m incredibly thankful for you, dear reader, for having stuck with this travel blog despite the fact that I’ve traveled less this year than at any point in the last 20 years. I’ll be back on the road as soon as it’s safe and responsible to do so.

Happy Thanksgiving To You

-Mike

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 34

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D.C. Chronicles Volume 34

Hello Everyone! November is coming to a close and I doubt that I’m the only one looking forward to putting 2020 in my rear view mirror. Not that anything will magically change on January 1st, but I definitely believe that next year will be better than this one. Personally I’m looking forward to getting back on the road, seeing some new and beautiful places, catching up with some old friends and making some new ones. I feel like this year I just kicked it up into neutral in April and I’ve been coasting along since them. I remain incredibly grateful for so much that’s happened this year, but I won’t be sad to wave goodbye come New Year’s Day.

One of the biggest joys of this year has been hanging out with my 2 year-old buddy, Mason, who has kept me smiling for a lot of months now. I realized that I’ve now spent over 10% of his life with him. 10% of my life ago, Barrack Obama was still president, so it’s no small amount of time. This week we spent a little more time at the playground than usual. We don’t spend much time there because all the nannies in the neighborhood go there, mingle and let the kids they watch do the same. I don’t want any kids breathing and snotting all over Mason, especially now that cold and flu season is in full swing as I don’t want him or me to get sick. But with colder temperatures fewer people are there, so we’ve at least been able to get the kindergarten playground to ourselves a few times which he really enjoys. He was disappointed when I wouldn’t go down the slide with him, and I tried to explain that I was too big to go or I definitely would. Now when he sees a small playground in someone’s yard he says “Uncle Mike, too big” which I just think is really funny. One of the slides we use I have to pick him up and put him on, which was a nice bicep curl motion to it. I started doing “Mason curls” and counting to ten and he seems to really enjoy it too, so that’s been good for both of us. Beyond that, we’ve been seeing the forest leaves thin and disappear and the change of season has been interesting to watch for both of us. He’s learned some evergreens like cedar, holly and ivy and continues to pull whatever berries he can reach. It was another good stretch hanging out with him.

Last Friday we had a pretty quiet night at home. We had originally planned on heading up to New Hampshire to my brother’s place first thing Saturday morning, so we didn’t want to overdo it on Friday. We had some turkey sandwiches, some pumpkin eggnog and then watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles, one of the only really good Thanksgiving movies out there. It wasn’t as raucous as usual, but it was a fun Friday night with the family just the same…

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part 2)

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part 2)

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go and spend a week with my brother in southern New Hampshire. We went out to explore some of the most beautiful parts of the area by car, by boat and on foot. The fall colors were just starting to kick into high gear, and some of the scenes we saw were truly spectacular. We saw covered bridges over the Ashuelot River, beautiful rural countryside and charming small towns like Hancock and Harrisville. I took a lot of photos, and this is the second post I’ve published with them to allow you to see the area through my lens. I hope you enjoy these photos from fabulous southern New Hampshire.

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part One)

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Snapshots: Fall in New Hampshire (Part One)

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to go and spend a week with my brother in southern New Hampshire. We went out to explore some of the most beautiful parts of the area by car, by boat and on foot. The fall colors were just starting to kick into high gear, and some of the scenes we saw were truly spectacular. We saw covered bridges over the Ashuelot River, lakefront vistas at Lake Winnipesaukee, and charming small towns like Peterborough and Amherst. I took a lot of photos, and this is the first of at least two posts which will allow you to see the area through my lens. I hope you enjoy these photos from fabulous southern New Hampshire.

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Snapshots: Covered Bridges of S.W. New Hampshire

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Snapshots: Covered Bridges of S.W. New Hampshire

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of traveling around southwestern New Hampshire to photograph these wonderful covered bridges. I’ve always had a thing for covered bridges, and these were no exception. Much like the lighthouses and Mail Pouch Barns I’ve featured in the past on this blog, covered bridges are such a beloved and photogenic part of the American landscape. Autumn had just begun when I was out taking these pictures, and was in varying stages depending on which bridge I was looking at, but it certainly was a beautiful day to be out there. I hope you enjoy these beautiful and historic covered bridges from southwestern New Hampshire.

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

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This Week on the Road - September 23rd-30th

Hello Everyone! Wow, it has been six months since I last published This Week on the Road. I can’t describe how great it was just to type those words. I wish I had been able to leave this week and just keep going, but alas it was just for this week. My folks and I drove up to New Hampshire last Wednesday to visit my brother and his family. The fall colors are coming in beautifully in New England and we had a wonderful visit. We got out and did a lot, and I was very happy to be checking out new places and taking photos in unfamiliar surroundings. It was a wonderful week on the road in New Hampshire.

Our decision to go was not made lightly. We’ve been keeping close to home and keeping our interactions to a minimum, maintaining our distance and wearing our masks. My folks aren’t as young as they once were and with my diabetes we’re all at heightened risk, not to mention the fact that I’m spending my days with a child who I simply cannot get sick. While my brother and his girlfriend are doing what they’re supposed to do as well, seeing them would bring more people into our safety web. But with winter and a second wave coming, New Hampshire being a state with things relatively in control and the looming election we decided that if we wanted to see them this year, this was probably the time. The fall colors and the ability to take some photos of somewhere further from home helped to seal the deal. We packed a lunch and made it a direct journey in both directions, followed best practices while we were there and hopefully managed to keep everyone safe and healthy. I’m glad we went.

The trip did help me see how difficult it would be to continue my actual long-term journey at this point in time. Many things remain closed or on limited hours, and while people in New Hampshire seemed generally compliant with safety standards I know that’s not the case for much of the country. While this week definitely tugged at my heart strings and whispered go in my ear, many of the things I would want to see remain closed and the thought of getting really sick while on the road and far from home doesn’t seem like a great idea. So for now I will have to be content with my week away and settle in here in D.C. for the winter. The short days and cold nights of winter on the road are pretty brutal anyway, and without a warm safe pub to tuck into, it would probably be a bit much.

We left on Wednesday and made good time, arriving at my brother’s house at around 3:30 in the afternoon. He and his girlfriend, Errin, have a wonderful home on a windy back road with a nice chunk of land and some room to breathe. I know maintaining it takes a lot of hard work, but they’ve really made a nice home for themselves and their family. After the long ride, we were happy to just settle in, have a few cold beers and catch up a little bit. It feels like a long time since we were there in December, but it all seemed very familiar as well.

Thursday we went for a visit to Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire. It is a beautiful 20 acre garden full of interesting sculptures and beautiful plants and flowers. It took quite a while to meander through the many paths that wound around the property. Bedrock Gardens was quite a unique and special place and is probably phenomenal in spring when all the flowers are starting to bloom. It was very cool.

On Friday, we loaded my brother’s boat onto the trailer and set off for Lake Winnipesaukee in the central part of the state. Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire and is just over an hour north of my brother’s house.

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Happy Holidays from Miles2Go

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Happy Holidays from Miles2Go

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas from me! I feel very fortunate to be home for the holidays this year and happy to celebrate with friends and family. I’ve got two new babies in my close friends network, so it has been amazing to see them start out on their journeys. I also had a great opportunity to go visit my brother for a week in New Hampshire and see his beautiful new home. We got two feet of snow when I was there, so I have gotten my shoveling in for the year. With any luck I’ll be very far south of where I am now before any more snow hits. It was truly beautiful and amazing to see, but I also remember why I tend to avoid the cold weather.

I’ve been home for a little over a month now and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m catching up on all the things that I need to do before setting out again. I’ve been to the doctor and the dentist, seen a lot of old friends and gotten to catch up with my family and help out around the house. I’ve also been hard at work on all of my projects and am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. You can check out these updated photo galleries to see some of the progress I’ve been making:

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