BloggingAcrossAmerica

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"I'm a starving satirist and social commentator. And, I'm currently in the Mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State. Where can I find a target-rich environment?" - 10/08/2003

New Paltz! October 8, 2003: If you're looking for targets for your stinging social commentary and satire, New Paltz is truly a target-rich environment. In Kingston, I picked up a copy of their local free rag, the Chronogram.

The Shawagunks - 10/08/2003

October 8, 2003: Are you looking to rock climb to the top of a cliff that's not a real peak in a less-than-wilderness setting about as populated as Griffith Park? Well, look no further than the Shawagunks, or the "gunks" for short. It's not that they're bad from a climbing perspective; most of the routes are probably beyond even the capabilities of the mighty Lonewacko. Ye...

"Where can I buy crack in the mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State?" - 10/08/2003

Newburgh! "Where can I get a cheap hooker and a no-tell hourly motel in the mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State?" Yes, Newburgh! October 7, 2003: The section of 9 between the 84 and Poughkeepsie looked like, well, Hawthorne Blvd. through Torrance: a wide highway with shopping centers, gas stations, and the like on either side. Not that good, but not that bad either, as Lonew...

In the footsteps of Al Sharpton - 10/08/2003

I (thankfully) exited Connecticut and entered the next state over, New York, on the 84. Looking at the map I realized I had the opportunity to drive through Wappingers Falls, so, naturally, I decided to do so. For a small town, WF, or at least the main street portion of it, doesn't look that bad.

Across Connecticut - 10/08/2003

[This is a housekeeping entry; see the next entry or the one two back for the real excitement.] October 6, 2003: After his special guest appearance at BloggerCon, Lonewacko drove through Connecticut as quickly as possible. He was on his way to visit the rock climbing areas in the Shawagunks about 100 miles north of NYC. I had already visited the highest point in CT a few years back so there wasn&#...

The Maine posts - 10/08/2003

I spent almost a couple weeks in Maine, and I pretty much enjoyed it up there, all things considered. I've already posted a little about the trip, and I have several more posts to go. However, in the interest of efficient blog administration, I've decided to skip forward to the present day to try to keep this blog as current as possible. I'll fill in the gaps later. I also biked in...

Canada off U.S. soil! - 10/07/2003

Since I'm getting Instalanched, now's a good time to give a preview of a longer post. Briefly, Canada and the U.S. have a boundaries dispute involving a small island off the Maine coast, Machias Seal Island. My preliminary investigation reveals that this is U.S. territory, yet Canada thinks otherwise. This is described here, and a longer treatment is here. U.S.

I'm at BloggerCon... - 10/05/2003

I'm passing out these flyers to the 50 or so people still here.

Meet me at BloggerCon 2003! - 10/04/2003

Lonewacko will be making a special guest appearance at BloggerCon this Sunday October the 5th. I'll be available for interviews throughout the day (probably from about 11am on). The flyers I'll be passing out will have more details, including a fee structure for interviews or personal appearances. See you there!

She said "wicked" - 10/02/2003

Sep. 22, 2003: As I was driving towards Mt. Washington, I saw these black plumes of smoke high up the mountain, and I couldn't figure out what they were from. A forest fire above treeline? Some strange weather phenomenon? Then I remembered the cog railway, a century-old train system that goes to the top of the mountain.

Oh Gawd, now I'm going to get google hits for "Lyndon LaRouche" - 10/02/2003

Sep. 22, 2003: After Littleton, Lonewacko drove himself to the Mount Washington area to check out the possibility of climbing it. Along the way, I saw the sign announcing that the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference ("BWMC") was signed at the Mount Washington Hotel, so I decided to make the pilgrimage and see what all the fuss was about. For some reason, I have an association between Lynd...

Littleton, NH - 10/02/2003

Sep. 21, 2003: After Mt. Mansfield, I took the 2 through St. Johnsbury VT and Littleton NH. In St. Johnsbury I stopped for a slice of pizza and found to my surprise a fellow traveler: a college-age kid who'd been in 43 of the states, and who'd driven across the U.S. in six days. Despite that, he chose to live in St. Johnsbury, apparently because he's a snowmobiler. I was pressed for...

Vindication on Mansfield - 10/02/2003

Sep. 21, 2003: I tried to get up Mt. Mansfield (Vermont's highest point at 4393'), a few years ago. As I did then, I took the gondola up. There were no carnie-related issues as there were last time, in fact, they were quite helpful. I hereby withdraw my earlier characterization.

Bienvenue a Plattsburgh! - 10/02/2003

Sep. 20, 2003: After climbing Marcy, I drove to Plattsburgh, getting there at night. Unfortunately, there was some kind of swine grower's convention or lumberjack rodeo or some convention or other in town, and all the rooms were either too expensive or booked. Furthermore, I was dismayed to find that the highway signs in the Plattsburgh area were bilingual. Aren't we going a bit too far ...

Mountain climbing is my job - 10/02/2003

Sep. 20, 2003: I clocked in at 10am, I slogged my way up the interminable trail to Mt. Marcy (New York state's highest point at 5344'), I ate lunch on the top, I hiked down, and then I clocked out at 5:30pm. The hike itself wasn't that bad, it was just, well, interminable. It's a total of 15 miles round trip, and about 3274' of gain. The first two miles go to a dam, and t...

Lake Placid - 10/02/2003

Sep. 19, 2003: I tried to get up to Lake Placid before dark, but I failed. However, "Ems" (see the previous entry) provided me with some useful beta on a low-priced motel there, the Saint Moritz. Because it was a Friday, they wanted $45 for a room, so I drove around a bit looking for something lower. I really wanted a room rather than tenting because I wanted to climb Mt. Marcy the next ...

The ever-expanding consciousness of Lonewacko - 10/02/2003

Via Blog RE: Our conversation of Sep. 19, 2003 ("The Conversation") Dear "Ems,"     I'm sorry it took me so long to post about our meeting at the EMS store in Albany. As you can see, I'm not using your real name. ("EMS" store, "Ems," get it?) As you explained in The Conversation, you're a massage therapist,...

I Blogged Across America - 9/29/2003

You'll note that the last entry took place 10 days ago, about the time I entered northern New England. Internet access here is extremely difficult, unless you stay at one of the few large hotels or have a monthly landline service of some kind. So, the blog is a bit out of sync with my current activities. In any case, I'm currently in Bar Harbor, Maine, and I think I'm going to spend...

Lonewacko has friends in high places - 9/29/2003

Sep. 19, 2003: Driving through Troy, I spotted the headquarters of the Tutunjian for Mayor campaign. Since I was having trouble finding the visitor's information center, and since I wanted to know where I could score some hummous, falafel, tahini, and all the other good things I had come to take for granted back in L.A., I stopped by. I visibly winced when he said he was a Republican. Despit...

Albany/Troy/Schenectady - 9/29/2003

Sep. 19, 2003: Albany is semi-OK, for a capital city that few go to unless they've got governance on their minds. It has some high-crime areas, and it also has an interesting area where I was able to buy two very greasy slices from a shop obviously owned by a devout Muslim at around 10pm. His enburkaed wife helped out, and he had a few posters praising Allah on the walls. It's too bad he...

Getting across Pennsylvania - 9/29/2003

Sep. 18, 2003: I wanted to get to New England as quickly as possible, because I'd dawdled a bit in the towns in Illinois and elsewhere. On the way out of Bedford, I briefly stopped at the Tourist Bureau, but they were a bit parochial and didn't really have anything of interest. The Whisky Rebellion taking place there seemed to be the most well-known attraction. I briefly stopped outside ...

"Susan Poulin to present 'Franco Fry' at UMFK's Fox Auditorium October 5" - 9/26/2003

Fort Kent - On Sunday, October 5, 2003, actress-playwright Susan Poulin will present her critically acclaimed one-woman play 'Franco Fry (Or, Pardon My French!)' in a 1:00 p.m. matinee performance at UMFK's Fox Auditorium. In 'Franco Fry,' native Mainer and Franco-American Poulin recounts her sometimes humorous, sometimes treacherous journey to reconnect with her Franco-A...

Vers le nord avec Lonewacko - 9/26/2003

[All the other posts here are in English./Tous les autres posts ici sont en Anglais.] "Ou sont les communities francophones?" j'ai inquirie de un few peuple a les bureaux touristiques et elsewhere. Oui, bien sur, j'ai wanted to brush up on my French. En Los Angeles, est no problem de trouver lieux ou on peut ecouter Spanish, j'ai wanted the meme chose en Maine. Selon de ce...

Maine? - 9/23/2003

I'm in Maine. Maine? The Lonewacko has heretofore known very little about Maine, mostly out of disinterest. It was all the way at the other end of the country after all. Wasn't it really actually part of Canada anyway? Lonewacko was apparently out of the loop, because not only do people live here, they apparently come here (in the summer) in droves. For some strange reason, that point i...

I have to go back to Mt. Davis? - 9/17/2003

BEDFORD, PA - Pictured above are, from the top: - the view from Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia - Seneca Rocks, WV

West Virginia: "It's not as bad as you feared" - 9/16/2003

Yes, that's right, I've made it all the way to Elkins, West Virginia. Why, I'm almost to the East Coast. Regarding WV, put your preconceptions aside. I've been here already six hours, and I've not once been "jacked," robbed, marked as a tourist city slicker and tailed by toothless mountain folk in a '42 Ford pickup and run off the road, nor any other bad thi...

I'm the king of the flatland summits - 9/16/2003

Earlier today I bagged the highpoints of Indiana (1257') and Ohio (1550'). The tent area of the KOA Kampground where I stayed yesterday was nestled between a nice little pond and the ever-present noise of I70. So, I didn't get much sleep and I didn't feel up to going for a third, fourth, or even fifth in the same day.

One circle, and a lot of holes - 9/15/2003

INDIANAPOLIS - "Indy," a.k.a. "The Circle City," looks OK for a flat midwestern town. But, if it's the 11th largest city in the U.S., we're in trouble. The per capita asshole population here seems to be greater than most other places I've visited on my tour. The downtown area is small but looked semi-attractive. There seemed to be many joggers present, and the po...

"Flyers are a Cacophonist's best friend" - 9/14/2003

INDIANA - So, I was trying to find guest bloggers by standing out in front of Cosi's cafe on Michigan in Chicago. I was holding up a sign that said "Free Blogathon." Almost immediately after setting up, I found what would be my single guest blogger. The rest of the people either worked hard to ignore me, or read the sign and then either smiled or looked at me funny. In any case, the...

Blogging live from Chicago - 9/14/2003

My first guest blogger is Doug, who took his baby for her first trip to the Art Institute, and "she's glad to be born in the year of the second Cubs/White Sox World Series." Also, "She's doing everything she can to overturn the Bush coup." UPDATE: Other than Doug, the rods up these peoples' butts have rods up their butts. Things like this would never happen in L...

Chicago - 9/13/2003

I drove into the Chicago ourskirts on Thursday night, and Friday I went into the city. I started in the Loop, and then I went to a nearby area to visit a couple places that I vaguely remember from many, many years ago. Friday was quite an emotionally difficult day for me, and I still haven't quite got over it. One of the places I visited has been shuttered for a couple years, and will probabl...

Starved Rock State Park - 9/13/2003

Pictured above is French Canyon, at Starved Rock State Park about 80 miles west of Chicago. There are several small canyons about 50-100' deep, and all the trails on the tops of the canyons are actually board walks with handrails. Which, to a certain extent makes sense as there are a few direct vertical drops from the tops to the canyon below. However, somehow I don't think something wi...

Everything's normal in Normal, IL - 9/13/2003

Normal, Illinois is a smallish town coalesced with Bloomington, Illinois into Siamese twins of unrelenting Midwestern normalness. According to a local source (a hot little Gidget type who despite having received a Lonewacko: Blogging Across America card has not corresponded with me), the students at Illinois State University are quite an abnormal lot.

Shea's - 9/12/2003

My interview and pictures at Joe Shea's Route 66 museum can't do it justice, and it's already been covered many times. In his former service station he's collected various Route 66 memorabilia. He showed me various articles that U.S. and overseas newspapers had written about him, including one from the 2/17/02 LAT.

Looking for weird - 9/12/2003

While touring the Lincoln House, I noticed that a reporter and his cameraman were outside shooting. It turned out to be Jerry Lambert, News Anchor of Springfield's NBC affiliate News Channel 20. They were there to interview an NPS official about funding for the Lincoln exhibits. "What are the main local stories?

The Land of Lincoln - 9/12/2003

Pictures from Lincoln's house in Springfield IL. That's the actual desk he used, not a replica. Which is kinda trippy when you hold up the ranger's tour thinking about it.

I couldn't get across Missouri fast enough - 9/12/2003

Unfortunately, I had to spend a night there. Like working through sedimentary layers, MO gets down and dirty and pretty darn close to the unreconstructed hickdom frequently visible elsewhere in the midwest. The greenery and water is certainly attractive, and one can almost imagine Huck and Tom around the next bend. However, it's also home to things like the Ozarkland gift shop.

No thanks, I already have one - 9/12/2003

Apparently, regional English in the eastern Colorado and Kansas areas dictates that one must say "Do you want a sack?" when one is, in fact, offering a "bag." Chicago seems to be using the correct "bag."

The Pork Belt - 9/12/2003

The next morning, I decided to go check out KC. By this time, I had asked several of the fine residents of the eastern suburbs about this West Port. "All manner of weirdos go there" was the common refrain. In search of my fellow weirdos, I decided to check it out.

Converging on Greenspunness - 9/12/2003

The reader has, no doubt, heard of Philip Greenspun, author of the famous web journal Travels with Samantha. Basically, his dog dies, so he drives across America and Canada, chatting up and taking pictures of pretty women. The Lonewacko Blogging Across America tour is simply following in his giant footsteps across this great land.

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