160.5 bike riding miles
625.3 walking miles
7,321 driving miles
4 tent camps
44 motel/hotel stays
5 nights @ John Logue/Braintree, MA
5 nights @ Kamp Keberle
3 nights @ Bronx Keberle
2 nights @ Dennis/Susie Pearsall/ Spring Lake Heights, NJ
1 night @ Kirk/Shannon Franz/ Cummings, GA
8 glorious nights with our lovely wives/Charleston, SC/Savannah, GA
1 night @ David/Donna Kent/Bartow, FL
Total days: 74
The rest of the tale will come in random recollections, capricious artificial categories, mind farts, bursts of inspiration, and whatever ADHD induced blather that foams out.
Best Hotel: Mrytle Beach-off season $
Worst Motel: Carolina/Duke-stench $$
Most Common Motel-Red Roof Inn
Best Overall Accommodation- Charleston
Best Overall Restaurant-Hominy Grill
Best Just Boys Breakfast-Biscuit Head
Worst Breakfast-Airport Plaza, Roanoke
Most Scenic Driving-Blue Ridge Parkway
Most Fun Back Road-Shooting Creek Road
Most Difficult Driving-Atlanta in the rain.
Second place-Dense fog on the parkway.
Most Enjoyable Mountain Driving-Along the Creeper Trail
Turn-a-Rounds-More than a few
Longest walk-Brooklyn
Best Nature Walk-Upstate New York
Avergage daily walking miles-9.5
Very Best Human-Chip Kent who dropped from the sky like an angel on the day Ed's heart went kerfuffel. He gave up his whole day to help us, offered us his home, and whatever else we may have needed.
Best Friend-John Logue, who not only drove out from Braintree to Ayer to rescue us, but also suffered a five day invasion.
Most Inspiring Historical Figure-George Marshall whose abilities as a conciliator and world visionary after World War Two amazes me now that I've been reminded of the details of the Marshall Plan: $13B price tag, 16 countries involved, untold benefits in terms of good will.
Most Moving Civil War site-Andersonville
Most Depressing Civil War site- Gettysburg-the memory of the carnage is planted like bodies as memorialized by the monuments, monoliths, statues, and plaques.
Most Moving Museum-Marine Corps
Most Beautiful College Campus-Washington and Lee
Most Ostentatious College Campus-Duke
Most Understated College Campus-Harvard
Best Burger-Mr. Bartleby's in Harvard Square where I was also able to connect with my cousin, Joan
Favorite Historical site-Kitty Hawk
Favorite Art-Ben Long Frescos in the mountain churches of West Jefferson and Glendale Springs, NC
Cutest Girls-the Franz girls in Cummings
Funnest Random Teenagers Met-The kids in Brunswick who were conducting an informal survey on four letter word power.
Best Natural View-Chimney Rock, NC
Most Generous Man-Herbert Jones who drove us all over Rocky Mount, VA in his tricked out 1962 Powder Blue Ford Fairline.
Best Coffee and Surprise-Americus, GA where a local businessman has worked out a deal benefial to coffee growers in Guatemala.
Best Music-Floyd Country Store in Floyd, VA
Best Key Lime Pie-Burdine's in Marathon, Fl
Biggest Thrill-Airboat ride in the Everglades
Biggest Shock-Dollywood. We drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park only to find the glittering fun zone. It was family Vegas; all glitter minus the bars, gambling, and dancing girls.
Best name for a "best" human-Ulysses
Best Food for Thought-"If your dream doesn't scare you, it's not big enough."
Recurrent Lesson Learned-People are more alike than they're different.
Most Serious Question Contemplated-What right should be common to all people?
Most Inspiring Concept-George Marshall's Defense of his plan: "Our policy is not directed against any country or doctrine but against poverty, hunger, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose shall be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist."
Fondest Hope-A leader of George Marshall's status will emerge in the present day.
Constant and recurrent belief-Life is good, especially today.
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