Haphazard Holidays
Day 1
Sun, Serpent, Sun
Day 2
Return to Koolwink
Day 3
Big 'Uns
Day 4
A Three State Meeting
Day 5
Christmas in Ferryland
Day 6
On to NY
Day 7
Graves on a Gray Day
Day 8
To a Town Called Jim
Day 9
Back to Ohio
Day 10
Twenty-Two to Home
December 30, 2023 (day 10)
It was a day of manikins, bridges, statues, and rituals -- and getting
home.
December 29, 2023 (day 9)
I stopped by a 210 year old bridge and a 114 year old gas station then
revisited some much younger nutcrackers.
December 28, 2023 (day 8)
I left my son's family by the high waters of the Hudson then left New York
over the high waters of the Delaware. I finished my visits to all
Pennsylvania counties and my rainy day travels at Jim Thorpe, PA.
December 27, 2023 (day 7)
The day started with one of the coolest bakeries ever and ended with a
photo-free evening with my son and his family. In between I wandered up
and down the banks of the Hudson and through the graves of Sleepy Hollow
in the gray and damp.
December 26, 2023 (day 6)
I encountered a little rain, a little fog, and a little (sometimes a lot
of) traffic on my drive to connect with my oldest son in the Hudson River
Valley.
December 25, 2023 (day 5)
Just an old fashioned battlefield tour, lost cemetery, Chinese dinner
Christmas.
December 24, 2023 (day 4)
I drove from one state to another and walked to a third but it wasn't far.
There is history wherever you look in Harpers Ferry.
December 23, 2023 (day 3)
According to Wiktionary, both "colossuses" and "colossi" are legitimate
plural forms of "colossus". "Colossi" is preferred by Roadside America,
Atlas Obscura, and me.
December 22, 2023 (day 2)
The shortest distance between two points is generally boring. I may have
driven the shortest road between Marietta, OH, and Romney, WV, but it was
neither boring nor the proverbial straight line. I ended the day at
another place where I've stayed before but it's been a while.
December 21, 2023 (day 1)
Solstice 2023 started at a piece of Ohio's newly designated World Heritage
Site and ended where more world heritage once existed. In between I
stopped at a location nominated but not yet recognized as a World Heritage
Site.
Prelude - December 12, 2023
Talk of ancient mounds and solstice reminded me that my 2021 solstice
plans had not quite worked out. Sunrise at Fort Ancient was just fine but
I botched being where I should have been for the sunset in Marietta. I
decided I would begin this year's Christmas Escape Run with a corrected
version of that. But, where 2021's solstice related stops were a prelude
to established plans in West Virginia, I had nothing in mind for this
year. A possible visit to my oldest son earlier in the year had been done
in by other requirements so thoughts of trying again popped up. Those
thoughts took root once I verified that he wouldn't be traveling himself.
Since I last saw him in New Orleans, he moved to New York. He first went to New York City which is one of my least favorite places on earth and one of the places hit hardest by COVID. He has since moved out of the city which made a visit much more inviting. It would have been a fine road trip in August. But New York has been known to get lots of snow on occasion which is where the "haphazard" part of the trip title comes in. I still don't have any real plans but will target arrival a day or two after Christmas with the constant possibility of veering off to the south should weather warrant.