The Terrible Catsafterme

We were starting to close in on nightfall on the evening of Sunday, June 14, 2009, as Bob and I crossed over the Delaware border during our week long road trip. This was my first time in our nation’s very first state (and second smallest) in the union. There were no Presidents from here, no Hard Rock Cafes, no ballparks, and no old long-lost friends for me to meet up with…but there was a State Capitol and that was where we were headed. However we made a couple of quick stops that night before we arrived at our final destination in Dover. Read the rest of this entry »

Our nation’s seventh president Andrew Jackson, who served two consecutive terms from 1829-1837, left more of a legacy than just appearing on the twenty dollar bill. After a loss in the election of 1824 to John Quincy Adams, which was decided by the House of Representatives after Jackson had already won both the popular and electoral vote count, Jackson went on to a sweeping victory in 1828 campaigning as a member of the new Democratic party and and henceforth embarked on one of the most colorful Presidencies that our nation has ever seen. Read the rest of this entry »

It was around 12:30 on Sunday, June 14, 2009, as my friend Bob and I departed Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in search of more famous and thrilling sites in this fine state. We had already dramatically altered our itinerary by spending quite a bit of time in Gettysburg. In fact by this point just two days into our travels, the itinerary basically went out the window because we decided to zip on over to Harrisburg and get the state capitol tour completed – an activity which hadn’t been scheduled until Friday. Obviously, our original route was a bit questionable. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris and I were up, ready, and on the move again come 8am, Friday morning, May 15, 2009. We walked from the Florence apartment to the train station to purchase our tickets and depart for the destination of the day: Venice, Italy. It departed around 9am and took about two and a half hours to get to this famous city located in the northern section of the country. The city itself needs very little introduction. Famous for its canals that flow through 118 islands connected by about 400 bridges, Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. Read the rest of this entry »

I had spent ample time the night before getting ready for my Summer 2009 California journey, having packed all of my clothes, assembled celebrity photos that I needed to bring along, and had all of my incidentals ready to go. However, on the morning of Saturday, July 11, I made an almost near-fatal faux pas which almost wrecked the whole thing. I had set my alarm for 4:20 am with plans to head to my Dad’s house at 5:00, leave his place by 5:30, and arrive at the airport by 6am for my 7am departure. It was all mapped out and it seemed like a bulletproof plan. Read the rest of this entry »