Author: Twelve Mile Circle

  • Southern Hills, Day 2 (Roadside Attractions)

    We built a buffer into our schedule. That way, we figured, if plans went awry we’d still have an extra day to get down to the first race. As it happened everything unfolded beautifully on Day 2 so it was all about seeing as many roadside attractions as we could squeeze into daylight hours. An…

  • Southern Hills, Day 1 (Positioning)

    I returned to more familiar travel patterns during the current and hopefully permanent lull in the COVID-19 pandemic. This included my first airline flight since February 2020 when I returned from Bermuda. Then the world shut down and I endured the longest period of my life without an airline flight since I was fourteen years…

  • Florida I-10 Time Zone Crossing

    I’ll bet you’re checking your phone right now, driving along Interstate 10 in Florida and wondering where the time changes. I think I can help you. It happens between Mile Markers 160 and 161. If you’re driving westbound, going from Eastern Time into Central Time, set your coordinates to: 30.633557°, -84.904119° If you’re driving eastbound,…

  • Thumb Drive, Day 2

    On the first day I stuck to my original plan. However, I needed to pivot to something different on the second day due to a storm hundreds of miles away. As an alternate, I could finish Michigan’s Thumb with only three more counties remaining: Sanilac, Huron and Tuscola. True, it would involve backtracking along some…

  • Thumb Drive, Day 1

    My older son had to get back to Michigan State University for the start of the new semester and it was my turn to drive. It takes about nine hours to get there under ordinary circumstances so it involves an overnight stay in East Lansing. Then, I figured, I might as well stay a little…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 6 (Brews)

    If I’m talking about breweries, I must be near the end of this series. Yes, thankfully, that’s the truth. I appreciate all of you for sticking around to the end. In typical fashion I’ll state up-front that this is about appreciation of the craft; quality over quantity. So typically we’ll order a flight of small…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 5 (Critters)

    I’ve covered some pretty comprehensive topics in the last several installments. So let’s get a little more lighthearted with the content and shift gears. Everybody loves animals, right? I sure do, and we saw a bunch of them on Bogue Banks. Whether captive or in the wild there was something here for everyone. North Carolina…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 4 (Conflicts)

    These areas near the coast were particularly valuable during a time when limited transportation options existed. Naturally new European arrivals settled there and built their towns. Even so, times were not always wonderful. Differing outlooks led to inevitable conflicts. Just as I’d discovered during my recent trip to South Carolina, military conflicts left their marks…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 3 (Ferries)

    Now we’re getting to the good stuff! I didn’t just sit along the shoreline and watch the sun and the waves all day. Sure I did plenty of that but I had other adventures too. Plus I got a chance to add another video to the world’s lamest YouTube channel. I hope you like ferries.…

  • Bogue Banks Bound, Part 2 (Observations)

    I’d heard of Bogue Banks prior to my recent trip although I’d never traveled there before. On the other hand I’d spent extensive time a little farther north up the coast on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. This time I wanted to try something new. Then I felt I should dig a little deeper into the…