Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Cities/Towns

  • Canal Street / Algiers Ferry

    New Orleans, Louisiana (April 2008) This video records our Mississippi River traverse from the base of Canal Street in New Orleans across to Algiers Point in April 2008 (map). This presents scenic views of the waterfront on both sides of the river from multiple perspectives. I tried to do the same thing on an earlier…

  • Aircraft Carrier, Part 1 (Getting to Norfolk)

    I’d been on-and-off the road repeatedly for weeks, taking one brief trip after another for the entire summer.  The latest stretch brought me to six different places over twelve days.  I just wanted to get home and sleep in my own bed for awhile. That lasted barely three nights.  Then I headed right back out…

  • A Big Milestone – 1500!

    My travels this summer fell into a distinct pattern as I completed recent Twelve Mile Circle articles. I didn’t even plan to mention the most recent long weekend excursion until I crossed an important milestone somewhat unexpectedly. This marked our annual visit to Madison, Wisconsin for the Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival, our tenth straight…

  • Ithaca, Part 2 (Waterfalls)

    Some sources claimed the presence of “over 150 waterfalls within 10 miles” of Ithaca, New York.  I guess it depends on how they’re defined.  Even so, waterfalls seemed to pop into view just about anywhere we looked.  As numerous T-shirts and bumper stickers around town reminded us, “Ithaca is Gorges.” We squeezed a lot of…

  • Ithaca, Part 1 (Four Busy Days)

    We can drive from our home outside of Washington, DC to Ithaca, New York surprisingly easily.  All it takes is about six hours in the car over some pretty scenic roads.  I’ve loved New York’s Finger Lake Region for many years, one of the few places I’ve ever returned to for repeated vacations.  We didn’t…

  • Jersey Shore, Part 6 (A Little History)

    It seemed like we spent an inordinate amount of time chasing lighthouses, boardwalks, and breweries although we found other things too.  I’ve always been fascinated by historical sites and I scoured the area for targets.  A lot of notable events happened in the northeastern United States.  The Europeans arrived there early so I suspected the…

  • Jersey Shore, Part 3 (Lighthouses)

    I enjoy visiting lighthouses . They’re also one of those things I like to count and track. Of course I researched the most promising locations long before I ever got to the New Jersey coastline. This shore seemed particularly attractive so I sifted through a bunch of options and planned my strategy. I found several possibilities although I…

  • Jersey Shore, Part 2 (Boardwalks)

    What should people do when they visit the Jersey Shore?  Hit some of the many well-known boardwalks of course.  I doubt any other stretch of Atlantic coastline in the United States has a greater density of boardwalks than New Jersey.  We traveled the length of the state’s waterfront, heading north to south, from Sandy Hook…

  • Cross-Country, Part 8 (Bonus!)

    Finally the end. Or was it? We’d driven most of the way across the United States. Then we spent a full week in Phoenix, Arizona. However, we weren’t completely done. Our rental home agreement ended two days before our return flight so we needed to spend a little time somewhere else. Originally my wife figured we could go down to…

  • Cross-Country, Part 7 (A Week in Phoenix)

    We drove for five long days and finally arrived in Arizona.  However, the adventure did not end there. Phoenix had always been the ultimate goal.  Our decision to go on a road trip sprang from that choice.  My wife and younger son wanted no part of the drive and flew to Phoenix instead.  There they…