Category: Travel & Adventures

Historical Travels: Mentors, Teaching & Gettysburg

Historical Travels: Mentors, Teaching & Gettysburg

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 5 Comments

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

– A. Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”

The American Civil War has been, and will always be, my historical topic of choice, one nearest to my heart. My research resides there, and my mentor Dr. Robert McGlone lived there with his writings about Abolitionist John Brown. When I visit a monument, memorial, or battlefield, I take the opportunity to explore and understand that historical moment. It makes sense then that I have visited Gettysburg, PA, twice during my life. While exploring those two travel adventures, this post will offer insight into my fascination with Civil War history and where it all began. Join me as I get personal, but with a pointed look at my core historical topic, and the trips that illustrate that tether, tied, and fixed by people, places, and time.

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Returning Home to Fairhaven & Exploring Local Sites in a Jeep Wrangler

Returning Home to Fairhaven & Exploring Local Sites in a Jeep Wrangler

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 7 Comments

“We all come from somewhere. We carry that place with us wherever we go. That never leaves our hearts. Not entirely.”

– Doug Jones (Saru) from Star Trek: Discovery

My hometown matters to me. Yet, I rarely go back to the town I called home for nearly 25 years. It’s not that I don’t want to go back; it’s more that there is little calling for me to return. My parents no longer live locally, and they sold my childhood home years ago. Each time I return, there are fewer reminders of who I once was. Many of my posts situate my hometown as a consistent backdrop. Avoiding the town, therefore, is impossible. I love my hometown. I no longer want to position it on the periphery. But returning home is emotionally challenging and brings forth pleasing and unpleasant emotions; fear, happiness, and uncertainty. It’s a conflicted feeling, but I have attempted to work through these complexities. Fairhaven, Massachusetts, is ultimately home. I may not return for some time, but home will logically always be merely a drive away. After Corinne and I purchased a 2003 Jeep Wrangler, I felt the urge to explore the town I took for granted and left behind nearly two decades ago.

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Welcome to Newport, RI & Remember to Order the Fried Calamari

Welcome to Newport, RI & Remember to Order the Fried Calamari

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“Most men, they’ll tell you a story straight through. It won’t be complicated, but it won’t be interesting either.”

– Albert Finney (Senior Ed Bloom) from Big Fish

I love to tell a story. Spinning tales about travel, personal dislike of snow, and even craft beer crusades allow me to narrate the story of my life, but hopefully, in an entertaining fashion. It reminds me of the film, Big Fish. I constantly think of the line Billy Crudup delivers, as William Bloom, “Have you ever heard a joke so many times you’ve forgotten why it’s funny? And then you hear it again, and suddenly it’s new. You remember why you loved it in the first place.” That is how writing posts on this blog makes me feel. I have forgotten the central meaning of so many stories that I see those events from a fresh perspective as I dig through photos or retread old roads. This fact became clear during a recent trip Corinne and I took to Newport, RI.

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“E Hoomau Maua Kealoha”: Hawaiʻi Cruise for Two

“E Hoomau Maua Kealoha”: Hawaiʻi Cruise for Two

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

“I have crossed the horizon to find you. / I know your name. / They have stolen the heart from inside you. / But this does not define you. / This is not who you are. / You know who you are… who you truly are.”

– Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) from Moana

It isn’t easy to answer when people inquire about where my wife Corinne and I vacationed for our honeymoon. You see, we married in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, yet lived in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Therefore, we left Hawaiʻi to wed, only to return several weeks later, continuing our everyday academic lives. Usually, it’s the opposite, right? As Jason Segel, as Peter Bretter, screams, with ironic anger, in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, “Oh, wedding in Hawaiʻi! Real original!” Yes, we skedaddled from Hawaiʻi to get married. How does someone plan a honeymoon when they live in a tropical paradise? Thus, came into fruition an NCL Hawaiian Islands cruise that served as our honeymoon getaway. Sure, it took two years to go on it, but our first cruise was memorable and filled with love, adventure, and Kona coffee!

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Father & Son Trip to San Francisco

Father & Son Trip to San Francisco

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 8 Comments

“When the lights go down in the city
And the sun shines on the bay
I want to be there in my city”

– “Lights” – Vocals by Journey and Music & Lyrics by Stephen Ray Perry & Neal Joseph Schon

In 2020, my planned trip to Pittsburgh with my dad was scrapped. We had airplane boarding passes, hotel reservations, and baseball tickets to see the New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates. The loss of this trip is insignificant in light of the tragedy many have suffered during the ongoing pandemic. Yet, the cancellation of our journey led me to reflect on our father/son baseball connection, which I discussed in previous posts. Furthermore, it made me think of our trip to California in July of 2012, nearly ten years ago. It was a memorable trip, filled with historical sightseeing and live baseball. There is no better way to heal my empty “travel” heart than by recalling this father/son trip to San Francisco in today’s post.

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Visiting Incredible Skyscrapers, Gardens & Parks in Shanghai, China

Visiting Incredible Skyscrapers, Gardens & Parks in Shanghai, China

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 8 Comments

“Shanghai is split by the Huanpu River, a tributary of Yangtze…The one thing I know for sure about China is; I will never know China. It’s too big, too old, too diverse, too deep. There’s simply not enough time. That’s for me the joy of China, facing a learning curve that impossibly steep.”

– Anthony Bourdain, “Shanghai” on Parts Unknown

I have discussed my one-month stay in China in June of 2018 twice on this blog. Once, I discussed the trip in the context of the brewery scene in Shanghai. More recently, I detailed my weekend excursion to Beijing and visit to the Great Wall of China. Even so, I failed to cover, purposely, some of the significant locations I visited and experiences I had during my time in Shanghai. Therefore, I thought it appropriate to venture back to Shanghai and explore some of those incredible moments that I think about fondly. With the ability to travel still at a standstill, the best I can do is travel into my memories. In those recollections, I discover that I am a pretty capable traveler.

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The Big Island of Hawaiʻi: Waterfalls, Volcanoes & Aloha Spirit

The Big Island of Hawaiʻi: Waterfalls, Volcanoes & Aloha Spirit

by The Wicked Traveled Historian ♥ 7 Comments

“Wait a minute. You look at your window here, you look at those hills, those mountains, all that green, that blue sky and gem-clear sea. It sure looks like paradise to me.”

– Anthony Bourdain in “Hawaiʻi” from Parts Unknown

There are moments in life often reflected upon with eagerness. As I wrote in A Brief Hawaii Moment, my time living in Hawaiʻi was one of the most significant experiences of my life. I got married, earned a Ph.D., lived according to Aloha, and met incredible people. In that post, I explored my life in Hawaiʻi, but I purposely left out some travel narratives that deserve closer attention. One such trip was a sojourn to the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. This trip included snorkeling, a luxury resort, volcanoes, and an encounter with sleeping sea turtles. I most remember the time spent with my wife Corinne and two of our closest friends, who accompanied us on this journey. Someone said, “A good friend knows all your stories. A best friend helped you create them.” Colleen and Don are two best friends who helped us forge memories through travel. Join me as I explore a friendship born with Aloha, board a plane from Oahu, the gathering place, to the Big Island, and observe its beauty, coast to coast.

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