Be Part Of Our American Story

When we arrived at our campsite in College Park, Maryland, it was well after dark. We were happy to discover that our campsite had convenient electric lighting. Each campsite also had a covered gazebo which proved useful for staging the unloaded camping gear. The weather had cleared, and so there was no more pouring rain! As two road-weary travelers who were still figuring out how to set up our tent, cots and air mattresses, all of this was a huge relief.

Unloading and making camp took only slightly less time than it did before. All the camping gear we brought afforded us surprisingly comfortable sleeping accomodations, but I was still very concerned with all the time it was taking us to unload and make camp on arrival, in addition to the even more time-consuming task of breaking camp and carefully packing up all our equipment back into the limited confines of our Alfa Romeo SUV upon our departure.

With many miles yet to travel, I still wasn't certain how or if we were going to pull this trip off. It was still very physically difficult for me being so out of shape, but giving up was not an option. We made certain that our vehicle was thouroughly gone over and serviced before we left. Hopefully we wouldn't encounter any car trouble, major repairs or even worse, a road accident. The roadsides had already revealed the consequences of a few unfortunate auto accidents, and you don't undertake an estimated 20,000-mile road trip without the expectation that you will at least be experiencing some close calls, even if your driving is perfect.

Not to mention the financial pressures that began to mount early on. I was taking an estimated 76 days off from my law practice to complete this journey, but my personal monthly expenses and law firm overhead all still had to be paid. I was fiinding it much more difficult to work from the road than I had anticipated with everything else that was going on. I was grateful to the dozens of donors who had generously contributed to our Go Fund Me appeal, but according to our budget the four thousand dollars we raised would just about cover our gasoline.

I just tried to maintain faith and optimism that somehow we would find a groove and figure it all out, learning by doing. I would find a way to work more effectively and somehow the money issues would improve. Hopefully things would get easier as our road trip progressed. I just had to believe.

The following day we set out for Annapolis, Maryland, which, as we all know, is most recognized as the home of the West Point Naval Academy. When we first arrived in Annapolis, there were many cadets in uniform walking the streets. Our first stop was the Museum of Historic Annapolis.

The history of Annapolis is facinating. Annapolis gets its name from Greek meaning "City of Ana". I expected it to be all about West Point, but instead we discovered a town with a very diverse history, very typical of our American story. Of course the region was home to native tribes for 10,000 years. But for the town of Annapolis, at the heart of it all, well before the Naval Academy, well before there was a United States, there was a thriving African American population living virtually side-by-side with the English and European settlers. Beginning in the 19th century and continuing throughout the great European migration, the town became even more diverse, as the refuge of a thriving immigrant population.

After the museum, Ollie was inspired to purchase some notepads so he could start writing down some of the interesting facts and information. We found a great paper store and spent a bit too much money on various pens and note pads. Afterwards, we headed out to explore the beautiful Annapolis waterfront, where we learned about the rich maritime history of Annapolis and the historic Chesapeake Bay.

We even spoke with some of the local fishermen who graciously entertained us with their jokes and stories. One that stood out in particular was a crab fisherman who told us a true story about two fishermen who were both at the docks we were on. Both hooked up and as they fought their fish, they were so excited about the expected size of the catch. Until they realized they had snagged each other's gear. A common occurence perhaps, but the way he told the story was just hilarious. He could have been a successful standup comedian. You could tell he really enjoyed telling that story.

On our way back to camp, we stopped at a local market for all we would need to make steak and baked potatoes. Once we arrived at camp, Ollie began chopping all the wood we would need to get a good bed of coals going for the baked potatoes.

One of the things I like about our car is that it is a great conversation starter. People always compliment and ask about it. In effect, the Alfa introduces us to some great people. There was a very nice African American family in the campsite next to us. They were joyful and having a great time. The man of the family asked about my car,

"What color blue is that?" he asked. "I love that color."

"Misano blue", I replied. We talked cars and chatted it up a bit while we both prepared food for our families and enjoyed our campfires.

We had the most delicious dinner, and, if I may say so, the steak and baked potatos were even better than the dinner we enjoyed at that fancy and very expensive steakhouse on Long Island.

The following day we planned to continue our journey with a visit to Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian Museum. Later that evening, I sat in the gazebo and reserved our parking at the Smithsonian and purchased our tickets on my laptop. I was even able to relax a bit with a nice burbon before bedtime. All was right in our little corner of the world. We were all set to continue our trip the next day.

Thanks for reading, and we hope you will continue to join us when our journey resumes!