Finding old America in New England.

It's the middle of May, which means it's also time for adventure.

I leave first thing tomorrow morning for the big New England trip - a 10-day quest to discover the roots of our country at its birthplace. The trip starts in Philadelphia, the philosophical center of America, and continues to New Jersey, New York, Boston, and circles into Maine, New Hampshire, and then Vermont. I'll be exploring Revolutionary War sites, famous monuments to our country's birth, and the cities and towns where an entire generation of men found the courage to strike out on their own. I'll also be drinking lots and lots of beer.

Feel free to keep in touch during the trip. I'll have my trusty iBook with me, now with wifi, and will post pictures and progress to my trip blog:

Puritan's Progress

Why "Puritan's Progress?" If you remember, John Bunyan wrote "Pilgrim's Progress" - one of the most famous pieces of English literature - that was subtitled "From this world, to that which is to come." My trip isn't so grand (or so well-written), and instead focuses on "that which already came." This is a history trip, and because our country was founded by religious zealots who got kicked out of their home country, it only makes sense to apply the Puritan work ethic to my travels. And, like Bunyan's character Christian, I'm heading out of the "City of Destruction" (Jackson, MI) to the "Celestial City" (Boston? Bar Harbor? Time will tell...) in search of heavenly light. There's probably no more "heavenly light" left in New York City, or in the entire state of New Jersey, but I do seek the founding philosophy that made America such a fun place to live, work, and watch TV.

I'll have my phone on me, but I prefer e-mail, or comments on the blog. Should I happen to plunge off Mt. Washington, however, and explode in a glorious fireball-induced death, please feel free to take my stuff. Except the Wii. That gets buried with my mangled corpse.

Off I go, friends, on my annual quest. I'll return either Saturday, May 24 or Sunday, May 25 (depending on weather and gumption), with Memorial Day reserved as a return-to-Midwestern-living day.

Ben Franklin set off from Boston to Philadelphia with little more than pocket change and a heart of fire. My car will have tons more stuff, but the fire stuff is the same.

Too-da-loo