When is a song more that just a song?
When it becomes an anthem. And that's what happened when Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (stage name John Denver) released his 1971 hit song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Besides having a catchy melody and inviting singalong chorus, the song uniquely expressed a love for traveling back roads while longing for home. It has since taken on a new life and meaning, and is now spontaneously sung at everything from international stadiums to middle school classrooms. Since I've given all seven of my previous travel eBooks (link) a title based on a song, I thought this anthem would be good fit for my 2024-ish road trip for several reasons. First, because I hope to experience as many scenic back roads as possible. Second, because I plan to visit friends who are kind enough to make me feel at home. And lastly, in one of life's most unexpected surprises, I will literally be traveling country roads to take me home. So with that as a teaser, I'll leave you with the lyrics that you already know. And I'll get on my way to planning, journaling, photographing and sharing more stories from the road les(s) traveled. :-) Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain mama Take me home, country roads John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" < link to song Table Of Contents 01. Take Me Home, Country Roads. Part 1: AZ/TX/NY/NJ. Nov '23-Jan '24. Map here 3700 miles. 02. The Winds Of Change. 03. Giving Thanks On Thanksgiving. 04. Houston, We Have A Slight Problem. 05. Michigan At Sunset. 06. Winter Is Coming. 07. Winter Is Here. 08. Spring Is In The Air. :-) 09. April Showers Brought May Flowers. 10. The Garden State. Part 2: NJ/NH/ME/NY/NJ. Apr 26-May 1. Map here 800 miles. 11. Amazing Places: Concord, NH. 12. Amazing Places: Kennebunkport, ME. 13. The Henry Bridge. 14. Amazing Places: Woodstock, NY. 15. Amazing Places: Bethel Woods, NY. Part 3: NJ/PA/WV/KY/MI. Jun 12-Jun 16. Map here 1300 miles. 16. Almost Heaven. West Virginia. 17. Amazing Places: Gettysburg, PA. 18. The Best Seat In The House. 19. Amazing Places: Charles Town, WV. 20. Amazing Places: Wardensville, WV. 21. Almost Heaven(ly) Humor. :-) 22. Amazing Places: Seneca Rocks, WV. 23. Amazing Places: Lewisburg, WV. Part 1. 24. Amazing Places: Lewisburg, WV. Part 2. 25. Amazing Places: Glen Ferris, WV. 26. Historic Route 60. 27. Amazing Places: Augusta, KY. 28. Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home. 29. Amazing Places: Bardstown, KY. Part 4: MI/NJ. Jun 17-Jul 21. Map here 1200 miles. 30. Country Roads Take Me Home To Michigan. 31. Memorial Poppy Field, Fennville, MI. 32. World's Largest Weather Vain, Montague, MI. 33. Gwen Frostic Studio, Benzonia, MI. 34. World's Largest Cherry Pie Tin. 35. Old Mission Point, Traverse City, MI. 36. Historic Fishtown, Leland, MI. 37. It's The Halfway Mark. 38. Dine With Jesus. 39. Amazing Places: Romeo, MI. 40. Amazing Places: Lake Orion, MI. Part 1. 41. Amazing Places: Lake Orion, MI. Part 2. 42. Amazing Places: Oxford, MI. 43. Amazing Places: Southeast Michigan. 44. I Think I'm Going To KatMandu. Part 5: NJ. Fall 2024. 45. Amazing Places: Jersey Shore, NJ. 46. Amazing Places: Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. 47. Amazing Places: Old Wick, NJ. 48. Amazing Places: Basking Ridge, NJ. 49. A Peaceful Easy Feeling. 50. Glory Days. 51. Pet Pals On The Road Les Traveled. 52. May The Road Rise Up To Meet You. Contents Books Home Hire Stories When is a road trip more than a road trip?
When it is a move. And that's exactly what happened in the winter of 2023. My family finally had enough of the scorching Phoenix summers and decided to move "back east" so they enjoy cooler temps and experience all four seasons. Faced with the prospect of being able to spend even more time with my four grandkids, I said, "I'm in!" when they asked me to join them. Then I began the toughest part - saying goodbye (for now) to some incredible Arizona friends and mentally preparing for the biggest move of my life. Contents Books Home Hire Stories Since my cross country trek from AZ to NJ was in December, 2023, I decided to take a southernly route across the US to hopefully avoid any winter storms. I was fortunate that the weather not only held, but it produced some spectacular sunrises and sunsets like this one outside of Houston, Texas. However, when my gracious hosts offered to take me out in their boat, I said there might be a a slight problem because the big lake had alligators. I admitted I'd rather be called a "chicken" than to have the gators say I tasted just like chicken.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I was in denial most of my trip, telling myself that I wouldn't have to experience my first actual cold weather in over 40 years. But when I got to this lake in upstate New York, I was forced to concede that the fictional hero Jon Snow was right all along, "Winter is coming".
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I have often joked that if you live long enough you eventually become the person you use to make fun of. And as I looked out at my icy landscape in New Jersey I thought about all the times I called from Arizona to tease my friends back east about their winter weather. How was I to know that I would be the shivering guy taking those calls from others? :-)
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I actually photographed this earlier on my trip, but I'm using it here because it's a good Dad-joke - and because it's true. My first winter had me wearing my puffy down coat everywhere - including inside my house. But the frosty cold didn't seem to last long, and the next thing I knew Spring was on it's way. And oh, what a gorgeous show it was about to put on.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories Coming from the dry desert of Arizona, I was surprised how much it rained in the east - and how quickly the flowers responded to it. It seemed like every day there were new varieties and even more vibrant colors. I don't know much about gardening, but it seems to me like the old farmer's adage of "April showers bring May flowers" must be true.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories One of the great joys of living on the East Coast is discovering how many Amazing Places are in that region of the US. My first official road trip was to see great friends in New Hampshire and visit the charming capitol city of Concord. A personal highlight for me was seeing Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root perform "Send Me On My Way" at the Capital Center for the Arts.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories We went to Kennebunkport, Maine for the afternoon and found it quaint, colorful and charming. The town center around Dock Square has a district of shops, art galleries and restaurants. My two favorite places were Dock Square Coffee House and Federal Jacks Restaurant and Brewpub.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories Although it bares it name, the charming, artsy village of Woodstock, New York did not host the world's most famous weekend concert. That's because the 1969 Woodstock Festival was actually held almost 60 miles away in Bethel, NY. For more about the drama that required the last minute venue move, check out Time magazines article link here.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories The famed 1969 Woodstock Festival took place on Max Yazgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Today the Bethel Woods Center For The Arts hosts three primary attractions - a museum dedicated to the weekend, an outdoor concert venue that continues to feature some of the top musicians in the world, and a monument on the site of the original concert. For more info, see my previous post about visiting this historic site with my daughter here.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories When I chose Take Me Home, Country Roads for the musical title of this book, something interesting happened. The song's first words, "Almost heaven, West Virginia" started replaying in my head. Soon I found myself routing through West Virginia because I felt I had to see if it really would "take me home to the place I belong". And boy, did it ever. That 3 day country road trip through the gorgeous mountains proved to be...almost heaven.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I got excited when I realized that Gettysburg, PA was on my route to West Virginia. As a former college Public Speaking instructor, I was thrilled about being at the site of one of the greatest speeches in history - Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. But while the museum itself was truly impressive, it was the battlefields that had the biggest impact on me. I won't go into my feelings here, except to say that it was sobering. And learning that this is where the mournful song "Taps" was written and then adopted by both sides made it even more somber.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I chose the small town of Charles Town (not to be confused with the large capitol city of Charleston) for my first overnight stay in West Virginia. The charming city of 6500 residents is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of George Washington. The downtown has great shops like Needful Things Emporium and coffee houses like Sibling Coffee Roasters. And if you want "almost heaven" to be even more meaningful, you can pose with angle's wings painted by muralist Katie Thompson outside the Jefferson County Community Ministries or visit the Blessing Box next to Zion Baptist Church.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I could sense there was something different about Wardensville, WV when I drove through. So I turned around and drove back to the Wardensville Garden Market to ask what made it feel so unique. Turns out the big reasons is Farms Work Wonders. It is a safe and supportive multi-step training program that encourages regional youth to explore, discover, and develop real life career skills in farming, glass works, baking, culinary arts and more. One article summed it up well as, "The Little West Virginia Farm with Big Dreams...grows vegetables, businesses, and opportunities for Appalachian youth".
Contents Books Home Hire Stories Seneca Rocks is a hiker's paradise. The trails gently guide you through the lush park. The scenery is simply majestic. And according to Wikipedia, Seneca Rocks is also a popular destination for recreational rock climbing. There are 375 major mapped climbing routes and the difficulty ranges in degree from 5.0 (the easiest) to 5.14b (the hardest).
Contents Books Home Hire Stories Lewisburg, West Virginia was voted the coolest small town in America by Budget Travel magazine. It has long held the reputation for being the “Jewel of West Virginia” for it's surprising number of terrific restaurants, boutiques, parks, shops, art galleries, and cafes and nightlife options. Vogue magazine recently highlighted some of its cultural features including the historic General Lewis Inn and Carnegie Hall (one of only four remaining Carnegie Halls in the world).
Contents Books Home Hire Stories What's so cool about the town voted the coolest small town in America by Budget Travel magazine? Here's four quick things Lewisburg, West Virginia has that make it so cool. 1. A gorgeous, flower filled downtown area. 2. The impressive West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Student Center. 3. Wonderful chicken wings at Hill and Holler Pizza. 4. The Wild Bean and Thunderbird Taco.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I came upon this beautiful vista in the tiny village of Glen Ferris, West Virginia. Directly across the street was a good ol boy sitting on his porch who engaged me in friendly conversation. It is that kind of beauty and warm welcome that makes these road trips a true pleasure. And it is a further reminder of how wonderful America still is - despite what the media would have us believe.
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