We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
A richly illustrated full-color guide to the unique plants, wildlife, and environments of Cape Cod and the other nearby “Outer Lands” that face the Atlantic Ocean
OK, we are Cape Codders, and thus biased. But if you know of any getaway place so good for salt air and piney smell, sailing, fishing, hunting (deer, duck and pheasant), gardening (long growing season on the ocean), biking, hiking, dining on day-fresh seafood and Wellfleet Oysters, tell me about it.
Besides that, there is no rich people flavor like Palm Beach, the Islands, Spring Lake, Watch Hill, and the Hamptons. Them folks we have on the outer Cape are very low-profile. It's a Maserati and Porsche-free zone, but you have to deal with "F-Trump" bumper stickers. Whatever. It's a free country, thank God.
I never get invited to Hamptons parties anyway.
Just no skiing on the Cape, but not too far from it. Beautifully desolate and wet in winter, of course, without any real snow but them's the breaks. You can get out and shoot a duck for supper.
It's been decades since we spent time on the Cape in June, mainly because our annual family weeks are in August. This was a Father's Day gift.
June is better. Too early for swimming, but perfect for the outdoor fun that August is too warm for. No skeeters. Also, few vacationers. The birding is better in August, with all of the travellers heading down from the north. Still, Eagles and Ospreys and nesting herons. Nothing special except the Terrapins digging their eggs and the fox trying to find their nests for breakfast eggs.
We opted for a marsh-side cottage on Lieutenant Island, a quiet corner which is only accessible during lower tides.
No bugs, sea breeze, 57 degrees F at night, biking, boating, kayaking, hiking trails, running, day-fresh seafood, ocean beach, harbor beach, bay beach, and big ponds. Lots of fun family restaurants. The protection of the vast National Seashore.
If you squint, you can see Portugal on the horizon.
If interested in walking or biking adventures in Europe (or in the UK, which is thankfully no longer Europe), you can do it the expensive way with Backroads or the cheap way with Macs.
Mac (obviously) started out doing Scotland walking trips, but has expanded all over. We're using his service for our Hadrian's Wall hike this summer. (They book your B&Bs and shlep your luggage. The daily hikes are on you.)
Now that it's February, and a mild one due to man-made hotcoldwetdry, my mind has taken to thinking about what sites we should see in April or May. Also socks, my mind is on socks because it's good to be comfortable while walking 9-11 miles.
Last year we hiked on May 5, a Sunday. This year, Mrs Bulldog and I will be out of the US from April 16-May 2 as we take a drive through Benelux and France. So early April (a tad chillier, but reasonable enough), or the second and fourth weekends of May are open.
Just thought I'd get some thought starters out there - share any ideas of what you'd like to see and/or which weekends work for you. Right now, The Bronx (the only borough with a "The" in it) is the first choice, ending at Arthur Avenue. But I believe we can entertain all kinds of options. Let us know your thoughts!
Planning an early Spring visit to Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp. A wildlife trip, kind of rustic in the Georgia wilderness. You have to go before bug season. It's way north of the Everglades (also a fine place to visit).
I like Georgia. Not moving there, but a fine place to visit and the southern food is amazing.
Pic from of MAGA Caffeteria from my urban hike around Ostia outside Rome.
"Ostia" is the mouth, the area of the old Roman port. About 25 minutes from the airport, 20 by ambulance.
No foreigners visit Ostia. It's a Roman middle-class and working-class suburb south of Rome on one of the commuter trains. Its 3 miles of beach on the Med (The Lido) attract less-wealthy Romans in summer for beach getaways. It has a half-mile of spartan hotels, one of which I stayed in (Hotel Bellavista) for 5 days while Mrs. BD was in Ospidale Grassi about a 30-minute walk from my hotel. No fluffy towels.
This was an accidental visit by this accidental tourist. (Mrs. BD fainted on the plane to Rome - face plant - and fractured some facial bones. Dangerous to her eye, and she looked by post-car crash.) While stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues, I did spend one day hiking Ostia and getting lost and hiking the beach with my trousers rolled up like T S Eliot, took the train to Rome to urban hike one day, took train to Ostia Antica (do not miss that visit when near Rome) and had a wonderful day there until it closed.
So before I post some photos of Ostia Antica later (a truly magnificent ruin of a Roman port city, just 3 train stops from Ostia, an hour from Rome) I thought I'd post some fun observations about some aspects of the real, non-tourist Italy. Remember, Rome is sort-of on the edge of northern and southern Italy, and a blend of both cultures but more southern than northern. I've been to Rome several times. Once is enuf in my view. Fun stuff below the fold (BTW, Mrs. BD is just fine now)
The US TSA offers a few Trusted Traveler programs which reduce some or much of the annoyance of air travel.
The Pre-Check is easy to obtain. The Global Entry is a bit more involved, but worth it for regular travelers. You can do most of the processes at the TSA website, but a brief in-person interview is required for all of these. It's a vetting process.
Somewhat related, many states now offer "Real ID" driving licenses. It's a minor hassle to collect the info your DMV wants for this, but worth doing for some people. You can upgrade your license to REAL ID any time. Next year, REAL ID will be required.
Ideally, make a lot of money and fly private... no fuss.
Photo: Our porch. No screens, no bugs. Just a constant cool sea breeze.
Cut my driving time to our place on Cape Cod by an hour with my new fun car. A sporty but not excessive 280 hp with turbo, but I've never had a car that could cruise comfortably in the left lane at 85- 90 mph or which wants you to accelerate into corners and curves instead of braking. I have been cheap/practical with vehicles all of my life until now. This car has the tightest steering I could imagine, and zero roll on curves. Sheesh, kinda fun, a bit of adrenaline.
Only thing I could figger out on the sound system thus far was the Sirius Grateful Dead station. That is something ok for driving. Never a big Dead fan but I got the gist of it. Still not a big fan, but I sort-of appreciate their relaxed stoner approach. No CD players in new cars, which is a great annoyance.
A few thoughts about Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, below the fold.
While I thought the Urban Hike of 2019 was one of our best, despite the rain, the Brooklyn trip of 2018 remains my favorite so far. To that end, this article about Battle of Brooklyn sites is worth a look-see. We stopped at a number of these sites, such as the Old Stone House, the Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn Heights, and the monument to the prison ship martyrs.
The article did miss one site, on the side of a bank, which commemorated the battle (perhaps the author is unaware of this plaque, but we stumbled upon it and I wish I had a picture or a location to share).
Looking forward to planning 2020's Urban Hike. Need some thought starters. Right now, Wave Hill to City Island is what I'm considering, but that's more walking and less sightseeing.
Some things I didn't find a way to fit into my prior posts. Glad some readers have enjoyed the posts.
(For those who might be interested, I have created a Travelogue and Travel Ideas category which can be linked on the left column. Haven't had time to go back and re-categorize older trips to that category, yet.)
This is Mohonk's 150th Anniversary. Still owned by the Quaker Smiley family, and still on Conde Nast's list of 100 best hotels in the world. Not sure I would agree with the latter (it is rustic and a bit stuffy), but it's a unique place with thousands of acres with hills, cliff, farmland, mountain lakes, etc. Great hiking trails, and challenging bouldering not to mention rock climbing. I've been going there since I was a little kid, first did the Labyrinth when I was 12.
Our hiking team is doing an Uncle Bob Memorial Hike up there this week, with a late lunch at their cookout place (there were no more reservations for brunch at the inn). I will focus on bouldering routes, but I have alternates for those who are uneasy scrambling big rocks.
There are still a few wooden homes left in Manhattan, 11 of them are listed here. As luck would have it, we actually saw 3 of the 11 (Morris-Jumel, Hamilton Grange, Sylvan Terrace) on our urban hike, and could've seen 2 more (if I had known and added them...more research needed next time).
This was our first urban hike with all-day cool (low 50s all day) rain. Very similar to northern Scotland. Undaunted, our team marched on despite some discomfort and got to see all sorts of cool things along with the always-interesting (or more interesting) street scenes.
Along with us we had famous website owners, family members, of course Dear Leader Bulldog and his adorable Mrs., and representatives from Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and NYC. Ages 22 to 70+. Such an enjoyable, interesting, amusing, adventurous, and high IQ group. Friends.
We covered 11.5 miles with all of our detours while trending north, with lots of uphill in Washington Heights.
The Maggie's Urban Hike tradition is to stop for pizza and beer around 1 pm. Victorio's on 145th St. had pretty good greasy pizza. Our team occupied every seat in that hole in the wall joint, deeply immersed in this amazing city.
Below, the elegant Victorio's Pizza Plus, in north Harlem near City College on 145th St. Very efficient pizza joint but no damn bathroom and no beer!
I'd like to thank everyone who braved the rain and chill yesterday to join Maggie's Annual Urban Hike. As Mrs. Bulldog and I approached the Natural History Museum, we were curious who would actually show up. We were very surprised to see a hardy group which totaled 13.
The choice of Northern Manhattan was a good one. I'm not sure we could have made the Cloisters even on a nice day, but by the end of the 9.2 miles (or so) that we did complete, we'd seen a good chunk of the Upper West Side, Harlem, and Washington Heights.
We passed 2 (of 5 planned) Carnegie Libraries. Took a gander at, and some pictures of, Pomander Walk and Sylvan Terrace. We saw Alexander Hamilton's house (which the city has moved twice), Aaron Burr's house, and the lot where the Collyer Brothers made hoarding a headline (as their house is gone). We passed the Polo Grounds and finished up at Highbridge. The group determined the Little Red Lighthouse should be our final stop - but we nixed it as walking there is far more complicated than we imagined. We'll save it for another trip.
I didn't take any pictures, unfortunately, so hopefully others who did can share them. The rain was definitely not a deterrent. While we considered cancelling (discussing whether "rain or shine" means "light mist or shine"), I think we made the right decision as it was one of the best walks we'd had.
Great fun, good people, nice conversation, wonderful views of New York.
We're running out of new things to see in NYC. Next year may be an interesting one to plan.
I have been a tourist in Ireland twice, long ago. Ten days and you can get the gist of the interesting and charming sights on the whole island. In this way, I think Ireland is like Southern France and Scotland. I mean that these are fine places just to be in, and not to be a tourist. Delightful getaways without frantic running and driving around.
Ireland has a number of great house inns/hotels, some near golf and some not. A favorite is Ballyfin which is not near any famous golf. It's about horseback, cycling, hiking, reading, dining, and immersing onseself in the green Irish countryside.
Stuff does not appear by magic, even if Amazon makes it feel that way.
Many freighters do take a small number of passengers. This guy took one from Germany of Charleston (a great town to visit - one of the best). People tell me everybody ought to try one freighter trip. Get a lot of books read, but BYOB. And a date, I think.
Actually, Cape Cod and The Islands. 
Better than I could have done: