During the summer of 2014, I embarked on a solo drive that had roots stretching all the way back to epic road trips with my family as we followed my Air Force father on assignments here and abroad. In late-June 2014, I set out from my home in upstate New York to drive the entire length of U.S. Route 1 from remote, forested northern Maine to artsy, bucolic Key West. As it snakes along the East Coast for over 2,400 miles, this famous — but somewhat ignored — highway winds through some of our nation’s most complex, congested cities before passing through the wide-open expanses of the Carolinas and down into Florida.
Along the way, the super-fast I-95 beckoned me with its lure of no traffic lights and three lanes. But I ignored its siren call.
It was an eye-opening experience. From the fascinating people I met to the sites I visited, I was left with an indelible image of what used to be known as the New World to Europeans and others who first began landing here centuries ago. From the crafty ticket scalper at the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards ballpark to the Baptist minister in Aiken County South Carolina, the people I met along the way were the America I sought to see through the lens of this over 80-year-old road.
At the beginning of the trip, in Fort Kent, Maine, and at the end, visiting Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home.
When I finally returned home, I found myself with dozens of pages of notes, many recorded interviews, and hundreds of photos. I had no other choice but to sit down and write a book about the experience. That book is now available, as an ebook and paperback, on Amazon.com. If you click on the graphic below, it’ll take you to the book site on Amazon.
A major shout out to my sister-in-law Deanna Gallaro for the fantastic cover she designed for my book.
So please, come along on this ride with me….You won’t be disappointed.
