The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

I had some leisure this morning to call my family in England and share first impressions of my adventure. Then I drove to the aptly-named Liberty House Restaurant to meet my East Coast support team for brunch and take the metaphorical chequ(ck)ered flag. KA and Mrs KA were there; among…

I went for a head-clearing walk this morning in Philadelphia. It has many fine buildings and apart from a surprising number of beggars on the streets, seems like a prosperous city. Everyone I have spoken to there (including a long and jolly chat with two fellow-lawyers in the bar last…

Safe and sound in New Jersey, just a few miles from the port where I must take Speranza to be shipped back to England. I can’t quite believe I made the whole circuit with her in one piece – and she still looks beautiful enough to draw the usual crowd…

I have something of a thick head this morning in the city of brotherly love because last night I celebrated, with an injudicious mixture of champagne, martini and margarita (and nothing but salted snacks to eat) the completion of my project. The journey is not yet over, but when I…

Yesterday was a walk in the park by the standards of my tour. Indeed much of it was a walk in the park-like grounds of Thomas Jefferson’s old home, Monticello. I used to be an uncritical admirer of Jefferson. The American Declaration of Independence is arguably the best piece of…

Less than 350 miles to go and this glorious adventure will be over.

I really enjoyed my drive through Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia yesterday, right from my first conversation with a guy at a gas station. He told me he and a friend had stumped up a $10,000 security deposit to take a Ferrari for a test drive. He was happy to…

Today started with a disappointment. Rain and mist had descended on our part of South Carolina and the flight in my friend’s plane that I had been looking forward to wasn’t possible. It would have added another dimension to this tour to have been able to post aerial photographs but…

My time in Georgia was all too short. I didn’t plan a long run for Monday, as I aimed to visit an old friend from my Moscow days who lives about three hours away in South Carolina. I stopped at the South Carolina Welcome Center to add a waypoint to…