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ROME

Some of my active viewers my be a little confused at my title, as although I am a dedicated travel blog I am currently only travelling America! The reason being- this is actually the name of a book (ROME-Destroy Carthage) that is a science fiction about an actual event. Yes, this is a book review! Although I am only a travel blog most of the time, reading is one of the things that I do most- therefor, I would like to share one of my favorite books so far. ROME-Destroy Carthage is inspired by Total War (feel free to check out the link provided), the creator of many Roman and Greek novels and games. Although not directly affiliated with this franchise, the author did write this book very similar to the real events that happened in the time in 146 BC.

The book is about the story of the Roman legionary and centurion, Petronius Secundus, along with his general, Scorpio Aemilianus, and his rise to power. The scene is set in the beginning of the book at a bloody battle against the Macedonians, disadvantaged not only by size but also in the fact that many of the soldiers had never seen real war- until now. That battle seals the fate of Alexander the Great’s Successors, to total war in North Africa and the siege of Carthage. Although Scorpios success brings pride, wealth, and respect, it also brings greed. At a time like this, even the closest allies can become bitter enemies. And then there is the dark horse, Julia, of the Ceasar family- in love with Scorpio but betrothed to his rival Paullus-who causes a vicious feud. Ultimately, for Scorpio, it will only come down to one thing- What is he prepared to sacrifice for his vision of Rome? The book is great, and the price tag is great as well. At only $8.99 at amazon and $6.99 at Barns & Noble, this is a well-worthwhile purchase! This is my honest opinion and I would highly recommend this book for historians and adventure-readers alike!

*NOTE* THE WRITER OF THIS POST IS NOT PAID TO WRITE THIS ARTICLE IN ANY WAY

The Bookstore In Maine

Maine was by far one of the best places on the trip. Portland was our next destination and we were about to meet some of our mothers friends at their bookstore there. After only about an hour or two from Old Orchard Beach we were finally arrived, and found a place to park. Portland had rich culture and we were very excited to experience it! The bookstore we were going to was called Carlson and Turner. The book store was great, and known for their antiques. There was art on the walls, and a sight that you wouldn’t see much anymore- a moving ladder on the wall. This shop was dedicated to very old stuff! While we were there we asked them about places to see and met them and their dog.

The first place we wanted to go was to the waterfront. We found a great restaurant that was a converted Yacht. Once we found a great place to sit we ordered delicious crab meals. I got the crab sandwich, which was a lot more than it sounded like. It was the absolute best thing I had ever tasted!

Portland was a very commercialized city- much more than we thought. There were many venders along side the ocean, but the stuff was a little too expensive for our liking- so we moved on. We checked out a bunch of shops and we found a deal on T-shirts, but they were so plain we didn’t get them- They didn’t even say Portland or Maine on it. After we checked out the city, we left to see the famous light house that everyone was talking about! We got the chance to meet some locals (which my dad thought were Spanish but were Jamaican- I’m trying to learn Spanish) and were able to experience the absolutely stunning view. After that, the time had come to go back- we left to get to Old Orchard Beach again, and hung out at the beach before returning home and getting a good nights sleep for the following day- trying famous Maine Lobster!

Maine

On our 7 month adventure we finally got to Maine! We were very excited about our campsite because it had some crazy things such as a movie theater, A fishing/boating pond, an Ice Cream and pizza parlor, and even more. It was partly a portable home neighborhood, and partly a rental RV park. The best part of all was that it was only a 3 minute walk from the glorious downtown, named OOB (or Old Orchard Beach)-which was an cool sea village. After we first set up our camper, we were gong to take our bikes and ride through the park and into that town, to hopefully get to the beach. The best part about the town was how home-ish it felt. Each one-story shop was filled with great souvenirs that were of great prices and quality. Unfortunately, the pier at the beach (the beach was fabulous, by the way) was not very good.

The reason we went to the pier in the first place was because my little brother needed to use the bathroom. There was a man there collecting money in a 50 cents cup in order to even use the bathroom! The worst part was that we doubted that he even belonged there… We did not have any money and he said that he might not make it back in time, much less with a bike to carry back, and a kind man there payed a dollar so that him and my brother could both use the bathroom. Although we were impressed with the town (unlike the commercialized pier) we decided that we would have plenty of time to check it out one other day of the week that we would be there and call it a night. After we left to go back we had a nice BBQ and did just that. This is just one more adventure on our 7 month cross-country journey, with many more to come.

Nature’s Finest

On our 7 month cross country trip, this was one of the best places we had seen so far. After driving miles through the gorgeous woods and past amazing streams, we were about to be rewarded with one of the most beautiful views on earth. We first stopped at a perfect 3 story cabin for some delicious hot coco. After we had drank the chocolate up we left to the main room to look around the shops. There were many books bout the flume and we got a brief look at the pictures of post cards. Next, it was time to skip the boring stuff and actually go hiking (not like shopping is BORING or anything)…

The visitor center was surprisingly nice, and we were able to enjoy small pictures on the walls and read about the unfortunate Old Man on the Mountain. The OMM wasn’t a real person, but many people were devastated to hear about when he collapsed around 2004. From the pictures, it was a great sight- he was many yards tall and he really did resemble a man very well! After a short look around we walked up to the desk to receive our passes to get in. Although they were a little bit pricier than we wanted, it was a great deal for what we got. When we first passed the visitor center we needed to get on a bus in order to get to where we needed to go-the start of the trail. There were trees everywhere, sometimes poking out of small ledges and growing out of rocks. The waterfalls were amazing and we were very excited to be able to stretch our legs on the great wooden path that lead us to the best views possible. There were many lakes and ledges, and the bridge that lead over both of them was spectacular. On an 80 foot sheer cliff we were able to lean over and drop stones into the water and watch them fall all the way down. The paths were in great condition, and the park was perfectly preserved! I would HIGHLY recommend visiting this place when you have the chance. After we were all done looking through caves (which were also included along the path) and hiking back we got on the shuttle to go back. When we got back we left to eat. On the left of the visitor center we were able to walk down the hall to a restaurant with a great atmosphere and a perfect view of some of the waterfalls! When we got up and asked to order, the woman said that she already had the meal that we were looking for! She said she was about to throw it out because the family that ordered it left without paying or picking up- she offered to let us have it for free! After we were done eating, savoring every bite, we got up and walked back to our car and our “No Regerts” camper (that’s a story for another day) and left. What a great day!

Schenectady, New York

Although we had left our family after the couple of days that we were there we were excited to finally get to the New England states, mostly because of how much history there was. Our very first experience with the New England, however, was actually a little bit scary. The first place we wanted to go was to see the house that our mother lived in when she was born, which would be a nice experience for many of us. The neighborhood, however, had turned 180 degrees from when she was there last, all those years ago. It was only a 20 minute drive to get there, but we first saw signs of a ghetto when we first entered the town. Barbed wire was coated over the whole fences in between buildings. The only cars that were there, besides the police cars that were positioned at *literally* every corner, were all rusty and banged up. Boards were halfheartedly nailed into windows and dozens of people were sitting down on the sides of the streets.

When we first entered the town we were a little bit scared of what would continue, as it seemed to get worse as we drove further. Obviously, we had stumbled into the wrong part of america. We started to get anxious as people started to stare or glare at us passing through… when we finally got to the house, however, our mother jumped right out of the car and ran to get a good picture. A woman in her 30’s walked up to her and asked “Are your kiddies asleep?” When our mother didn’t respond and clicked two pictures of the broken down house (which did not before look like that) and made her way to the car as fast as she could. As she was slamming the door and telling our dad to drive, she said “that’s a mighty fine camper, isn’t it?” And we were off. Our mom said “Lets get out of here before someone pops our tires with a knife…” My little brother and I started laughing until we realized that she was serious. “Ray, go past the red light” she said, grabbing on tightly to the handle of the car. “hurry!”

After driving a couple of blocks past angry eyes and barricaded buildings we were finally our of the danger zone. This is but one of our great adventures so far!

Upstate NY

Upstate New York is a beautiful place, and we were very excited to be able to experience it to it’s fullest. During the next couple of days, many different things happened. We met our second cousins  for the first time, even though they were 20 and 25. Joe is a savant and can remember everything about music, dates and times, and even movies down to the exact day or month that they happened! The other one, whose name was asked to be protected, was a New York City cop. During the time, he taught me how to use his father’s gun, and he was also on a quad expedition with us as well. Joe was a fantastic story writer, and he is thinking about getting a blog (I will make sure to post it if he does).

We had a great time, but a couple of dangerous incidents happened along the way. Our father, who happens to be a retired Captain at Las Vegas, was using the chainsaw on a heavy branch while we were chopping wood and the main trunk of the tree fell right on his ankle. My brother and I stopped what we were doing and looked over suddenly to see if he had been hurt. Thankfully he was fine in the end, but it was still a scary experience that ended in putting him on a quad and driving him back. We were so glad that the chainsaw had not hit him or anything bad like that! Our next incident occurred when my little brother’s quad “Lost control” and slammed into the back of ours. Little Aidan had not been very careful with golf carts and other vehicles so we kind of doubted what REALLY happened but it was all fine in the end. Once again, we were lucky that nothing broke- just like our fathers leg! To top off our adventure, we left to go hiking to the waterfalls before we left to go up the east coast (That’s me looking unusually spectral in the corner)

*UPSTATE* New York

The past year has been an amazing year, for more reasons than one. Although we are on the trip of a lifetime, there is one experience that stands out about the same- family. Although the average Joe has either seen their family a lot or they have never seen them at all, our situation is a little bit different from both of those. What makes our family relationship so special? The craziest part stands out the most- I have only met my mothers side of the family- all 5 uncles, both grandparents, and all 6 children. On our fathers side, however, we had only met two people- his mother, and his brother. In fact, our dad himself hasn’t even met his entire family… until now! During the past year we knew all of our dads family, a drastic change from knowing none.

After our encounter with Niagara falls, we were on our way to meet our second cousins for the first time on our dads family. Our father had only recently found out that he had a cousin a short while ago, and we had already made plans to see them. Much of my time was spent looking out the window on the ride to a small town in New York and the rest of it was spent listening to a new Audio book. Our first encounter of our newest edition to the family was when a large silver truck was driving down the wrong side of the road towards us, blocking our exit. Although we should have known, as we were almost to our destination, we did not think that it was the reason we were driving down the dirt road in the first place- it wasn’t until seconds later when I was the first one to realize that it was Danny, our fathers cousin. I didn’t say anything, but everyone else in the car slowly came to the conclusion that it was really him while he waved and smiled- the last one being our father…

For one happy moment everyone realized that he was there. By that time, his truck was parked directly parallel to ours so we could see the reflection of our old excursion in his shiny metal. Danny was about 50 years old, about the same as our father, and had short black hair. His mustache was about an inch from bottom to top, wearing it the same style our dad liked to wear his in the fire department. We took off along the dusty road towards his house. Our father was using his headset to talk to Danny while we drove, and he told us a little bit about where we were going. It wasn’t long before we left the boring little dust town and were driving between the trees that soon presented themselves, intimidatingly leaning over our car to get a better look at our camper, which proudly read the exact words of “No Regrts” on the front.

As we drove past cabins and an odd Fallout-shelter style bunker, he told us about his tendency of having a “heavy foot” on the gas. As we soon found out later in our stay, he really meant that- he was driving up to 20 MPH over the speed limit, a seemingly 50 MPH distance between our slow camper-dragging car and his.

Anyway (back to the present), we were driving on the bumpy road (which had soon steadily shifted back into a dirt path) we tried our best to squeeze through the trees that were way too close to the one-lane narrow road for our comfort, getting more narrow as we went. After not too long, we were finally there. We had to do our regular setup procedure in front of his house, and were finally able to meet our family once we finished. At first glance through the well sheltered trees from the road, there was a nice house about two stories tall that was made of beautiful brown wood. A large deck wrapped around their house, allowing a great view into the large woods comfortingly offering protection from the benches seated on it.

Neither of the two children were there but his wife, Dee, was. Meeting her was a treat, as she had a great personality and was very pleasant to talk to. We were exorbitantly happy to be able to finally meet the family, but as it was already 10:00 at night, both families agreed that it was probably best to get a good nights sleep to be able to enjoy the following day as best as we could!

I’m finally Back

There is only one thing to say- I have not blogged lately. The reason being, however, is because of many different things. Although blogging is one of my favorite things to do, I find it unfortunate that I have not recently had the time for this great and productive hobby… Fortunately, I have the ability to start this hobby back up after motivation from friends and family urging me to keep writing. For the first time in a long time, Logan McCorvey is back doing the thing that he loves most- Writing!

Welcome back, everyone. Weather you are a new viewer or an old blogging friend, I am very happy to be able to pick back up the Chromebook and be able to post again. I may, however, not be able to add the detail that I have added in the past- nor be able to post every day. Because I have not written in so long and do not have the motivation to keep up my 100 or 200 day streak, rather than one… So let me excuse myself now, I may not be able to keep up with my 2000 word post every day. Nonetheless, I’m glad to be back!

500 Followers!

We have finally made it to 500! Thank you so much everybody!