In our travels across America, it seemed like we were always on Main Street. So I decided to ask AI a question: What is the most common street name in America?
The answer might surprise you!
According to a frequently cited U.S. Census Bureau analysis, the five most common street names were:
1. Second Street 2. Third Street 3. First Street 4. Fourth Street 5. Park Street
That’s right! Second Street came in first, while First Street finished third!
Why isn’t First Street number one? In many towns, the main road was given a name such as Main Street rather than First Street, while the remaining streets were numbered.
Interestingly, more recent studies have ranked Main Street first. The results depend on how streets are counted and which mapping database is used.
So the next time you’re on Main Street, don’t give it a “second” thought. After all, according to that earlier ranking, Second Street was number one!
I was listening to a debate today about the origin of the universe. Naturally, the Big Bang theory came up.
During the debate, I heard several arguments about the origin of the universe that I have heard numerous times before. However, one intriguing idea was mentioned that I had never heard before.
It’s an interesting hypothesis that I wanted to share.
The hypothesis:
Our Big Bang may have occurred within a larger universe—a universe that we are unable to see or detect.
I find that fascinating and, in my opinion, certainly worth considering as a possible explanation.
Another hypothesis suggests that our universe may actually exist within a black hole.
Our tour of the Northeast began with a busted water pipe at home just minutes before we were scheduled to leave and ended with us driving home in the rain for the final four hours of our trip. In between were numerous historic sites, dozens of picturesque views, fun drives, and excursions on foot that created memories to last a lifetime.
Now that we have been home for a few days after traveling 5,682 miles and spending 30 days on the road, it almost seems like a dream. But the journey was fun, educational, entertaining—and the memories are real.
Along the way, we also accomplished one of the main goals of this trip—when we crossed into Vermont, we completed our goal of visiting all 48 contiguous states.
After our trips out West, we were often asked what our favorite part or favorite place was. That was always difficult to answer because there were so many places and scenic sights that were equally memorable.
But if I were asked about my favorite places and sights from our Northeast trip, I can give a few answers. I would break them down into two categories—favorite scenic view and favorite historical place.
My favorite historical place was, without a doubt, Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Why? Because it was amazing to be in the same room where Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, and other historic figures once gathered and where both the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were debated and adopted.
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I was truly touched by being in that room.
Then there are my favorite scenic views. I couldn’t decide between two places, so I decided to give you both—Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater home in Pennsylvania and Maine’s famous lighthouse-Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth.
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Both are beautiful in their own right, and both are iconic American scenes.
I must also include my favorite activities, with one exciting and thrilling experience at the top of the list.
I will never forget walking the deck of the famous USS Constitution, standing at the base of one of America’s most iconic symbols—the Statue of Liberty—ascending the 87 steps to visit President Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, or touring Arlington National Cemetery.
But the most exciting and thrilling moment I experienced was the ride aboard the Maid of the Mist into the basin of Niagara Falls. For me, it was better than any ride at Disney—because it was real.
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There were also two restaurants I particularly enjoyed—Helen’s Restaurant in Ellsworth, Maine, and Pittsburgh BBQ Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At Helen’s Restaurant, I loved the Parmesan-Crusted Haddock, and we both enjoyed the BBQ chicken from Pittsburgh BBQ Company—some of the best BBQ chicken we have ever had.
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Parmesan-Crusted Haddock ⬆️
There are four people I especially want to thank for helping make our Northeast adventure possible and enjoyable.
First, I want to thank Gayle’s two sons, Jeremy and Jason, for taking care of our busted pipe problem and allowing us to get on the road without delay. Thanks, guys. We truly appreciate your help.
Secondly, I want to thank Gayle’s daughter, Kandy, for giving us a place to stay before heading north on our trip and a place to rest when our trip was winding down. Thank you, Kandy, for your hospitality.
Additionally, I want to thank my daughter April for joining us for a few days in West Virginia. Because of her, we stayed in a beautiful log cabin and had fun revisiting and exploring the Beckley area. You helped make our trip even more memorable. Thank you, April.
Finally, I want to thank all thirty of you who allowed me the privilege and pleasure of sharing our adventure with you.
I must admit, it wasn’t always easy sitting down each night and writing an informative—and hopefully entertaining summary of our daily travels. But for me, writing about each day added to the experience of traveling through the Northeast and discovering all it had to offer.
It was fun.
Again, thanks to everyone for traveling with us and to those four who helped make it happen.
Until next time…we’re planning our next adventures for next year.
Hayden Haddock introduces the sound of real country music one note at a time with his original song, “One by One.”
The track opens with a fiddle, quickly joined by a steel guitar, before Haddock’s genuine country vocals step in to carry the story. From that moment on, you’re pulled into the kind of traditional country sound that defines what this genre is meant to be.
Haddock proves he not only possesses an unmistakable country voice, but also the songwriting ability to match it. “One by One” is exactly the kind of song that struggles to find a place on today’s country radio, yet fits perfectly within the standards of Essie Country—real country music.
At its core, the song delivers a classic country storyline of a relationship coming to an end. He watches her pack, sits with the moment, and drinks his beer until it’s gone—one by one. It’s simple, relatable, and grounded in the kind of honest storytelling country music was built on.
For those craving real country music, “One by One” delivers it all—fiddle, steel guitar, authentic vocals, and a clear, memorable story—one by one.
There is an old saying, “Be careful what you ask for,” but I never thought that would be a problem when ordering chocolate milk.
Yesterday morning, we started our day with breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe. Gayle ordered chocolate milk. It wasn’t a problem—just an unexpected presentation for what we thought would be a simple glass of chocolate milk with breakfast. See pic below.
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After breakfast, we fueled up the Bronco Sport and headed toward downtown Greenville, South Carolina, to see something you don’t find in many downtown areas—a waterfall.
I had seen Reedy River Falls numerous times on YouTube and Facebook, usually with a large volume of water cascading over several sections of rock. Yesterday, however, the water level appeared to be much lower, leaving us with basically one main waterfall.
I’ll admit, it was a little disappointing after seeing videos with considerably more water rushing through the falls. Still, it was a beautiful setting, and the relaxing sound of the water made the visit worthwhile.
Below are pics from Falls Park on the Reedy, including the 25 steps I had to climb to get back to the Bronco. Thankfully, my experience the day before—climbing 123 steps at Boone’s Cave—must have conditioned me. I wasn’t even breathing that hard when I reached the top!
After spending about 30 minutes at the falls, we began our drive toward Brunswick, Georgia. We spent last night at Gayle’s daughter’s place and will spend tonight there as well before making the final drive home Sunday.
And with that, this is my last daily report from our Northeast adventure.
For the past 28 days, I have enjoyed sharing our journey with everyone through my pictures and commentary. We have traveled thousands of miles, visited places we had never seen before, revisited a few familiar ones, and made plenty of memories along the way.
There were waterfalls, mountains, covered bridges, lighthouses, historic sites, big cities, small towns and, of course, plenty of backroads. Somewhere along the way, I also accomplished a longtime goal—visiting all 48 contiguous states.
It has been quite an adventure.
After we get home and I have a chance to look back over everything we experienced, I intend to write one final summary of the entire trip next week.
Thanks to everyone who followed along with us.
Until next time…we’re planning our next adventure.
Yesterday was once again mostly a travel day, but we did find a few interesting places and sights along the way.
Our first find of the day was Pilot Mountain. When I first saw it, it reminded me of Wyoming’s Devils Tower. I told Gayle, “That’s the South’s Devils Tower.”
Pilot Mountain is the name of the entire mountain. The distinctive, steep-sided rocky knob at the top is called Big Pinnacle. See pics below.
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Big Pinnacle rises to about 2,420 feet above sea level and is the feature that gives Pilot Mountain its unmistakable appearance. It is a very hard mass of rock that survived while the softer surrounding landscape eroded away over millions of years.
Our next discovery was Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a restored historic district that preserves the community established by Moravian settlers in 1766.
Its brick sidewalks, historic homes, churches, shops and gardens offer a glimpse into life in the early Moravian settlement, with many original buildings still standing.
Today, visitors can walk its streets and experience more than 250 years of North Carolina history.
We drove around the small community of historic buildings in Old Salem. Pics are below.
Boone’s Cave, located near Lexington, North Carolina, is a small natural cave overlooking the Yadkin River. According to local tradition, the Boone family—including a young Daniel Boone—used the cave and surrounding area during the 1700s.
Today, it is part of Boone’s Cave Park, a wooded preserve featuring hiking trails, and historic sites.
I went down to see the cave. That was the easy part.
The hard part was climbing the 123 stairs back to the top!
I took pics on the way down and a few more of what I had to climb to get back to the top. I think the pictures tell that story pretty well.
Today, we will visit a scenic spot in Greenville that I have been wanting to see for several years. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what I’ve been waiting all this time to see.
We checked out of our log cabin around 8 a.m. and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. From there, it was a short drive to Tamarack Marketplace in Beckley, West Virginia.
Tamarack Marketplace showcases West Virginia artisans and their work, including items made from wood, glass, textiles, pottery, and metal, along with jewelry, food, art, books, and recordings.
Below is a pic of the Tamarac Marketplace.
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After spending some time—and some money—at Tamarack Marketplace, we drove north to the Charleston airport to drop April off for her flight back home. It was fun having her join us for a couple of days and revisit some of the places she remembered from years ago.
We then pointed the Bronco Sport south toward our next destination—Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith and is widely associated with the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show.
Mount Airy promotes its Mayberry connection, so we were excited to see some familiar names and places from the show, including Floyd’s Barbershop, Wally’s Service Station, the courthouse, and other iconic symbols of Mayberry.
I must be honest—we were disappointed.
None of what we saw in Mount Airy really looked like the Mayberry we remembered from the television show. It was still interesting, though, and several stores along Main Street had plenty of Mayberry souvenirs featuring Andy, Barney, Aunt Bee, Opie, and the other familiar characters.
Below are some pics of the Mayberry scene and a nice mural of Andy Griffith.
Would I go far out of my way to visit Mount Airy just to see Mayberry? Probably not. But if you’re already in the area, it’s still an interesting place to visit—especially if you’re a fan of The Andy Griffith Show.
Below are some pictures from yesterday’s travels. I’m also including two pictures I missed posting the day before—some deer we spotted near our cabin.
Yesterday we woke up to cool temperatures, cloudy skies, and plans for a good day of scenic views and souvenir shopping.
Mission accomplished!
We started the day with a good breakfast at IHOP and then traveled north to see the New River Gorge Bridge.
Before viewing the bridge, we visited a gift shop just beyond the New River Gorge Visitor Center. We left the store happy with what we found—and guilt-free about how much we spent. Then we were off to see the bridge.
I’ve seen it plenty of times before, but it is always an amazing sight. The cloudy skies and cool temperatures made it even more enjoyable as we took in the view of the 3,030-foot-long steel arch bridge spanning the New River Gorge.
With an arch 1,700 feet long, the New River Gorge Bridge was the world’s longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years. Today, it is the seventh-longest and the longest outside of China.
After viewing the bridge, we drove a few more miles north to Kirkwood Winery. My daughter is a wine enthusiast and wanted to sample some West Virginia wine. After tasting several varieties, she purchased two bottles of sweet wine—blackberry and raspberry.
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We then drove back to Beckley and stopped at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine gift shop for more souvenir shopping before heading to two picturesque places—Little Beaver State Park and Grandview. See pics below.
We got back to our log cabin early and relaxed until dinnertime. After returning from dinner, Gayle and I enjoyed the warmth of the pellet stove while April enjoyed some quiet time in the hot tub on the back porch. The temperature outside was around 62 degrees.
It was a relaxing way to end a good day in West Virginia.
More pics from the day
Yesterday morning, we checked out of our motel later than usual—10:25 a.m. We were waiting for my daughter April’s flight to arrive at West Virginia International Yeager Airport, located about three miles east of downtown Charleston.
On our way to the airport, we drove right by the West Virginia State Capitol. One of its most striking features is its gold-leaf-covered dome. See pic below.
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After picking April up at the airport, we stopped for brunch at Tudor’s Biscuit World. Then we made a quick stop at Mea Cuppa Coffee Lounge so April could get a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop.
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I then pulled the reins of my Bronco to the left, and we were on our way to Beckley, West Virginia.
In the mid-1980s, my Air Force career took me to Beckley, where I was assigned to the Beckley MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station).
I was stationed there from March 1983 until March 1986. April visited me several times during those years, and that is why she flew up from Stuart, Florida—to revisit some of the places she remembered from her childhood.
After arriving in Beckley around 1 p.m., we went by the building where I used to work, the mobile home park where I lived, and the bowling lanes where I used to bowl. We also drove around town to see how much had changed.
For April and me, it was a drive filled with memories.
We planned this part of our trip several months ago, choosing a couple of days in September that best fit our schedule. To make the visit a little more special, we reserved a log cabin for two nights.
So, last night we settled into a beautiful three-bedroom, two-bath, two-story log cabin not far from Grandview. We’ll spend today visiting Grandview and a couple of other scenic places, doing a little shopping, and enjoying another night in the cabin.
We got up yesterday morning with a dense fog advisory in effect for much of West Virginia, including the area where we were staying.
“Sometimes the fog hides inside the forest, sometimes the forest hides inside the fog!” ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan
We were on the road by 8:30 a.m., and not only were the surrounding forests hiding inside the fog, so were the mountains. So, there are just a couple of pics from our early, foggy drive on the way to our first destination of the day—Sutton Dam.
By the time we reached Sutton Dam, the fog had completely dissipated, giving us a beautiful day to view the dam.
Sutton Dam straddles the Elk River and rises 210 feet. It was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, low-flow augmentation and recreation. It was completed and dedicated on July 8, 1961.
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After visiting Sutton Dam, we turned our Bronco Sport in the direction of Kanawha Falls. The drive to the falls was nice and relaxing. It helped me forget about my Washington, D.C., nightmare—traffic!
We arrived at Kanawha Falls and were pleasantly surprised by its beauty without the grandeur. It was worth the 90-minute drive.
Kanawha Falls isn’t spectacular because of its height; it’s impressive because of its width, volume of water and mountain setting.
The falls stretch irregularly across much of the Kanawha River, where the water drops more than 20 feet over a natural sandstone ledge. It is considered the largest waterfall in West Virginia.
From Kanawha Falls, we headed toward Charleston, West Virginia—our next stop for the night.
We stopped in Charleston after a relatively short day because my daughter April was flying into Charleston to join us. She will be with us as we visit the Beckley, West Virginia, area for the next couple of days.
Below are a some additional pics from yesterday’s travels.
