Prime Minister Trudeau still refused to open the Canadian border to travelers, so my hopes of driving from Washington State though British Columbia, Alberta,Saskatchewan , Manitoba and Western Ontario, before crossing back into the States at Sault Ste. Marie were shelved for a future date. The border finally opened in August. I was trying not to retrace last year’s voyage and crossed in only two spots – Billings MT and Sheridan WY.

From Portland I drove East to the Snake River.

The Snake River runs from the Continental Divide in Wyoming to the Columbia River. Salmon swim all the way from the Pacific Ocean to Wyoming – against a strong current and many dam ladders along the way. Ate lunch in an old Quonset Hut turned restaurant in Joseph,Oregon. The river is the border between Oregon and Idaho in these parts.

See the video in the opening Cross Country 2021 story.

After the Snake River I spent the night int he capital city of Boise. Hotels were surprisingly expensive and I ended up in a Holiday Inn Express for about $ 190. But the next night, in Stanley , I stayed with old family friends at their RJR Ranch . We cooked steaks over an open fire, while watching the sun set over the Sawtooth Mountains. RJR is a working ranch with horses and cattle. One can also fish salmon from streams that run through the the property.

Missoula Friday Night

Missoula is a rocking college town and just coming back after Covid. I socialized amongst the maskless crowds and it was fun to be out again. Last years journey was quite solitary – often eating in my hotel room, or off the hood of the car.

Montana is a wide state, spanning an entire time zone. From Missoula, I stopped in Butte for lunch , swam in the Yellowstone River and made it to Billings for the night My hotel there cost 3 times what it did last year. Not only is tourism up, but firefighters from all over the country were there to fight fires all over the West.

The next day TotalAdventure left the Rockies for the High Plains, through Sheridan,Wyoming ( and a huge steak lunch) In late day drove through Sturgis, South Dakota – where the Biker rally was about to start.

Spent the night in Pine Bluff, home of the world’s only casono that doesn’t serve drinks. Alcohol is a serious problem on the reservation and possession is outlawed.

By late morning crossed into Nebraska and spent two nights in Omaha to get caught up on work.

From Omaha it was about 7 hours to Chicago, including lunch in Des Moines. It was hard to stay awake in the repetitive scenery of rolling hill cornfields.

It was great to be back in Chicago after a couple of years. My last time there was in February,2018 when it was 7 below zero !

As a New Yorker, Chicago seems to be the only other “Real City” in the USA. Washington, Boston and SanFrancisco are runner ups.

From Chicago , and a brief stop in Indiana to visit an old friend, I returned Massillon Ohio to finish research from last year. Massillon is ancestral hometown of TotalAdventure.

My Grandfather , Blaine Zuver founded Enterprise Aluminum Company. Manufactured coffee makers, pots ,pans and in wartime – mess kits ,canteens and bullet casings on fighter planes.

A Beautiful Cleveland Day On The Lake Erie Waterfront.

TotalAdventure then spent a week in his childhood home town – Bay Head NJ.

From Bay Head , it’s a 19 hour trip back down I 95 to MiamiSpent the night in Lumberton NC. The highlight of the trip, which I have done hundreds of times, is BBQ at Malson’s in Kingsland GA, just 3 miles from the Florida line. And then – it was home to Miami ! The last 2 summers have been perfect to get to know our country from East to West and North to South. Now, we return to the World at Large !

The flight from Miami to Havana is only 45 minutes, but it’s a trip back in time. To 1959.

TotalAdventure flew on the newly relaunched Eastern Airlines – actually a charter by Havana Air. Real commercial fights will start later this year.

 

Arrival at  Aeropuerto José  Martí.

TotalAdventure was in Cuba in order to research how to set up eco-friendly and cultural trips to be led by local individuals. TotalAdventure operates just like AirBnb – with adventures instead of apartments. Our challenge is finding reputable guides offering unique experiences. One of the biggest difficulties is limited internet access – Wi-Fi is very expensive for the average person and it is generally not available in private homes.

 

The view from TotalAdventure’s $ 47 a night AirBnb apartment.

As the economy slowly transitions, Total Adventure does it’s best to patronize and work with individuals and families. Instead of a hotel, a local apartment or house. And always a private car and driver – whether a city taxi ride, a long trip from Havana to Trinidad and back , or a day tour in the Trinidad region.

Taxi from the airport to apartment – 1953 Chevy !

 

The neighborhood in Habana Vieja.

 

Cuba is the world’s largest renovation project !

 

All the Cuba posts were uploaded on the sameday, after return to Miami, due to limited access in Cuba. The final post is “Cuba Road Trip 2016”  – a real life video !

For current adventures in Cuba CLICK HERE.

Howling November winds, up to 20 knots, whipped Miami’s Biscayne Bay into a frenzy today, 11/21/10 .ArcticTropic is a member of a local sailing club , SailLaser Miami , where members always have great boats rigged up and ready to go. Lasers , Bahia’s and today – a Dart 16 – a small Catamaran- was ready to for us to hit the chop. The club is for serious sailors who do not want the headache of boat ownership.

Thanks to our Waterproof HD camera, this excellent footage was captured, even as I manned the tiller. The blur comes from the spray flying past us. Be sure to choose the 1080 setting for  highest quality.

Miami is a true Adventure City. While it is one of the largest Metropolis’ in the USA, it is close to Hi Speed Sailing,Big Game Fishing and Surfing. One can be in the Bahamas in two hours by boat , Cuba in a few hours more than that, and the Amazon is only 4 hours away by plane.