Philadelphia, Baltimore, Courtland (Virginia), Kitty Hawk, and Chapel Hill , November 7th

Philadelphia: Thanks to Bobbi, and to niece Melanie for the NBC tour and for my first, and last, spinning class. It wouldn't be so bad except for that God-awful music and the crazy lady screaming unintelligible instructions into her microphone. It was more like a religious revival, with everyone getting worked up in a sweaty frenzy while being exhorted by the high priestess to believe, I say believe, that they can pedal up that mountain, that they can find the spiritual power deep in their souls to cleanse themselves, I say cleanse themselves of the Devil's food cakes and bagels, and be delivered one day into that wing of Heaven reserved only for the fittest. Hallelujah! Do I hear an Ah-men?

Baltimore: Thanks to Annette, Mike and niece Merissa, the star La Crosse player, for putting up with me. Eddie, Robin and the Bonvino man are all doing well. Super food, super time...super, man.

Virginia: The entire East Coast is colored with the brilliant but warm shades of fall. But it was amidst this splendid beauty, and after some searching, that I finally found the lonely road marker, which briefly describes what some consider to be the first significant act of terrorism in the United States. In 1831, in rural Southampton County, Nat Turner and his band of slaves went on a rampage for two days and slaughtered fifty-seven white people, mostly women and children. Turner was soon captured, tried and hanged, and it prompted a backlash in Virginians to enact stricter laws against slaves, while rescinding most of the 'freedoms' they had acquired by then.

Terrorism? Insurrection? Rebellion? Fanaticism? (Turner was also a fundamentalist preacher). In any case, it spawned the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement. In the words of writer Tony Horwitz, "In later decades, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Abraham Lincoln would invoke Turner's legacy...." The marker is the only visible indicator that this historic incident occurred. It is situated about ten miles outside of the city of Courtland where Turner was tried; ironically, a city which, at the time, was named Jerusalem.

Nauth Caholahna's motto is "First in Flight", which is kind of difficult to believe as it didn't seem like too many people were leaving. But it did prompt me to detour east, to the Outer Banks and Kitty Hawk. These islands, seemingly halfway out in the Atlantic Ocean, are booming with new construction; a virtual water play land, with fun for the whole family. Hurricanes included at no extra charge.

Mark your calendar for December 2003. The Wright brother's first flight (Aha, so that's what it means) will be re-enacted right to the minute, one hundred years after it took place. Y'all come on down, y'hear? Particularly New Yawkers, where you'll be able to buy cartons of cigarettes for only $9.99. Guess that's why it's also called the Tarmouth State, or something like that.

Thanks to niece Kara, a star at UNC, who introduced me to Chapel Hill's famous Cosmic Cantina, a college student's paradise. I also attended one of her classes, "How Things Work", where the students were actively and physically being taught how to make waves. Certainly not up to Berkeley standards but not a bad start for a State where, while driving, I could not get any news stations on AM radio; but Rush Limbaugh was on three, count 'em three, different stations at the same time! Honest.

I'm slowly heading west. Ciao.