Between the Pages

“When I was growing up, I had three wishes – I wanted to be a Lindbergh-type hero, learn Chinese and become a member of the Algonquin Round Table .” -- President John F. Kennedy Staying at the Algonquin was a time-traveling experience. When the Uber pulled up, it wasn't an Uber SUV anymore. It was a yellow-taxi cab from the 1920s and 30s. As I stepped out from under the iconic green awning and into the main dining room and bar, it wasn't 9:00 am. It was lunchtime. And, I was not Hallie from the 21st century. I was Hallie the actress, poet, short-story writer, or columnist. I was whatever I wanted to be because I was at the Algonquin.  THE VICIOUS CIRCLE The Algonquin Roundtable wasn't always The Algonquin Roundtable. Like a lot of things that originated around the 1920s, it began as a practical joke carried out by press agent John Peter Toohey. It's 1919, and Toohey is annoyed at New York Times columnist, Alexander Woollcott for refusing to write about one of his client...

 I'm back (finally)!! Welcome to the day 13 recap. My apologies for the late post. When I got home from driving for 11 hours in one day, I took a couple of days off, as we were all exhausted. This post recaps the events of July 2.  Day 13 CITIES We hopped from town to town, exit to exit everywhere from Hanover, NH to Altoona, PA. It certainly was a big driving day, as we arrived at our hotel at almost 2:00 am after foraging the Poconos in complete darkness. That was fun.  BOOKSTORES Northshire Bookstore This bookstore was sincerely one of my favorites of the entire trip. Nestled in a gorgeous and unfathomably green small town, I felt as if I had stepped straight into Stars Hollow, waiting for Rory Gilmore to burst into the store and complain about her bus being late from Chilton. The organization was impeccable, another facet Rory would appreciate; I appreciated it too.  Most impressive to me, however, were the hundreds of staff/customer recommendation cards clipped ...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 12 recap.  Day 12 CITIES Today we left Cambridge, MA bright and early and slowly made our way throughout the day to Hanover, NH. We had a very chill day, as driving days are some of our most relaxed without the hustle and bustle of big cities. The fact that we are very near to the end of the trip has set in. I am relieved and sad to be almost done with this trip. On the one hand, I have been given this amazing opportunity to take the trip of my dreams that I do not want to end. And on the other, we are all very tired and quite homesick. We reached our northernmost point of the entire trip today! That's a big milestone. Overall, I'm feeling a lot of gratitude for this experience today.  BOOKSTORES Gibson's Bookstore and Cafe Today we visited a lovely bookstore in New Hampshire's capital city, Concord. Funny story, we did not actually realize we were in the capital until we noticed the statehouse to our left. Gibson's is a half urban ...