My car won an Emmy. She let me ride along…

I’m John Robinson and this is my fellow traveler, Erifnus Caitnop. Together we have traveled more than 300,000 miles covering every mile of every road on the Missouri highway map. Along the way we’ve seen hidden gems that you won’t … Read More

Lunch at the Eagles Club

“Don’t be disappointed if we don’t see any eagles,” I warned my two young daughters as we drove round the last curve before we reached the river. A frigid January had tamed the top of the Mighty Mississippi. Only the … Read More

Cave In

The tow truck raced past Graham Cave, the world’s most bypassed state park. Within spittin’ distance of I-70, the cave entrance resembles Mick Jagger’s lips. For eons, folks took shelter beneath this stiff upper lip and sat around ancient cook … Read More

French Connection

At sunset we sailed out of Marseille in the shadow of the majestic Cathedrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure, more comfortable and relaxed than when my great grandfather left the port. My best guess is he didn’t stay long in Marseille, or anywhere, being … Read More

Barcelona

We heard nothing but good things about Barcelona. Sometimes such heaping praise brings letdown. But from our hotel in the center of the city, walking the most spacious boulevards of any city I’ve experienced we easily dodged the robust cadre … Read More

Graveyard with a View

Graveyards hold a special fascination for me. If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll agree. This one may have the best view I’ve ever experienced. Built centuries ago on a mountaintop overlooking Villefranche, the town of Eze Is a … Read More

Florence

His hands are too big, his head oversized. Yet the statue is considered one of the greatest works from the chisel of an artist. I circled this marble masterpiece like an unworthy prize fighter sizing up Muhammad Ali, snapping photographs … Read More

Tuscany

Our drive through the northern Tuscan countryside came too late in the year to see the endless fields of sunflowers. No matter. This is Tuscany. Our path wound through two hilltop villages, nee city states, whose medieval fortress walls now … Read More

Roma

Next time we approach Rome we will do it the way Hannibal did in 211 BCE. He took elephants over the Alps to surprise the Roman Empire, stopping short of the Eternal City because he lacked the necessary supply lines … Read More

Where is Hercules when you need him?

The 79AD eruption of Vesuvius claimed not only Pompeii, but other towns in the shadow of the volcano. Herculaneum–some say founded by Hercules, but at the very least named for him– a prosperous community used as a getaway for wealthy … Read More