In January of 1980, they met at a party in Acushnet, a suburb of New Bedford, MA. Brad was a
guest; Mike W. was a bartender. It was "love at first site". A series of awkward yet amazing events (having to due with cars, insurance, driveways & parking spaces) would allow them to see each other during February. Brad lived in Boston, MA; Mike W., in Fairhaven, another suburb of New Bedford, MA. They "officially" became lovers during the weekend of March 15-17, 1980. The couple moved to Washington, DC in July of 1981; and into Alexandria, VA during a rainy March of 1982, followed by Albuquerque, NM in June of 2001. Luckilly it was sunny weather while they traveled west, and as they moved into their new apartment.Therefore, in 2000, the couple celebrated 20 years of being together!
Azzarb/Mike W. & the Elusive Mr. b/Brad have toured many structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, Unity Temple plus much of the suburb of Oak Park, IL; Falling Water in PA; the Dana-Thomas house in Springfield, IL; Taliesen East in WI; Taliesen West in AZ; Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK plus the Hollyhock House & Ennis-Brown house in Los Angeles, CA. And there is the Pope-Leighey house, just south of Washington, DC!
Mike W. & Brad appreciate other types of architectural styles, too. Through the years, the duo have toured the mansions of Newport, RI; the House of the Seven Gables in Salem, MA; Lyndhurst & Kykuit in Tarrytown & the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, NY; the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC; Melrose in Natchez, MS; the Gamble House in Pasadena, CA; Parlange in LA (not L.A.); Maymont in Richmond, VA; Whitehall in West Palm Beach & Ca'd' Zan in Sarasota, FL; Hearst Castle near San Simeon, CA; Vizcaya, south of Miami & the Awahnee Lodge in Yosemite National Park, CA. But we can't forget the "Corn Palace" in Mitchell, SD & the "Wall Drug Store" in Wall, SD! And you have not seen Hollywood until you see Frederick's of Hollywood (although the lilac & pink exterior has been reduced to a pale beige)!
Due to changes in health, our adventurers have made their goal in life to explore this country (by plane, by car & by foot!).They have visited 47 of the 48 contiguous United States (last, but not least, will be Washngton State). The partners travelled 20+ miles into Idaho & back to MT when exploring Yellowstone Nat'l Park.Their preference is weather that is warm & dry; such as Death Valley, CA. The temperature soared to over 110 degrees. However, the Grand Tetons in WY, while cool & snow-packed in early June, were incredible...as Mike W. & Brad have been known to say, "Mother Nature at her best!"!
But Mother Nature has not always been so kind. They were forced to pull to the side of the road due to heavy rains while visiting WI & WY. On the other hand, the severity of 2 storms made them keep driving. Once was from New Orleans, past Mobile, AL to west of Talahassee, FL. Our partners saw 2 18-wheelers toppled over on I-10 & I-75 in Florida. The other was from Haymarket to Strasburg, VA (& eventually to Roanoke, VA) at night in which it was impossible to do anything but drive straight ahead, hoping nothing was in your lane. The lightning & thunder produced a continuous sight & sound show for a half hour. You could not see in any direction but a minimal distance ahead of you, and the constant rumble became slightly deafening. When that was over, they were driving south on I-81 when the rain started again, although not as severe. South of Staunton, VA they were presented with a multi-car/truck pileup! In NC, they once came face to face with a tornado, and proved how fast the Datsun could accelerate. Another time in NC (Wilmington), Mike W. & Brad woke up to a tornado warning [which prompted a quick "Good-bye" to their hotel]; in SD, tornadoes could be seen in the "Badlands" area. In Springfield, MO, the "train" they thought they heard...wasn't! And on the lighter side, they have seen many dust devils while roaming the Southwest.
Why is this being written like an interview or newspaper article? I don't know; it's a different approach to telling people who you are & what you like to do.
In 1986, these crazy individuals did a "Cross Country" tour, travelling 12,000+ miles in 40 days. From the Skyline Drive in VA & the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA & NC, to Gatlinburg, TN to Atlanta to New Orleans to Avery Island, LA to San Antonio to Carlsbad Caverns, NM to El Paso, TX west to Phoenix to several western National Parks to Las Vegas to L. A. to San Fran, up & around California & Oregon, back through Nevada to the Great Salt Lake in Utah through additional national parks to the Silverton-Durango Highway in Colorado to Denver to Kansas City (both KS & MO) to St. Louis, weaving through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee to Georgia through the Carolinas and back home! They explored 21 states & went through 2 rental vehicles. The first, a Chevette, started dying in southwestern Utah, near Zion National Park. It survived until Los Angeles, and was replaced by a Buick Park Avenue. This impressive automobile maneuvered quite well through the verrry narrow roads of Sequoia Nat'l Park.
In the years to follow these partners travelled (as in, drove) from Washington, DC to the Badlands & the Black Hills of SD, Devil's Tower & Yellowstone National Park (twice!, 1991 & 1994, watching the "Old Faithful" geyser do its thing); plus, in 1991, the Grand Tetons in WY. In 1996, they went from Chicago to St. Louis to New Orleans to Orlando to Charleston, SC & back to DC...in two weeks!
In 1998, Mike W. & Brad spent three weeks on the road; landing in Albuquerque, NM; up to Santa Fe, Chimayo & Taos, NM; north to Colorado [and a "thank you" to the Subway tuna sandwiches consumed in Pagosa Springs, CO & Gallup, NM!], stopping at Durango. Onto Mesa Verde (also visited in 1986), into & across Utah. (US 95 from Blanding to Hanksville has incredible landscape, from beginning to end!). Their journey took them through Capital Reef & into [and up through] Bryce Canyon, continuing to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (last visited in 1992). Then on to Zion, through Nevada [including Pahrump! (remember the movie "Mars Attacks!")] to Death Valley. Up & over & down to Yosemite, then to the California coast, enjoying a evening tour of San Simeon. Down to Los Angeles, Palm Springs (stayed in InnDulge [great place, friendly hosts]), Phoenix [toured Taliesen West], & through the Hopi & Navajo nations (staying in Tuba City, AZ). Up to the Four Corners area to Cortez, CO; stopping at Durango, CO. South to Santa Fe, (again, US 64 & US 285 are a nature lover's dream) crashed (only literally) in Albuquerque, and a return flight back to DC. That's all. P.S.: the journey from Palm Springs to Phoenix was interrupted by a six-car pile-up on I-10. This was followed by a 2-hour wait, since both directions were blocked by police cars. Their car was 5 vehicles & 1 truck behind the collision.
These two guys have had their high moments while travelling through the Eisenhower Tunnel in CO; the Beartooth Highway in MT; Bryce Canyon, UT; Brazzos Pass in NM; the Silverton-Durango Highway & Red Mountain Pass in CO & Sonora Pass in CA). Their low points include Death Valley, CA; New Orleans, LA & Key West, FL (sea level).
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