Montauk, New York

September 16 to 17, 2000

The Spanish-American War United Spanish American War Society event held at Montauk point the site of Camp Wikoff was held September 16 to September 17, 2000. This was an opportunity to learn detailed information about the Spanish-American War of 1898. There was a wealth of knowledge brought to this event by experts from all over the United States as well as a few Cubans that came to this country in the late 1950's. There was a representative from Puerto Rico that came to the United States in 1982. His research on the Spanish soldiers of the time period as well as his illustrations in preparation for an upcoming book is superb. This was a learning experience from the History stand point but also from the Geography stand point as well. We traveled in seven states and covered a wide variety of ground from the plains of Illinois with their cornfields to the mountains of Pennsylvania to the concrete of New York and the Statue of Liberty and finally to the end of Long Island and the Lighthouse. This was a learning experience from the time of departure until the time of return 4 and a half days later. Here is my story.

The beginning of this great adventure and educational opportunity began really in the months of planning for the event. This required making of uniforms and equipment. It also required learning the Spanish Infantry drill and the part the Spanish Army played in the Spanish American War of 1898. My traveling compadre as well as the Sergeant of the Spanish forces was Roberto Alverez Lienweber from Easton, Illinois. Rob and I have participated in many Civil War re-enactments and were looking forward to this new experience. The Montauk event was to be the national event for the USAWS organization this year. We were to depart from Casa Bresnan at 5:30 PM on September 15th. When Roberto arrived we loaded his equipment into my van and off we went, Roberto, Tatanka Blanco and me. The drive was to be a long one of around nineteen hours on the road. Route 36 was going to take us east to Indianapolis where we would pick up Interstate 70. Travel through Illinois went off without a hitch. Indiana was another story. While heading eastbound we spotted the blue and red flashing lights of a police car ahead. We stopped and were told the road was closed and to follow the car that had just turned south. As we approached the car ahead of us I looked at Roberto saying I hope that this guy from Missouri knows where he is going. The road was a narrow gravel road and we didn't have a clue where we were, but then that is what a road atlas is for. After winding around the countryside of Indiana for over thirty minutes and taking a couple of wrong turns we made it back out to route 36. I still don't know what became of the car from Missouri, he is probably still lost in Indiana. We drove into Indianapolis and took the 465 by-pass around the southern end to connect up with Interstate 70. The drive and geography was much the same as in Illinois with plenty of cornfields. There was a noticeable difference in the land of Ohio, and the eastern part of the state was just plain hilly. We crossed into West Virginia for a short time before entering the "Keystone" state. We worked our way up to Interstate 78 going through several tunnels in the mountains. The road had many curves and hills that let us know we were far from Illinois. Pennsylvania was interesting with the mountains but they did not compare to the Rocky Mountains of the American west.

New Jersey offered an interesting twist when we went to fill the van with gas. We stopped at a gas station and began to fill the tank when we were told that New Jersey was a "Full Service" state. They also said that it was against New Jersey law to have self-service gas stations. New Jersey did not take long to cross. The western part was mostly suburbs for the eastern cities. We cut off on Interstate 278 that would take us to Staten Island. We planned to drive across Staten Island and on to Long Island and out to Oyster Bay to see Theodore Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill. What we didn't know was that the traffic would be terrible. We arrived on Staten Island after 14 hours of driving from Illinois. We paid the $4.00 toll for the bridge and off we went. One of the noticeable things about Staten Island was the garbage dumps. Huge piles everywhere covered with dirt. Making it through the island we crossed over onto Long Island. We had a view of the harbor with a variety of ships from freighters to sailing vessels. There was even a few "Tall Ships" with the tall mast and sails. This brought back a view of what New York harbor might have looked like 200 years ago. Travel was rated at bad to very bad. Your life is in danger just trying to switch lanes. You need a heavy foot on the gas and a hand on the horn. This is not a driver friendly city. The sites were interesting. We were able to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance and even tried to snap a few pictures. The World Trade Center as well as the Empire State Building were also in view. One of the sites I found interesting was the "razor wire" atop the roofs of many of the row houses below the interstate highway. There was an assortment of flags being flown in the many neighborhoods which included Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban and more. There was an interesting machine with rotating claws on the front that was traveling on the highway. This was used for picking up "road junk" from the highway, car parts etc. We finally got to I-495 but the traffic did not ease up. Upon reaching the route 106 exit we took this and entered Oyster Bay. The road leading back to Sagamore Hill was a welcome relief from what we had just been through. It was a two lane road that curved back and forth with trees shading the road. There were several fine houses scattered along the way. Upon reaching the visitors center for Sagamore Hill we discovered that there were other Spanish American War re-enactors already there. Roberto put on his Spanish hat and I my Rough Rider hat. Roosevelt's home was magnificent. As we entered the first thing that struck me was the darkness of the interior. The walls and ceiling were of mahogany. I was quite envious of the library. There were thousands of books. Roosevelt was an avid hunter of big game. Many of his trophies were on display which included grizzly bear, cape buffalo, American bison, moose, elk, rhino horns and many more. There was even a polar bear rug that was given to Roosevelt as a present by Byrd. The North room was built on to the house during his presidency and contains many interesting items from an elephant foot waste basket to a rhino foot ink well. His original hat that he wore up San Juan Hill was there as well as his sword. There was even a sword and dagger gift from the Japanese Emperor there. Upstairs was his favorite room, the gun room. The disappointing thing was that there were no guns on display. There was a gun case but you could not see into it. Probably his most famous gun was the Winchester Model 1895 in .405 caliber but unfortunately it was not displayed. We were told that the Colt revolver he carried up San Juan Hill was stolen a few years ago and they were reluctant to display any more guns. It is really too bad since TR was an avid hunter and shooter. Also on display in the home was the Frederic Remington bronze bust entitled "The Bronco Buster" that was given to TR as a present from the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry. TR died in bed in 1919 and his wife lived until 1948. On completion of the tour we retired to the front porch and the fine rocking chairs. I had to stop in the gift shop to see if they had any "Teddy Bears" I could buy. I purchased two. I just had to have a "Teddy Bear" from Sagamore Hill. Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919 at the age of sixty in his sleep at his home, Sagamore Hill. His grave is within a mile of his beloved home. Our small band of Spanish American War re-enactors stop to pay our respects to a man that crammed a hundred years of living into his sixty short years. Many feel that he was destined to become the next president in the 1920 presidential election. The grave of Theodore Roosevelt is a simple grave surrounded by a wrought iron fence. There was a strange feeling being in the presence of such a great man even though he has been dead some eighty-one years. The years have not diminished his greatness. We took several pictures before continuing on to our destination of Montauk.

Montauk was still a two and a half hour drive. It is located at the end of Long Island. Montauk was used as a quarantine camp for the returning troops from Cuba in 1898. Many of the soldiers had yellow fever and malaria and Camp Wikoff is where these troops returned. The prevailing winds would blow the germs out to sea or at least that is what was thought at the time. Interstate highway 495 would lead us out to highway 27 and to the end of the island. The island is a giant tourist site. Traffic never seemed to let up and the island seemed to be getting longer. There were several small towns along the way to Montauk. One of the things of interest to me was when these towns were established, mostly in the mid-1600's. These towns date back to the early Dutch settles who were the original European settlers to the area. These were small quaint little towns that have evloved into tourist traps today. Finally we arrived at the Theodore Roosevelt State Park the site of the event and Camp Wikoff.

The 71st New York National Guard reenactment unit was sponsoring this event and did an outstanding job. Tents were already set up for our arrival and all we had to do was move in. Roberto and I picked out a tent and proceeded to get set for the weekend. It was both interesting and educational to be able to share information and experiences with the other re-enactors. The great thing about this is that everyone is so willing to share information they have amassed. Roberto has a mountain of knowledge on information and talent in reconstructing leather cartridge boxes, knapsacks etc. A gentleman we were looking forward to meeting was Fernando Camerano. Fernando has added a great wealth of information concerning the uniforming of the Spanish Army during the 1890's. To be able to see campaign medals, uniforms, hats, buttons, shoes and all of the items that he brought was a great learning experience and will help greatly in making this come alive for my students. Although a soft spoken man, Fernando speaks volumes with his work. The major's uniform he had made was a great addition to our little Spanish army. The illustrations of the uniforms of the Spanish were in such detail that they almost jumped from the page right out at you. A lot can be learned from the minute detail of the illustrations. The great amount of research and time as well as trips to Spain make this information invaluable. Fernando was a super guy and I will look forward to seeing him again. Fernando rode to the event with the group of Cuban Insurrectos. They were led by Antonio Delgado who had come to the US from Cuba in the late 1950's. Antonio's father was also with them. He did not speak much English but it was very interesting to listen to the first hand accounts of his living in Cuba and how he recounted what his parents told him. Antonio's father was in the Cuban Navy before the Castro takeover and had many interesting stories to tell that Antonio translated for those of us non-Spanish speaking Spaniards. Orlando was great too. He came from Cuba in the late 1950's also and spoke of his youth. I also found out he was a SASS member as well as I. This was something else we had in common. The Insurrecto camp was complete with flags as well as sugar cane from the fields. Their uniforming was great and being able to speak Spanish was neat to listen too. I can now understand why the Spanish Army was terrified of the machete used by the "Mambises". We were even invited to share supper with the Insurrectos. The rice and beans as well as the ribs were superb. I will look forward to "fighting" with this fine group again. They really added to the Spanish American War presentation.

It was also a pleasure to finally meet Mike Lewis who is responsible for getting the Spanish American War re-enacting off the ground. Mike is from California and his 6th US was a great bunch of guys. Their uniforms and Krags were great. The 71st New York National Guard was led by Jim Michaud. Their Model 1888 Trapdoor .45-70 Springfields sure gave away their position on the battlefield. The .45-70 was still loaded with black powder in the 1890's and was a weapon used by national guard units even up into the 1900's. Upon firing a .45-70 with black powder a huge puff of smoke would give away the position of the shooter to the enemy. Jim and his unit were great at preparing meals and organizing the event. To have so many different units in one location is a great opportunity for all to share info with each other. There was also a Model 1895 Gatling Gun in .30-40 caliber. Even though it did not shoot in the mock battles it was still a welcome addition to be able to see it.

The Spanish Army numbered around 10 men. Ted Stahr was the leader of the 4th Telavera unit from California. They numbered three troops. Mike Grant otherwise know as "Chaito", adopted Rob and I. Rob is the sergeant of the 25th Pattra Rifle Battalion. There was also the 1st Provisional unit represented with three. To have a complete little army with all of the correct leather boxes, belts, knapsacks, bed rolls, uniforms, Mausers, etc. was great. Everybody broke out their boxes and briefcases of research and the opportunity to learn form others was fantastic. Rob always brings his box that contains a wealth of knowledge. Rob has made belts, cartridge boxes, Y straps, cockades, uniforms, gorros, ammo cartons, labels and more. He is a very talented individual that has added greatly to this time period of study. Rob has taken the Spanish side from just an OPFOR unit with wrong everything to the Spanish Army we had this weekend.

There was also a group of Rough Riders complete with their own "Teddy Roosevelt". The uniforms were good and they were armed with Krag carbines although mostly cut off rifles. Ammunition for the Krag is expensive and unfortunately does not feed well through the action. I gave the Rough Riders some of the rounds that I had with me and told them what I do to get a 90% feed rate on my carbine. I was greatly surprised to find out that they were paying $11.00 per 100 for gelcaps for their blanks so I gave them a tip on that too. After the battle on Saturday I noticed the Rough Riders had a single stage press set up in their camp reloading ammo for Sunday. I think I would have just purchased more brass and had it all loaded before the event and not mess with the reloading equipment, but then to each his own. On Sunday one of the Rough Riders was not overly smart. During the battle I went down "killed" and as this Rough Rider came up to me he picked my Mauser up by the barrel. This is not a smart thing to do. A Mauser that has fired over 150 rounds is "muy caliente" and he found that out. As it was my suggestion for him to take a souvenir, and I really thought he was smarter than he was, he got very angry with me. I didn't make him pick it up. I will bet he will not do that again. Learning by experience is not always the best way.

Saturday morning started with reveille at 7:00 and morning formation at 7:30. Sergeant Roberto Alverez did a fantastic job the entire weekend giving the commands in Spanish. I was doing well just to remember what to do for what command. At the morning formation Roberto gave us a break down on what was scheduled for the day. Breakfast was to be around 8:30 which would consist of oatmeal, bread and coffee. Not too bad but I have had better. We would have morning drill at around 10:00 and a presentation for the public at 12:30 with the battle at 1:00. The sergeant formed us up for drill and off we went to the field. The manual of arms was the main focus and then marching. It was a real experience to listen to all of the commands in Spanish. Again Roberto did a super job in learning these. He even made a tape of the commands in English and then the same command in Spanish that we listened to in the van on the way there. The Spanish Army returned to camp after about forty-five minutes of drill. Our camp consisted of five A-tents and a wall tent. It looked neat with our Mausers stacked in front of the tents and the ammo boxes sitting out front with the Spanish flag flying in the breeze.

The formation for the public was very interesting. All of the units present were to give a brief talk about their unit and equipment. Mike Lewis and the 6th US started with explaining their Krag rifles and equipment. Next, Teddy Roosevelt gave his speech and talked about the Rough Riders and their Krag carbines. Jim Michaud was the representative for the 71st New York with their Model 1888 Trapdoor Springfield .45-70s. There was a gun detachment for the Gatling gun that explained how Lt. Parker would have used these on Cuba with a rate of fire of around 600 rounds per minute. Antonio did an excellent job of explaining who the Insurrectos were and their equipment. Many people just think the Spanish American War was between the United States and Spain and not much is written about the Insurrectos. Antonio told that their weaponry was varied depending on what they could get their hands on. They, however, were armed mostly with Mausers in 7 MM. Ted Stahr explained the Spanish equipment and talked about the Mauser of 1893, which the Spanish would have been armed with. Our group was armed with the Model 1895 Chilean Mauser that is almost identical to the 1893. Rob Harban demonstrated how fast a Mauser could be loaded from a stripper clip and fired. The Americans demonstrated the Krags and the Trapdoors and it was without a doubt the public thought the Mausers had a definite advantage. It was also very evident in the mock battle. In fact, after we were marching off of the field after the battle a group of the spectators came up to us and thought that if it were a real battle that we would have won even being out numbered five to one.

The Spanish army marched out to the trenches after the demonstration for the public. The 4th Telavera was our advance unit that would hold off the advanced scouts and Insurrectos of the American army. The battle started hot and heavy with the Telavera boys holding their own with no problem. The Mausers are superior with their firepower. Finally they dropped back to the trenches and a great fire-fight began. The Mausers were dealing death to the oncoming Americans. The "Spanish Hornets" were stinging everywhere on the Americans. The trenches were filling up with empty shell casings as the soldiers in them worked the action on their Mausers. The First Provision unit of our Spanish Army held the right trench. Finally after about thirty minutes of fighting the Rough Riders lead by TR came charging up the hill and we "died" for them or retreated. The Insurrectos pulled out their machetes and made a terrifying sight. No wonder the Spanish soldiers of 1898 were so afraid of them. Orlando came over the top with machete in hand dealing death. I fell "dead" in the trench. As I looked up, I saw a barrel of a trapdoor come over the top of the trench. Boom!! I stayed at the bottom of the trench until it was all over, fearing if I did stick my head up, I might really get shot.

The fighting was over and all of the "dead" arose again. It was a great demonstration for the public as well as those of us that participated. It made history come to life with the relics of the past. The Spanish did a quick round count to see how many rounds were fired. I had fired over 200 round as did most of the nine men we had in our ranks. Shell casings littered the field. We no sooner were up and marching off the field than the spectators were picking up our spent brass for souvenirs. We marched back to camp in formation and heard a lot of nice comments from not only the spectators but also the Americans and Insurrectos. The armies were not large but the quality of knowledge and authenticity of equipment was fantastic. Once back in camp we sat down to cool off and clean rifles. The ammunition that Rob and I are using is corrosive and requires thorough cleaning.

There was some time to kill before it would be supper time so Roberto and I decided to go to check out the beach and see the Atlantic first hand. We drove down to the lighthouse and parked the van. It was an impressive looking lighthouse. We walked down to the beach and received stares from everyone we passed. It must have been the fact we were still wearing our Spanish uniforms and looked a little strange to them. One couple past us saying hello and I answered them with a "Buenos dias" and they really looked surprised. The trail down to the beach was sandy with tall reeds on either side of the trail. I could picture in my mind that this could be the beach of Daiquiri and the American invasion was under way. I walked out to the edge and watched the surf come in. We went back up to the sand and sat down and just observed the people and the surroundings. There were several boats on the water and you could see small white-cap waves. A young lady came by and asked if we wanted her to take our picture. We set it up so the lighthouse would be in the background. She had two cute kids around the same age as Rob's twins. Rob picked up some shells to bring back to his girls and I picked up some rocks to bring back to my loving wife, "Miss Nola". I also picked up a crab leg and brought it back to camp. I put it on Chaito's ear and he wore it not know what it was until some time later. Rob posed for a picture coming up the trail and I got into the weeds for a picture. This whole trip had been such a great learning experience not only from the history aspect but to see how another part of the country lived. After about thirty minutes on the beach we returned for camp to find food.

Supper Saturday was to be beef stew. The Insurrectos, however, invited us to their camp for supper. They had rice and beans with ribs and boy, was this some mighty good eating. We also had some pumpkin and apple pie the Americans were serving. There was a band that came and played music from the 1890's including some of the John P. Sousa tunes.

Roberto and I had planned to sleep in the trenches Saturday night so we readied our equipment. It was also cleared with the park people that we could have a skirmish up until 8:00. The Spanish army formed up and out to the trenches we went.(Roberto and I planned to return to camp for our blankets later and then sleep in the trenches.) We arrived at the trenches and deployed, waiting for an attack. Two of the Americans did come out and shots were exchanged. In fact there was a brisk little fire-fight. Roberto, Chaito and I moved up on the right flank and ended the Americans threat "killing" both. All of a sudden I noticed a massive movement of troops from within the American camp and I yelled to the sergeant to retreat rapido. Roberto didn't know what I was worried about until he also saw the oncoming Americans. We made a hasty retreat back to the trenches and an all out battle ensued. By now it was dark and the Americans with their blue uniforms were almost impossible to see. The flash of the rifles looked like hundreds of flash bulbs going off everywhere. The Mausers were able to hold the Americans attack back for a while. Our defenses became disorganized in the darkness and our forces were split. I was on our left flank while Roberto and most of the others were on the right. I fired clip after clip of 7 MM ammo to cover my retreat. This little battle lasted over thirty minutes and a cease fire was finally called to the dismay of a couple of Americans. They had been crawling on their bellies sneaking up to our position undetected and were almost upon us when the cease fire was called. Orlando and a couple of the Insurrectos came out and had been fighting on the left flank. By the end of this fire-fight I had made it back to our main body of troops just as it ended. This was another learning experience of what night fighting must have been like and what can and will go wrong. It was at this point after the battle that Rob and I decided not to sleep in the trenches. We were tired and it was getting cooler besides we had a nineteen hour drive the next day to look forward to. The rest of the evening was spent sharing information and ideas around the campfire. I got to talk with Fernando about his research and his uniform. As the night wore on, about the only people around the fire were the Spanish as the Americans had turned in. We made our way back to camp.

Sunday morning began with reveille at 7:00; well, that is the time we got up but no one played reveille on the bugle this morning. Sergeant Roberto called for morning formation at 7:45 and went through the schedule of the day. Breakfast was delayed a little but was worth the wait. We had scrambled eggs and bacon along with bread. There was also leftover pie to be had. Around 10:30 the Spanish Army formed and went out for morning drill. Sergeant Roberto again was superb in giving the Spanish commands. After going through the manual of arms we were to learn bayonet drill. At the command to fix bayonets we were all ready. I must say I thought it looked impressive. As we were performing the commands the Sergeant yelled out, we attracted an audience of many of the American Army as well as some of the public that were on the grounds. Satisfied with our morning drill, the sergeant marched the company over to Third House where the museum is located. Third House was the headquarters for Camp Wikoff in 1898. We stacked arms with fixed bayonets and went inside. They had an original Spanish uniform there which the sergeant and I took several pictures of for reference purposes. There was also a very nice American display, including a Krag carbine, uniform, saddle and other equipment. I purchased a book entitled "Birth of the American Century: Spanish-American War" by Ron Ziel. I talked with him for a while and he autographed the book for me. The museum was not large but did have a lot of original items, although mostly American.

The sergeant formed our company and marched us off toward the battlefield. It was 11:30 and almost time for the battle. The American Army was still going through their drill so we thought why not get their attention by forming our battle line and pouring several volleys into them. The sergeant yelled out the commands, we loaded our Mausers with five rounds from the clips and on command, fired a volley. The first volley brought little response from the Americans but with four more volleys in rapid succession brought the Americans diving for cover and loading their weapons. The Mausers have the definite advantage of being able to be reloaded quickly and all of the Mausers were loaded and ready for a fight. A brisk fire fight began. The Americans got into their battle formation and had begun to open fire. The Spaniards returned fire as fast as the bolts on the Mausers could be worked. By this time the gunfire had attracted the attention of several of the public and they were lined at the fence to watch. This fire fight did not last long and a cease-fire was called after about ten minutes. I had gone through forty rounds in those ten minutes. It was not a bad spontaneous fire fight. The schedule was changed for the battle to be at 12:30 instead of the original 11:30 so the armies were marched back to camp.

At 12:15 the armies were formed up for the public demonstration. Each unit would again give a brief history as well tell a little about their equipment and uniforms. It was the same basic information as was given on Saturday. When this was complete our company of Spaniards marched off to the battlefield to fortify the trenches once again. The Telavera company again would be the lead skirmishers while the First Provisional company would hold the left trench and our company the Twenty Fifth Rifle Company would guard the right flank and trenches. The battle started with the Insurrectos and Rough Riders coming onto the field. The Telavera boys let their Mausers speak with a rapid fire. The Twenty Fifth advanced to add their fire support to the battle. It turned in to a pretty hot fight, and 7 MM casings were flying everywhere. After exchanging several rounds with the Insurrectos, the Spanish withdrew to the trenches as the main American force marched onto the field. By now a full fledged battle was under way. It was unbelievable the amount of fire power that was coming from the trenches. The 7 MM Mausers were pouring it on. In reality the advance would have been halted with many casualties on the American side. It wasn't long before TR and the Rough Riders, as well as the Insurrectos, were charging up the hill to our trenches. When they had closed to within twenty-five yards of the trenches we evacuated the trenches and formed up to the rear. The sergeant gave the command to fix bayonets. On the command to charge bayonets and to advance, we attacked our former trenches now occupied by the Americans. We advanced and fired but our advance was checked by the fire of the Americans and most all of us were "killed" or "wounded". As I advanced on the right trench, a member of the 71st New York lowered his Springfield and fired. The .45-70 belched out fire and smoke and I went down. I even heard him yell out "I got one". It was at this moment that a very foolish Rough Rider came up and picked my Mauser up for a souvenir. He picked it up by the exposed barrel and found out very quickly it was just a little hot. After a few more shots were fired and all of us Spaniards had been "killed", the battle was over.

The trenches looked great and were littered with empty brass shell casings from the Mausers. Before marching back to camp we took several group pictures at the trenches. I looked around one last time before marching back to camp. It was really a neat experience. I could see the Atlantic from the top of our little fortified hill and could imagine that this could be Cuba. All of the re-enactors were assembling on both sides and it looked like 1898 for a moment. The great thing is that we could all leave this battlefield as friends to return another day. This was the last battle of the weekend. We formed up and marched back to camp. I picked up a few things in the tent and headed for the van. We had already loaded the bulk of our equipment in the van earlier. Rob and I stowed the rest of our things in the van and drove down to where the showers were located and parked the van. It was time to walk back up to the camps and say our good-byes to our new-found friends before heading back to the present time in the year 2000. It was nice to go back in time to 1898 for a few days. We walked back through to see our friends one last time and expressed the hope that we could all get together next at the national event in Ohio. Getting back to the van, we got our modern clothes and headed to the showers.

The trip home would be a long one with Rob and I reliving the weekend. We were on our way by 1:30 central time. Mike Grant wanted to caravan with us as he lived in Columbus, Ohio and was taking the same route we would. The traffic back through Long Island wasn't too bad. Our route this time would take us across the Throg Neck bridge and to Interstate 80 across New Jersey. We would drop down to Columbus and catch I-70 through Indiana and get on route 36 at Indianapolis. We returned to Casa Bresnan at 8:00AM Monday.

This weekend was a great learning experience. I found out what it was like in New York City and that I really didn't care if I came back anytime real soon. I must say that it was nice to see landmarks in person that I have only seen in pictures until now. The heavy amount of traffic in New York was probably the worst I have driven in, but would compare to Chicago and I usually don't go there often either. It was great to see the Statue of Liberty, even if at a distance and only for a fleeting moment, it was still neat. I had seen the Atlantic before in Florida but that was a long time ago. To look out across the vast never ending sea and to think this was crossed in tiny sailing ships by our ancestors sure brought to mind the hardships they faced that I have read about. It was great to finally see friends that I have only talked to on the phone or by e-mail. In all, I have to say that this was a great trip and will go down as one of my all time favorite trips. I will now look forward to the next great adventure, whatever it may be, for to not be looking ahead means to grow old and opportunities will slip away, and before you know it, it will be too late. I write this account of my trip to have a clear memory in the future. Many memoirs have been clouded by time. As I have said many times, "Reading is our time machine to the past and our road to the future".

Andrew L. Bresnan AKA Diego de la Vega

September 19, 2000