Dennis E. Carey

I was hoping to publish The Creamsicle Express: Off to See America/Heading West long before the 4^th of July, 2026, the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That was because the long journey in 1976 was the 200^th anniversary and there is a Bicentennial theme to the travel trilogy. On July 4^th, 1976, Barbara and I spent the day in our home city of New York. We observed the Parade of Tall Ships, formally known as Operation Sail up the Hudson River for the greater part of the day. One could readily feel the patriotic pulse of the city and, in turn, the nation. It was a grand spectacle. After a dinner at Sevilla, an excellent Spanish restaurant in Greenwich Village we trekked by subway and foot to the Promenade or Esplanade, a concrete pedestrian walkway cantilevered over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway along the East River to witness the first ever Macy’s 4^th of July fireworks display. The day was a true national birthday celebration.

The bicentennial was celebrated across the country with American flags and logos festooning the visitor centers of the many national parks we traveled to. Even our AAA guide books had the American Revolution Bicentennial 1776-1976 logo imprinted on the cover.

Today is July 2. The book was published on June 28. I have not had any media interest to date, so maybe my book does not have a big enough hook or the publication, delayed by a two-week trip to visit cousins in Ireland, was too late catch the eye of the right editor.

In any case the story of the five-month, 20,000-mile journey is more than a Bicentennial tribute. It is a tour of nineteen national parks in the United States and three in Canada, as well as numerous towns, large and small on narrow lanes and super highways. All was  documented with photographs and an audio diary.