2013 Road Trip Photos #36: Outtakes, Part 3/3: the Season Finale

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: we guided you through our annual road trip in thirty-three episodes, from Indianapolis to Boston to Cleveland to home again. Next came a three-part collection of outtakes for hardcore MCC fans or just people who like photos of places they’ve never been. Part One gave you more photos from the Boston area; Part Two, more photos around the rest of Massachusetts in general.

Here, then, in our grand finale: outtakes from everywhere and everything else we saw. Pretend these are the bonus photos you’re watching during the “Our 2013 Road Trip” end credits, while the names of myself and my wife scroll past repeatedly for every possible position we served for this production.

Speaking of which: on Day 8 in Cleveland at the A Christmas Story house, my wife Anne tried on a replica of Flick’s aviator cap, one of the perks of the house tour.

Flick hat model, Cleveland

This way for the photo-packed conclusion!

2013 Road Trip Photos #24: Rod Serling and His Hometown All-Stars

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: our first stop on Day Seven was Binghamton, New York, childhood home of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. The celebrated sci-fi writer isn’t the only well-known personality with roots there, but he certainly has more markers than any of the rest.

What you saw in the previous entry wasn’t the whole story. Also marked for historical significance: Binghamton High School, Serling’s old alma mater and home of the Binghamton Patriots. Their athletics program totally missed a merchandising opportunity in not naming themselves the Binghamton Venusians, the Binghamton Invaders, the Binghamton Beholders, or the Binghamton Characters in Search of an Exit.

Rod Serling, Binghamton High School

And there’s more than Rod in Binghamton!

2013 Road Trip Photos #23: An Attraction Not Only of Sight and Sound But of Mind

Portrait of a family of three on their innocuous annual road trip. Having journeyed beyond the bustling Commonwealth of Massachusetts and into the verdant hillsides of upstate New York, they sally forth into the seventh day of their ambitious cross-country trek — a Lewis, a Clark, and a Sacajawea advancing the expedition of a lifetime into uncharted territory without benefit of Presidential sponsorship.

Their destination: a quaint metropolis called Binghamton. Its contents: numerous reminders of a hometown hero. That hero: writer Rod Serling. His most famous offspring: a world-famous televised parade of allegories and cautionary tales, a five-year procession of cerebral science fiction and fantastical thinkpieces, an occasionally pretentious but frequently provocative anthology of morality, tragedy, whimsy, and triumph.

It’s a show and a place called…The Twilight Zone.

Twilight Zone Rod Serling pavilion plaque, Binghamton

Unlock THIS door with the key of imagination!

2013 Road Trip Notes, Day 7: Signs of Life Before the Internet

Marconi radio tower, Binghamton, Massachusetts

Some roadside attractions don’t look like attractions unless you arrive properly informed and prepared to conduct an exhaustive, block-by-block search for the attraction in question, sometimes navigating around unexpected special events, poor road signage, streets that change name every 2-3 blocks, unwelcome construction zones, major Mapquest malfunctions, or our own distracting misconceptions. The way of the road-trip warrior can be a daily obstacle course whose reward is valuable only if you think it’s valuable.

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