Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: A Former War Correspondent Experiences Frightening Vacation Fun 1
1 Republicans Evolving: The Galapagos Elands, April 2003 7
2 Monumental Generations: The National World War FL Memorial, Washington, D.C. June 2004 17
3 Round on the Ends and "Hi!" in the Middle: Ohio Skiing, February 2005 23
4 Riding to the Hounds versus Going to the Dogs: Britain after the Hunting Ban, March 2005 35
5 My EU Vacation: Reading the European Constitution on a French Beach, Guadeloupe, May 2005 53
6 On First Looking into the Airbus A380: Toulouse, June 2005 59
7 If You Think Modern Life Is Awful, You Haven't Seen Modern Art: Venice Biennale, July 2005 75
8 My Wife's Got a Gun: Brays Eland Plantation, South Carolina, February 2006 85
9 A Freedom Ride through China: Spring 2006 95
10 Side Trip Up the Yangtze: June 2006 127
11 A Horse of a Different Color: Kyrgyzstan, July 2006 141
12 Sweet-and-Sour Children and Twice-Fried Parents to Go: Hong Kong, December 2007 159
13 The Big Stick, or Why I Voted for John McCain: USS Theodore Roosevelt, April 2008 177
14 White Man Speak with Forked Tongue: The Field Museum, Chicago, May 2008 187
15 The Decline and Fall of Tomorrow: Disneyland, June 2008 199
16 A Journey to … Let's Not Go There: Summer 2008 213
17 The Seventy-Two-Hour Afghan Expert: Kabul, July 2010 227
18 Capital Gains: Washington, D. C, August 2010 253
19 Home Unalone: New Hampshire, March 2011 263