In My Footsteps: A Gen-X Nostalgia Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Episode 58 is the monthly bonus episode.  This is a special look at the teacher who impacted my life the most.  Ms. Claire Rodrigues was my Second Grade teacher and it was in her class where the seed of my dream to be a writer was planted.  My Aunt Kelly recently retired from teaching after more than three decades so it felt like an appropriate time to create such an episode. Hope...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 57 falls during Valentine's week. So naturally it begins with the story of Cape Cod blowing up a lighthouse.  Bishop and Clerks Lighthouse sat off of the coast of Cape Cod for nearly a century.  It helped to guide vessels safely into various harbors.  Why was it then exploded in 1952? For more than 20 episodes we've been following my epic 2,100-mile 2019 road tri...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 56 kicks off with Dedication to the Craft III .  This time it is an adventure into the dark, cold, and winter for a numbing yet beautiful sunrise at Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown.  Was it worth it? Assateague Island National Seashore may reside in two states, Maryland and Virginia, but it has one spectacular attraction: Wild Horses .  How did they get to the island...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 55 starts off with the story of the wreck of the schooner Montclair off of Nauset Beach.  Destroyed in a storm in 1927 the vessel remains a part of the beach itself, being revealed and hidden repeatedly over the years due to shifting sands.  How did it end up there though? A very special Road Trip takes us to the beautiful Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina....

Send us Fan Mail Episode 54 of the podcast is a special bonus show. If you have ever had the desire to write a book of your own, or wondered how to go about getting it published, I am here to share some of my own experiences. From finding something you're passionate about, to putting the idea on paper(or computer), hopefully this will give you a little help in beginning your own journey as an...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 53 begins with true crime.  It delves into the sinister poisoning murders of Nurse Jane Toppan .  At the turn of the 20th century this trusted figure betrayed that trust in a string of murders on and off Cape Cod.  How did it all go down? It is safe to say that Cape Cod and New York City are fairly different.  How much of a culture shock was it to visit the Big Apple as a...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 52 of the podcast begins by going back 10 years this week to the most embarrassing race story I have.  An indoor half marathon, in a dome, with free beer at the end.  What could go wrong?  Let's find out! One of the first forms of self-expression growing up is choosing the perfect posters to adorn your bedroom walls.  What was it like for a 1990's teenager choosi...

Send us Fan Mail Happy New Year!  2022 kicks off with Episode 51 of the podcast. It's a jam-packed episode starting with a very special interview.  Crystal Joy Smith, also known as KeeKee, is with us to talk about her brand new cookbook.  KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen is chock full of healthy, affordable, and simple recipes for those looking to make a positive change in their diet.  She has...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 50 is a special bonus episode.  It is not only a Holiday episode , it is also a 2021 Year In Review , as well as a 50th Episode retrospective . It is the Holiday season and hopefully you all get to spend time with family and friends and have a lot of good food. We look back at 2021 in general.  There were a lot of fun topics covered on the podcast with many more to come in...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 49 brings the gross out humor to the Holiday season.  For a brief time in the 1980's Garbage Pail Kids took the youth of America by storm.  At first these stickers were seen as a disgusting spin on Cabbage Patch Kids.  What was it that caused their downfall?  What was it like to be a kid when these first came out? For 35 years a beautifully stoic building has been slo...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 48 is filled with Holiday cheer! It kicks off with the heartwarming story of the Flying Santa , Edward Rowe Snow.  He spent decades delivering gifts to lighthouses and other remote island locations to spread joy. We take a Road Trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina .  The first of several incredible sights on the Outer Banks is the small town of Duck .  The holiday che...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 47 kicks of the Holiday season in style.  It begins with the hilarious but true stories from Restaurant Storytime III .  These center around what was to be done with baked potatoes that were left over from the night before. The newest Road Trip is a journey back in time to Colonial Williamsburg Virginia .  It is the largest living history museum that allows you to totally...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 46 is a special Bonus edition of the podcast. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who has been listening to the podcast over its first year in existence! This episode focuses on the people, places, and things that I am thankful for.  Episode 46 is also being released on November 23rd which is the birthday of my sister Katie, who you hear about weekly through the promo for her W...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 45 is musically charged.  It begins with the story of the Cape Cod Melody Tent.  Before it was the premiere entertainment location on the Cape it was a Music Circus in a grassy field near Hyannis' Main Street.  Learn all about how it started. This week's Road Trip takes us to where the first English settlement in America began. Historic Jamestowne Virginia is a f...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 44 begins by going back more than a century to the story of the creation of the Cape Cod Canal, more specifically the three original bridges that spanned across it.  Whatever happened to them? This week's Road Trip takes us to the city of Lynchburg, Virginia.  Chock full of culture, waterfront scenery, an historic marketplace and more this will surely leaving you itch...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 43 begins Year Two of the podcast and what better way to celebrate a birthday show than with the story of one of the kings of Cape Cod entertainment the Mill Hill Club in West Yarmouth.  From humble beginnings of suits and strings this establishment turned in to one of the most happening places to be for over fifty years. Birthdays can make you feel old, one way to feel yo...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 42 is the newest special monthly Bonus episode.  In keeping with the spooky Halloween season this episode showcases some of the Scariest Places I Have Visited.  Many of these can be visited today, some cannot, but they all deserve mention.  They stick to the New England area and range from cemeteries, to deep dark woods, haunted houses, and abandoned buildings. In addition...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 41 continues the spooky Halloween season with the ghastly true crime story of the Smuttynose Axe Murders .  On a remote island miles off of the coast of Maine two women were brutally murdered in 1873.  Learn the story behind the crime and why there might be questions as to who the killer was even to this day. Nothing was cooler as a child of the 1980's than reading Fa...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 40 is the first of October and begins the spooky Halloween season .  This week's show kicks it off with the story of Cape Cod's loneliest grave .  Located deep in the woods of North Truro.  Who was Thomas Ridley and why is he buried so far from civilization? The next Road Trip segment features Winchester, Virginia .  It has a connection to the Civil War but there...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 39 begins with tips and advice for those looking to train for and finish a fall marathon.  When you've run out of water and busted through the Runner's High you know you're marathon training .  There's also stories from the last marathon I ran. They've won 6 Super Bowls in the 21st Century.  However growing up in the 1980's being a New England...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 38 of the podcast is a special bonus episode. On September 24, 1991 Nirvana released their 2nd album Nevermind . It changed the music industry by introducing Grunge music to a broader audience.  Kurt Cobain became a voice of a generation whether he wanted to or not.  The band and the album broke barriers and eventually dethroned Michael Jackson on top of the charts. This e...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 37 starts with the time I briefly wrote for Travel Channel's website.  How did it come about? What were some benefits?  What were some problems? Take a trip back in time and reminisce about some favorite defunct New England based stores .  These were all once giants of business but no more.  They are collected in the latest Top 5 list. The epic 2,100-mile Road Trip co...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 36 shines a light on Cape Cod's first-ever radio station .  It came in with a lot of buzz but quickly died out.  It did however lead to all of the stations that exist now so it deserves its spot in history. We take a special Road Trip to the hallowed Civil War grounds of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.   It was an amazing and humbling experience to walk the battlefield and...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 35 begins with a return to the Restaurant Storytime series.  For part III we take a look at what happens when people feed swans at a restaurant after being told not to.  It does not end well. Take a Road Trip to the sweetest place in America.  The Chocolate Capital, Hershey, Pennsylvania .  Though there is more to see in this mid-sized town it is most well known for Hershe...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 34 is another special bonus episode.  It is all about the job that landscapers do.  It is so much more than raking and mowing lawns.  It is long hours in the hot sun, long travel times in between jobs, and even physical injuries. On this episode there will be some personal stories of the landscaping days , including concussions, separated shoulders, and million dollar marb...