Drawn the Road Again

Author: Chandler O’Leary

  • Lush, eh?

    Lush, eh?

    A couple of summers ago, the Tailor and I took a cross-country road trip along the Trans-Canada Highway. For hundreds and hundreds of miles, the roadsides were dotted with bright pink, blue and purple lupines. It felt like all of Canada was one big, bright bouquet.

  • Have a seat

    Have a seat

    I don’t know if there’s something about the Blue Ridge Mountains, or about the pace of life in the mountains of the South, or what. But whenever I had a free moment during my visit to Penland last summer, I had an irresistible urge to sit back in a deck chair and stare out into…

  • Sea shanties

    Sea shanties

    Salmon Beach might just be the best-kept secret on Puget Sound. I’d been dying to do a sketch there, and I finally got my chance a few weeks ago. The entire area is private property, and only residents and their guests are allowed. But my friend Ethan lives there, so I asked if he’d be…

  • Giddy up, Ichabod

    Giddy up, Ichabod

    I have a thing for covered bridges—and thankfully, many other people do, too. That means the communities that possess these relics work hard to preserve them, and I’m grateful that there are still covered bridges for me to sketch. And each one is so wonderfully sketch-able, because they’re all so different. The Cornish-Winsor Bridge, which…

  • Banana split for my baby

    Banana split for my baby

    I got lucky with this place. I happened to glance at the New York Times a couple of days before we left for Philly to visit our friend Gilles, and stumbled upon a glowing review. When we got there, it was Gilles’ birthday and blazing hot outside: hello, ice cream parlor! And hello, best ice…

  • Tag, you’re it

    Tag, you’re it

    Parking lots at national parks at the height of summer are the best place on earth to play the license plate game. Anybody got Hawaii?

  • Four corners

    Four corners

    The Tailor and I make for an odd pair on a road trip. I’m likely to put enormous thought into the road tunes, to cue up the exact perfect song to play as we pass through certain landscapes (I am also usually the only one who notices or cares, no matter who’s with me on…

  • Where the Heck?

    Where the Heck?

    I was born 50 miles west of Wall Drug. True story. I think, therefore, that my undying love of roadside attractions is imprinted on the genetic level. Even if you don’t have this place in your DNA, it’s pretty hard not to be curious about something hawked by a hundred billboards as you drive through…

  • King of the (urban) jungle

    King of the (urban) jungle

    It’s hard to imagine that the Library Lions were ever unpopular (but they were—the public thought they were “squash-faced” and “mealy-mouthed” when they were unveiled over a century ago). I can’t think of a better symbol for the City. No matter how many times I’ve found myself in New York over the years, I always…

  • 40-watt bulbs

    40-watt bulbs

    Every year I head north to the Skagit Valley to catch the tulip fields in bloom. If you’re looking for good travel weather, spring is a tricky time of year in the Northwest. But if you manage to get there on a rare sunny day, you’ll be in for a treat. The whole valley lights…