
(More than you expected to know...)
ABOUT GARY
By trusting my instincts and pursuing my passions, I’ve created a life filled with multiple careers, from stand-up comedian to award-winning travel writer; from two-time National Geographic author to writing the nation’s best-selling motorcycle guidebook; from running for office to owning and operating a bed and breakfast.
I’ve also embarked on countless adventures and pursuits including backpacking across Europe, motorcycling across America, cruising the world, founding non-profits, commissioning a sculpture of a very courageous woman, teaching students history and civics in Washington, D.C., writing and producing training videos, taking the stage at conferences and conventions, and addressing international audiences as a speaker with the Cunard Lines’ prestigious Insights Series.
As a lifelong learner driven by an insatiable curiosity, I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Liberal Studies.
Author: Great American Motorcycle Tours • USA 101 • Ten Best of Everything: National Parks • Million Dollar Frauds • A Brief History of Mount Dora
Interests: Music • Motorcycling • Travel • Reading • History • Learning
FAVORITES
BOOKS
Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain
Truman
David McCullough
The Iliad
Homer
The Cat in the Hat
Dr. Seuss
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
FILMS
A Hard Day's Night
(1964)
Casablanca
(1941)
It's a Wonderful Life
(1946)
The Thin Man
(1934)
Rashomon
(1950)
La Strada
(1954)
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1931)
MUSICIANS
The Beatles
Buddy Holly
Elvis Costello
Elvis Presley
Nana Mouskouri
Devo
Aterciopelados
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Los Lobos
Chuck Berry
Johnny Cash
TELEVISION
The Andy Griffith Show
Leave it to Beaver
Monty Python's Flying Circus
The Office
Frasier
I Love Lucy
The Twilight Zone
Championship Wrestling from Florida
MOTORCYCLE TOURS
Western Michigan
Kansas-Nebraska
Montana
Pacific Coast Highway
Arizona-Utah
Northern Italy/Switzerland
Vermont/New Hampshire
The Desi Arnaz Historic Marker Project
To recognize Desi Arnaz’s contributions to America, I led the effort to place a Florida Historic Marker in Miami Beach; the city where the penniless teenage refugee arrived from Cuba in 1935. Weeks after the marker’s dedication, the mayor and city council recognized my three-year quest by proclaiming November 4th ‘Gary McKechnie Day’ in the City of Miami Beach.


