Friday

I leave on my road trip on Friday, May 21. I will be updating this blog as often as possible, at least to post photos. Wish me luck!

For Though The Caves Were Rabitted

For though the caves were rabitted,

And the well sweeps were slanted,

Each house seemed not inhabited

But haunted.

The pensive traveller held his way,

Silent & melancholy,

For every man an ideot was,

And every house a folly.

Collected Poems of Henry Thoreau, pg. 189

Ice Lake, Yellowstone National Park

I'm totally only posting this because I forgot to test what photos look like on this layout. Oops.

Introduction

I have this problem. See, I can't sit still for very long. I become incredibly restless if I stay in the same place and do the same thing for days on end. If I'm upset, I look to the road. It's not unusual for me to spend an entire weekend day driving due to sadness or boredom. Maybe other people aren't like this, or maybe they're just better at faking it than me. What I do know is that for me, driving is the ultimate therapy, and I would do it every day if I could.

That's how I ended up in this situation. Instead of getting a summer job at home or an internship in my field like most of my peers, I plan to spend my summer on the road, accompanied only by my car, Wilson (yes, really). For three months, I will be experiencing all that this country has to offer, and then some. There are currently about fifty destinations on my “must-see” list. At the end, who knows? Perhaps I'll visit 100 new places, or maybe I'll end up falling in love with a city in New Mexico and spend the rest of my summer there. There's also a possibility that my fear will overwhelm me and I'll run back home, but let's not talk about that option.

I plan to leave one month from today. The first few stops will be familiar and for social purposes, but after that it's on to unfamiliar territory. Although I've spent a great deal of time planning the trip, it's clear that my route will change along the way. Issues will arise, and things will be resolved. The fact is that this is a pretty crazy trip, even by my standards (which tend to veer on the side of abnormal). Three months is a ridiculous amount of time to spend in solitude. The goal for this blog is to help keep me grounded, to help me stay in touch with sanity, and to show my friends and family that indeed, I am still alive and safe, even if I don't have time to return every email.

So, welcome to my blog, and I hope you enjoy hearing about my journey.