Journey vs. Destination

When I tell people, that we are going to drive across the country, the responses are distinctly bimodal. Some people gleefully enthuse about awesome road trips, gushing about a trip of a lifetime. The ones who have done it want to discuss routes and stops, things that we just have to see and tourist attractions that just weren’t worth it (ahem, Niagra Falls, I’m looking at you). The ones who haven’t done a trip like this seem to be ready to pack a bag and come along with us, wistfully saying “if only”.

The other end of the spectrum expresses confusion and doubt, “So why don’t you fly?” (Sadly, if I was the hearer instead of the teller, I’m afraid I’d fall into this end of the response curve.) If I opt to explain about people on the does-not-fly list (that would be different than the do-not-fly list), then they ask about drugging him. They can’t conceive of wanting to drive.

But I’m starting to get it. I’m starting to get excited about seeing all these places. I’ve read about chile roasting in New Mexico, I don’t think we’ll be there at the right time, but I bet we can still get some green chile cheeseburgers (I believe those are the required eating in NM).

And between Flagstaff and Albuquerque is the petrified forest. We are going to stop there, I agreed to a long first drive so we’d have time to dawdle. I bet it will be amazing. I’ll finally get to see real weather in Oklahoma and Arkansas, though I don’t want to be near a tornado. (Hey, earthquakes are fine but I watch Stormchasers, I don’t want to be that close to an F-anything.)

And in Memphis, I totally want to go to a blues club. And maybe see Graceland.

I want to know- how do the Appalachians compare to the Rockies, really? Not from a topology perspective but from actual feet on the ground view.

Washington DC, our nation’s capital. I’ve never been but I hear the Smithsonian is spectacular. Art, Air and Space and Natural History, we can do all those. And the mall and the monuments. I want to see if I can find my book in the Library of Congress. Oh, and maybe we can go to the spy museum. I bet their gift store is the best. Three days in DC is going to be enough to be thoroughly exhausting but not surely not enough to get bored. Then we’ll rest up with C’s parents in Connecticut before the whirlwind starts again.

Is the east coast really that different from the west coast? I hear antique means something very different out there. And coming from the ivory tower of Silicon Valley, I think I want to know what the rest of the country looks like. The economy here seems better but what about everywhere else? Will the socio-economic-political attitudes be glaringly different?

I bet Boston feels like home though. I want to see MIT (how would my life have been different if I’d gone there?) and the Boston Library (wonder if they have my book?). And then we’ll go with the family to Plymouth which is going to make me appreciate Thanksgiving more, I’m sure. And Cape Code, a place I’ve only really seen in lovely pictures.

We’ll see friends in Ohio and Michigan. And maybe Massachusetts and New Jersey if we can organize it. I may finally get to see Rob’s giant apple tree (it caused problems dropping branches on his roof, which is two or three stories high).

I want to see one of the amazing baseball parks, either Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. The Sox are playing a home game the weekend we’ll be there but we are supposed to be doing family things… hmmm… it may be difficult to sneak away. Shhhh….

In Wisconsin, there is a manufacturer of large fiberglass sculptures (think of the Bob’s Big Boy sign). They have a sculpture graveyard the public can walk around. Can you imagine the surreal photos?

And we cannot pass up a spin around a small portion of the mall of America once we get to Minnesota. I wonder if the northern, mountain states feel big and clean.

We are stopping an extra day in Yellowstone. I don’t have any plan for that but I already know a day won’t be enough.

One of the guide books said that being spontaneous is great but if you utterly lack a plan, what you’ll find is what the middle of nowhere looks like. Because there is a lot of nowhere. I want to see a lot of somewheres.

Possibly the bimodal nature of the responses is due to my own ambivalence. I’m certainly hesitant about leaving my comfy home and life. But as I get more excited about seeing these places and think more about all the neat things I’ll see, maybe I’ll hear more joy from other people.

It is a trip of a lifetime.

So now, a quiz: Is it a trip of a lifetime because
a) Oh, the amazing things you’ll see…
b) Traffic and weather statistics indicate this will shorten life expectancy.
c) Been there done that, on to other adventures. No need to do ever it again.
d) Only an idiot would do it twice.