26th Aug 2005
Part 1: The Blurs Of August
I’m a little torn between wanting to comment on my trip, and attending to the unpacking, upcoming photo weekend, gig searching, and getting back to tech stuff imersion. So I won’t write a proper intro.
The month has been a blur. In between driving 1300 miles to and from OSCON, and another 3900+ coast to coast, I’ve been a road tripper – disconnected from the online and everyday.
And I did it oh so wrong. I may have seen some roses along the way, but I didn’t feel like I had time to stop and smell any. I got to pay a lot of turnpike tolls though. I still wonder what New Jersey will do to me for accidentally running an EZ-Pass lane. Yo, Jersey! Figure out some meaningful signs! Ask Ohio or Penn, or Iowa! Not like it’s hard to do, Jerseyites.
Speaking of turnpikes, the “service plaza” concept in Ohio and elsewhere is pretty cool, in a surreal Americana sort of way. Reminds me of the Autobahn.
My conclusion is that 200 miles a day is a nice target. That gives you room to be spontaneous – to take this or that road, or to check out the place that has 20 faded billboards touting for miles on end. 300-400 miles is a tease: look, but don’t stop! I had some ideal in mind of avoiding the interstate, but the reality of wanting to check in at a decent hour dictates the route.
But hey, I did it. Coast to coast! It’s something I’d wanted to do since I was a kid (I was fortunate to grow up with a father that had a real sense of exploration – thanks Dad).
And I want to do it again next summer. Not the same way, of course.
