Here’s a snapshot of my entire 3,835 Mile trip.
Google Maps are cool. Don’t be afraid to click on that “View Larger Map” link to get the full effect of my trek.
Reflections:
Each post on the trip seemed to unfold with a chronological recounting of the events of each leg of my trip. I still think that’s probably the best way to convey things as they happened, but there were a lot of bigger picture themes to the trip that need addressing. Now that the whole trip is in hindsight, hopefully these reflections will be 20/20 in their clarity.
All By Myself
This is the first trip I’ve ever taken by myself, and at the outset it wouldn’t have been my first choice. In the end though, I’m really glad I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. I had such a good experience and it would have been so different if I hadn’t been alone. Don’t get me wrong, I would have really enjoyed it with company. It just would have been a very different trip and a different type of adventure.
This trip taught me that the world (or at least the US) can actually be a pretty friendly place if you’re traveling alone. I struck up a lot of conversations with both fellow travelers and locals at each place I visited. I also made some new friends that were very kind and willing to show a stranger around their hometown. I hope that I can use this experience to remember to chat up locals whenever I travel, but I fear that when I’m back to traveling with company my social perspective will shrink again.
Domestic Vacation
Before this trip I was in a mindset that my time off from work would likely only consist of two types: long weekends to visit friends who lived in other parts of the country (or who were getting married), and “proper” vacations which would likely only take place at a ski resort or somewhere out of the the country. Sounds pretty snobby now that I re-read it, but I think it was true. This trip taught me that exploring the US is a great use for a vacation. It is definitely worth “spending” your vacation days to do. I will find time take a vacation to the grand canyon to spend some proper time there, and I’d also like to spend more time in Memphis and New Orleans. Who knows what other spots in the country are so deserving – I’ll have to do more exploring.
How much you can do with a day
A big part of why I bothered to document the trip in the blog was so that I would reflect on and savor the experiences. I also like thinking that I’ll have a record of the trip to look back on. And if anyone out there is actually reading this, that’s a nice bonus too.
The blogging took a LONG time, partly because the pictures take a long time to format, but mostly because I did a lot of stuff every day. I created a lot of memories on that 15 day trek across the country. Whenever I have an experience like that – where the days are so full – it makes me realize that there’s no reason I shouldn’t be getting that much out of every day. That may not be an achievable goal, but it seems like a good one to shoot for.
What’s Next?
At this point I’m not sure what else I will have to write about here. Sure, there’s plenty of adventure to be had in Atlanta – finding a job, finding a place to live, starting a band, getting un-single. I guess I’ll post a little update as I make progress on each of those (except the last one), but blogging (even in mediocrity) takes a long time.
Still, it seems like there are still a handful of people checking out the site every day. I’ll be curious to see if they disappear now that my road trip is done. If the visitors don’t dry up, I’ll keep trying to find something to write about occasionally. I’m going to see Regina Spektor in a week, so you’ll probably get a review of that.
thanks for reading.
