One thing guaranteed to get me daydreaming is a good old-fashioned map. I have all kinds of maps – funky new ones, faded antique ones, maps of places that don’t exist (yes, I own a map of Ankh Morpork– in my defense, it was a present – but I love it, so there!)
There are some pretty great map wallpapers for your computer too, for those times when you’re chained to your desk and need reminding of the world out there waiting to be discovered. Here is my current favourite:
The map that has been of most interest to me recently, however, is this one:
You see, since I first set foot in the US I’ve been dreaming of seeing more of this vast country. I hear tales of people travelling coast to coast and north to south and think about how much fun it would be. I sing along to the radio, “…get your kicks on Route 66” and think about all the places I want to see. Not too long ago, an amazingly vibrant friend of mine sold everything she owned, bought a camper van that used to belong to a Dead Head and hit the road. So.flipping.cool I could barely stand it. I went over to her place to say goodbye and almost stowed away in the back seat!
Fast forward a few weeks and one of my best friends from Seattle called me to tell me she was moving to Boston. She has a dear, sweet doggy who gets kind of car sick, and she was thinking it might be easier to do the journey with a friend in tow. So she asked me if I’d like to do a road trip from Seattle to Boston. Yeah, it took all of, oh, about 2 seconds to say yes. Truth be told, I think I’d already said yes before she finished asking the question.
So my plan is to take a train cross-country from New York to Seattle, (Why train? Because trains are cool!), hang out in Seattle for a few days, drive back across the country to Boston, and then fly back to Seattle to rediscover my love of the west coast.
Three times across the country in as many weeks; by plane, train and automobile. Hey, that would make a great movie title.
Who’s excited? I am!
Follow my adventure here.
Where's my backpack? 