Disappearing Out Of Sight Along The Open Road, Into Indistinct Horizons I Had No Time To Reload

--"Lights Are Changing", The Bevis Frond

Well, I've got my new car finally. I've named her Haley after the residents of Reno, Nevada and Macon, Georgia--that and I think Haley has a nice ring to it. From what little (or not so little since I've already managed to log two hundred miles in a little over thirty-six hours with her) I've driven around it's become apparent what I've been missing all these years driving my mom's old Camry.

I miss long road trips. I miss the days of when I used to be able to drive up and down Southern California without a care to gas or time or distance. I miss the days when I didn't worry about my car conking out for whatever reason because it was old. Frankly, I just miss the idea of being able to set out from home and just driving around with people or by myself--not to get anywhere specific, but simply because the whole night was free and it just seemed a good time to drive. I don't know--I imagine in a former life I must have been some kind of sailor or frontier cowboy, because I've always had this innate wanderlust that I never seem to satiate. It manifests in weird ways too. While I have no inclination to leave the country (because I don't want to get snacked on by carnivorous plants a la The Ruins or tortured by sadistic Eastern Europeans a la Hostel or plain because I don't trust the food anywhere outside of the U.S.) it's always been an unfulfilled dream of mine to take an honest-to-God cross country road trip. Finally, with Haley by my side (and maybe a few other of my friends) that dream may become a reality in a few more months down the road.

I was doing fine a year or two ago. I had resigned myself to the fact that the car I was driving simply did not have the wherewithal to go anywhere far. I cut out trips to Vegas like I used to. I cut out as many trips up and down PCH between Santa Monica and Oxnard like I used to. I even cut out going as far east as Palm Springs like I used to. Indeed, the only direction I allowed myself some wiggle room when it came to driving was heading south to see a few Rilo and/or Elected shows in San Diego.

Other than that, I was pretty much rooted within the same forty-mile radius I've had for the last five years.

But now it's like I'm back in the game. It's like I never left in the first place. For as long as this site has been in existence I've held my happy feet (happy steering hands and pedal-pressing feet?) in check, but now no longer. Now I'm back to thinking every trip is doable. I'm floating ideas of traveling up to visit my brother in Davis and checking out the Rockies playing in Denver and driving out to Phoenix just because I saw some decent reviews of restaurants out that direction. The possibilities are limitless. Well, maybe not limitless. I don't have yet have the gumption or time off to attempt a real cross-country adventure, but it sure looks like I'm headed in the direction. For me it's never been a problem of nerve; my impulsive qualities have always made any road trip quite likely. For me it's always been a problem of reliability. With that problem out of the way I'm back to thinking larger and larger when it comes to planning out my next route to take. With that problem out of the way I'm back to considering the open road a viable alternative to another boring weekend at home.

I guess that's the way I'm way with everything. I don't often stop to suss out the particulars or to try to find the faults in a plan. Once the large hurdle is out of the way I don't often see the smaller hurdles. And with Haley it's like the huge worry of what I would do if I broke down on my way out is put out of mind so I don't have to stop to see everything else that might derail me. I don't see the cost or the haphazard nature of my planning. I don't see the having to take the time off or what exactly I would do once I got to the place I finally settle upon as my destination. The only aspect I'm focused on is the trip itself. I'm really looking forward to the point in my life when I can tell someone about the time I (or we or however many people decide to go) drove to Denver or Phoenix or wherever I end up going. For me that's a large part of why I like traveling, the ability to tell people I went here or there just for the fuck of it. I like cultivating that reputation of someone who just conjures up a place to go and just goes. Much as Lucy revels in her notoriety for being someone who acts on first impressions, when it comes to meeting the unknown path head-on I too revel in the awe, admiration, and amusement of whatever audience I might be regaling with an anecdote at the time.

The way I see it I like traveling for two main reasons. It gives me a chance to see and sample places similar but a little bit different than where I live. I also like it because it gives me a chance to funnel my experiences back to people who might be less fortunate than I am. Yes, it is a form of attention-grabbing, but a harmless one at that. When friends like Jeff or Casey or Larnel ask me about every little detail of my latest trip to Boston or Louisville or Chicago, it fills me with pride that I can provide them with such information. It's like I'm their eyes and ears in the world at large. It's like I'm their avatar out in an alternative dimension they'll never be privy to.

Yes, I enjoy traveling for its own sake. I like how it gives me the opportunity to think about things when I'm traveling on my own. I like how it gives me the opportunity to get to know the important people in my life a little better when I'm traveling with others. I always feel like I've grown in so many ways when I come back from a long trip and often times the ways I've matures aren't always readily apparent.

But I also like traveling because it makes me feel like I'm connected with more of the world. I'm getting out there to places most of the people from Southern California have never thought of going. I've driven, flown, and otherwise trekked to cities that aren't exactly touristy hotspots. For every Chicago or Boston or Philadelphia I've been to, I've also made weeklong trips out of visiting Wheeling, West Virginia or Macon, Georgia or Westminster, Maryland. And at each stop I've taken back memories and experiences that I've shared with everyone I've known, everyone who would have never thought so much fun, so much culture, so much life could be had in the teeniest of towns.

Basically, from all my travels I've learned that there's adventure out there anywhere you go in this country.

Now with Haley as company it's about time I grab some more of my fair share of it at long last.

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers