Travels With Scotty

QUICK STATUS:I'm currently located in Columbia, Missouri at the Lucky 7’s Motel. In the past 35 hours I've covered approximately 1300 miles. (That includes sleeping. If only I had a traveling companion who could help drive, I'd not have to report such lame statistics). Last night I was in Macon, Georgia. Tomorrow I'll be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I've passed through six states. I've tried five different types of energy drinks. Unfortunately for my mental health, most of those were consumed today. Rockstar is my favorite so far. Redbull is better, of course, but is much more expensive. I am cheap. The cats are still alive.
This trip is my first solo cross-country journey. I've been enjoying the drive very much, though I know I could make better time if only I had less cats in the car. Does anyone know how long I can keep a cat in a carrier before it becomes cruel? The dog is easier to deal with.














John Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers and Travels with Charley is one of my favorite books. It's the story of Steinbeck's trip across America in the fall of his own life. He wanted to experience the America he had been writing about for so many years. He traveled in a large truck outfitted with a camper and a standard poodle named Charley. He washed his clothes in a bucket that bounced along on a bungee cord and he ate pie at lunch counters while lamenting the loss of regional accents.

I read Travels with Charley during my self-proclaimed neo-beat phase, back in the late 90's. I think I remember the main points pretty well. Steinbeck was disappointed with inter-state highways because he felt that they removed the possibility of any sort of personal experience with the country you would get traveling on the smaller roads. Unfortunately, I'm on a budget and in a hurry. Otherwise, this could be my chance to experience America, real America, like I once longed to. For now though, the interstate will just have to do. I saw some interesting things. I mostly saw a lot of the same things though. Interstates are basically green tunnels. When the topography is flat, there's no seeing over the trees that surround the road. But when there are any sorts of rises, the views are breathtaking when the road first opens up.

Georgia started with palm trees and traffic cones and ended with rolling hills.

Tennessee had a surprising amount of elevation. Of the five states I drove through today, it was my favorite state, particularly the area between Chattanooga and Nashville (okay, that's like the whole north/south swath of the state). When I was young, we moved to Indiana. One of my main concerns about the move was the lack of any sort of 'hills' in our new home. Now, as I drive back through the Mid-west for the first time in over ten years, I'm appreciating the smallest hills. My two years in Miami has made me appreciate any sort of geography that isn't swamp land.

Kentucky was anonymous. I didn't even KNOW I had crossed into a different state for about 50 miles, when I saw the Kentucky State Penitentiary exit.

Illinois is where I finally stopped around 4:30 PM to eat some food. I was already too far gone on Rockstar, Full Throttles and Red Bull to think straight much longer. I nearly had a full out temper tantrum in Quiznos in Marion because I couldn't figure out the wireless password. Luckily a calmer voice in my head prevailed and instructed me to "drink some water, just sip it, you're fine you like it". That helped and I soldiered on. Illinois faded into Missouri.

Missouri is very nice, though very similar to northern Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. Missouri was especially nice because of the time of day I experienced it. I drove across the state-line around 7PM. I think any landscape is more beautiful around sundown. My dad used to call that the Magic Hour, when the sun is low enough on the horizon to bring out the richest colors in anything. Grey highway, green vegetation and dark blue sky may be the most aesthetically pleasing color combination I've ever seen. Someday I'll have a house painted those colors.

Like Steinbeck, I’ve been doing laundry in the back of my car. Because my friends Katie and Rob packed my car for me, I don’t know where anything is. That includes my clothes. I could find them, but that would involve unpacking and re-packing. So, I’m resigned to traveling with one shirt, one pair of pants, two pairs of underwear and two undershirts. Fortunately, I can wash my underthings in the sink and allow them to dry in the sun while I drive. I’m sure that all the truckers I pass are enjoying the view of my unds sunning themselves in the back window.

Hopefully Steinbeck's ghost will forgive me for choosing interstates, traveling with a wimpy dog and drinking too many horrible energy drinks.