Go on a roadtrip

How I did it: Woke up one day in July and decided to go for a road trip. Left two days later. Drove down to San Diego and took a left. I had a passenger a couple times but for the most part, I was on my own, the wind in my hair and music filling the air.

I gave myself a project to do since I had no firm plans and no time lines to adhere to. I set a topic and took photos in each place I went of my topic. It could be anything that you set but it made for further exploration to find the subject matter. It made it more enjoyable to find them. Set a theme, photograph windmills, barns, old gasoline signs, wherever your interests lie.

Talk with the locals. In El Paso, I was getting an oil change, sitting on an old metal chair sipping a lemonade.

An old man, he looked older than God, was sitting in another chair, staring off towards the road, watching the heat devils dance on the asphalt. I was quiet, thinking how incredibly hot it was at 10 a.m.

The man, without looking at me, says "Youain from rou heah are ya" in a strange accent I couldn't place. I say "No, from Seattle." He nods and goes quiet again. Eventually he says, "That's a long way. Whatcha doin heah?"

Told him I was on a long road trip and next stop would be San Antonio. He nods again and starts telling me how he moved from Jamaica to El Paso (explaining the different accent).

The old man got quiet again. We watch the heat devils dance in the inferno. I think he  has nodded off, he was very old,... when all of a sudden, he breaks the silence with "I wish mah wife would go on a long road trip!

Go is all I can say.
Listen, talk, journal and bring great CDs.

Lessons & tips:
1) Never trust a tourism map. What looks like a secondary road could end up wayyyyyyy less of a road and you will be surprising big animals in the middle of what is tantamount to a goat track.

2)Never tell a guy in Texas you aren't traveling with a gun cause  he will try to "git you one in twenty minutes".

3)Stay off the well traveled interstate highways and go the interesting smaller routes.

4)Be flexible. Go find out what place that lonely sign is pointing the way to ( "Collector 55 miles"). Find out what's at the end of the road.

5)Truck stops don't necessarily equate to decent food no matter what the adage says.

6)Never travel through the desert in summer with 104 degree fever.

7)Take lots of pictures and don't convert them on to CDs only to lose them forever from your backpack. Still extremely sad about THAT.

8)The hostel near the San Francisco bridge has an interesting clientele and is in a great location. Avoid the downtown San Diego one if at all possible.

9)Get online somewhere and check for major road construction sites and AVOID if you can.

10)Talk to the locals as much as you can.

11)Try not to leave the country without realizing it. It is a surprise to come across border patrol when you inadvertently and unknowingly left the country. If this happens, be wearing a short skirt with a matching turquoise cowboy hat, it will divert the conversation. :-)

Resources: Triple A office and membership for sure, get the 100 mile towing option just in case.

Diverse range and lots of CDs.

Journal with a great pen.

Sep 05, 09:58PM PDT | 2 comments | 4 cheers