Roadtrip Across America

In the last few years, I've done quite a bit of traveling - some abroad but mostly domestic. In fact most of my travel has been done on the road. There is something about being on the open road that, for me, equates to a sense of absolute freedom and there are few things that give me more pleasure than being on a roadtrip; It's having the freedom to throw the rule-book aside, go where I want to go, do what I want to do, and more importantly, it's having the freedom to change my mind at any given time. I love not knowing what I'll see next, who I'll meet or where I'll end up.

Now, I've always wanted to do the full-blown "see everything and do everything" cross-country road trip but the work-vacation schedule never allowed the time. Finally, after being on the road for 9.5 weeks, traveling through 26 states and putting on 16,142 miles...I'm happy to say that it's something I can now cross off my to-do list. :-)

Not long after my 4-year run with JPMorgan Chase ended in May (uh, new info for those of you who didn't know) I packed my bags, picked up a few on-the-go necessities, loaded-up the cat and hit the road. My travels, initially intended to take only 4-weeks, brought me from the East Coast to the West Coast, up through the Northwest regions of Oregon and Washington, down through the backbone of the Midwest, and as far Northeast as Niagara Falls and Bar Harbor Maine.

One of the great things about road trips, and traveling in general, is of course meeting all different kinds of people and having cool and unusual conversations. During my travels, I ran into quite a few folks who asked me whether or not traveling by myself and cross-country is at all boring. At the time I simply said "No." however, I do actually have a better answer.


The Highlights
During my 9.5 weeks of being on the road, I visited with friends and family from Philadelphia to the California Coast. I reconnected with old friends and made a slew of new ones. I met folks from seven different countries and from all spectrums of the economic ladder. I roomed in some luxurious resort hotels, a couple of quaint bed and breakfasts, and an historic hotel that takes you back to the days where motor-cars were innovation, cigar-bars were luxury and flapper-girls were the beginning of the end of the ultra-conservative fashionista. I slept on National Park campgrounds and camped on lake and riverside beaches hidden deep in the serenity of the mountains with views overlooking the spectacular beauty of the mountains. And ok, I also crashed in a dozen or so (ahem) very scenic interstate rest stops with views overlooking the picnic tables, and vending machines and pet exercise area. ;-)

I took a helicopter tour over the Northwest region of Oregon; ferried over from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, British Columbia; and went horseback riding on the beach at Sunset. When the sun was blistering, I frolicked in the cool waters of glacial lakes and riverbeds and in the evenings soaked in the warmth of the hot springs. I watched sunsets that lit up the skyline with hues of hot pink, deep lavender and burnt orange and awoke to spectacular sunrises and the sounds of nature.

In Yellowstone, I had a close encounter with a grumpy bison and saw my first full rainbow. In Sturgis, South Dakota I went to a phenominal ZZ-top concert and partied with the Harley Davidson crowd (true and new) till the wee hours of the morning while donning my new Harley Davidson "GENDER CANDY" t-shirt and hot pink biker bandana. haha! My dad would have just loooooved that! Of course, I still represented the ultra-yuppy, "non-biker" who clearly stood out of the crowd. **Most folks thought I was just lost**

There were so many things I experienced, things that would take hours to write-about. In all honesty, it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one filled with memories I will never forget; the people or the places. So back to the question: was traveling cross-country by myself boring?...

Ha! "No."

And besides, I wasn't alone - I had Chompurr with me, my furry one-eyed "guard-cat" (though admittedly she tends to be more of an attraction than a deterrent).


Bloopers and Mishaps
Even the greatest road trips are not without their mishaps and I definitely had my fair share - though fortunately none that involved roadside accidents or breakdowns. Here are just a few:

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While driving through the Midwest, I bought two jackets and a vest...then lost two jackets and a vest all within a span of 48 hours. So much for new memorabilia...

**insert Homer Simpson head-scratch**

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Leaving Sturgis, South Dakota I knew that my next stop would be Mount Rushmore so I hopped on I-90 Eastbound and drove 310 miles (~4-4.5 hours) before I suddenly thought to myself "self: what exit is Mt Rushmore?". I pulled off to the side of the road, whipped out my trusty Atlas and doh(!)...much to my chagrin realized that Mt. Rushmore was in fact, 60 miles south of Sturgis.

Stop. Reverse. Backtrack.

I left Sturgis at 9:00 that morning, maximized my time in Mt. Rushmore within all of 45 minutes, and by the time I pulled over for the night at 11:30 pm - I was in fact 45 minutes west of where I was earlier in the day when I stopped to turn around...

So, If you ever want to know how one puts on 1,000 miles without ever actually going anywhere...that's one way.

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I was mistaken for a homelss person living out of my car (of course I did have all kinds o canned goods stockpiled, a pillow, blanket, clothes strewn about and all my cat's worldly goods); I was mistaken for a trucker (have no idea - presumably because I'm scarier in the morning than I thought); and a hitchhiker (because apparently doing your make-up at 4 a.m. at a truckstop in the sticks of the midwest looks "questionable")

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Speaking of the sticks... I got lost in the sticks of Wisconsin looking for Cave of the Mounds and drove around in circles for 3.5 hours on unmarked roads, using a 5 year old Atlas that had incomplete markings. My annoy level was nearing an all-time high but, not to be defeated.. I finally stopped at the Blue Mounds grocery store and in a bit of a huffy state, asked the cashier "where, for the love of god, is Cave of the Mounds.?.?" Imagine my surprise (and embarassment) when she says to me "Pull out of the parking lot and go left. Stop when you come to the big sign that says 'turn here for Cave of the Mounds'." **of course. how stupid of me.**

'Thank you'. Head down. Exit quickly.

Cave of the Mounds was pretty cool and definitely an attraction I think worth visiting. But beware of leaving the sticks of Wisconsin. On my way out, I crossed paths with a skunk doddling on the wrong side of the road.

Question: Why did the skunk cross the road.
Answer: Presumably to get to the other side but now we'll never know ;-)
**insert Homer Simpson nose-pinch**

The smell that rocked the car was pretty unbearable to say the least. The windows stayed down for two days straight (hence the 18 mosquito bites), we made “a lot” of stops, and we got “a lot” of looks.

Maybe I should have had a sign that read “sorry. hit a skunk. my bad.”

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After several years of speed racing across interstates without incident, I finally came home with not one but two(!) speeding tickets. The second was not only costly but also more painful on a personal front. While driving through Monterey Bay, not only was I ticketed for doing 96 in a 65 mph zone but to make matters worse - i was tootaling around with my brother and... my dad. Yea.

*ack. cough. tears*

The only upside to this incident - and yes there actually was an upside - the statey's radar actually clocked me going 117 mph. (hahahaha. weee!) Fortunately for me - the statey, in all of his 13 years, had never seen a car go near that speed on that particular stretch of road and thought his radar was malfunctioning. By the time I was in his line of sight, I had already spotted him and slowed down to 96. The kicker: Had I been ticketed for going 117 in a 65 mph zone I would not have passed go; My car would have gone straight to jail and with me right along side it.

It goes without saying that me being handcuffed in the backseat of a statey's police cruiser would not have been my ideal end to an otherwise stellar vacation.

**Knock on wood (or dashboard plastic)**


Special Thanks
While this trip in and of itself was pretty phenomenal, it would have been slightly lacking had it not been for a few folks that made it extra-special. Special thanks go to the following peeps:

First I'd like to thank my family for supporting my decision to 'run away from home', travel by myself, and disappear for an unspecified period of time. I'd like to thank my dad for teaching me to drive a stick shift in his beloved new car (a feat I thought would never actually happen - despite my incessant groveling). I'd also like to thank my mom - for a great many things - but also for watching my cat Chompurr during the two weeks I spent trekking up and down the California coastline. I know how much she detests pet hair running amok in her ultra clean house.

Special thanks to my cousin Cathy and her husband Bill for putting me up last-minute and - for sending me packing with a few bottles of travel wine! Gotta love that...

I'd like to thank my buddy Michael for accompanying me on a mini road trip through Central and Northern California, and for sporting my ride with some ultra-high performance Toyo's for the ultimate experience in handling. I love those tight twisties!

A big Thank you to my good friends Kevin and Becky Cubba for hosting me in San Fran for 3 nights and for showing me such a terrific time (despite some of the 'next-day' repercussions) ;-)

My thanks to Albie Bjornberg the bar manager of the Hotel Elliott, for introducing me to some of the fantastic local winery and for tuning me in to all the best local attractions (i.e., my heli-tour and horseback riding adventures)

And last but not least a special thanks to Peter Dorley of Victoria, Australia for making my visit to Sturgis so memorable and for sending me packing with a comfy pillow (so key for those necessary roadside pullovers), a detailed map of Sturgis (since getting lost is apparently my thing), and my very own Mt. Isa Harley Davidson t-shirt (especially handy when I ran out of clean clothes. haha!)

Soon to come: a link to pics, travel tips, tidbits and roadtrip stats.

Cheers!