"Carry Me Back to Ol' Virginia," or, Flying Solo
Note to self: Grab a rifle and watch out for Red Coats. This is patriot territory!Fall break has found me safely in Charlottesville, VA for the weekend. I'm visiting friends here and there, touring the scenic byways, shopping for my fancy, catching up on sleep, and searching for a reservoir of renewed sanity. I felt a bit like Orlando Bloom in Elizabethtown today - if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. A guy makes a solo trek across country starting in Louisville, accompanied by a great soundtrack. I traveled four states solo (3 more to go), crossed the Ohio at Louisville, and listened to some great tunes. Haven't found myself yet, but still looking...
Did you know Kentucky was beautiful in the fall? And the I-64 stretch from SW Virginia to Charlottesville is to die for, especially with the sun setting in the Blue Ridge. I now have a new perspective on driving long distances. And I realize how addicting they can be - sort of like computer solitaire: just one more game, just one more mile. Suddenly, you've gone a hundred miles past your lunch break point. Extremely therapeutic.
Notable accomplishments for the day:
-9 quarters poorer, but I can put air in my tires. And I finally know how to use the gauge.
-I'm map reading extrordinaire- with only one short detour on my record.
- No dozing off. No temptation to doze.
-Reading and driving do mix, thanks to book on tape. I can cross Wuthering Heights of my to-read list. Good thing, too - very depressing.
-600 plus miles. All by myself.
-Only one cup of coffee and 600 plus miles. All by myself.
2 Comments:
Actually, one of my favorite trips was one I took by myself. I used to think in my single years that I would do that a lot more (after law school, of course) but that never happened!
The nice thing about solo travel is you get to do exactly what you want to do, when you want to do it, with absolutely no constraints or worries that the other person/people are having fun and doing what THEY want to do.
Enjoy the rest of your trip. :)
I love cross country travel in a car. It is very therapeutic. Driving on the open road is so relaxing and I was at peace many times when I was driving long distances (mostly from DC to Indy and back...when I lived in DC). Good times.
Btw, I'm impressed you've only had one cup of coffee in 600 miles. But how big was that cup?!
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