Lessons From The Road

The following excerpt arrived in our inbox a few a days ago, right on time:

"Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put into process, a new factor enters and takes over.  A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys.  It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.  And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless.  We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us."

- John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie

                                                                            

My beloved mother-in-law, Kim, sent us this little piece of wisdom when our journey was starting to "take" us...  We had just come off a week of camping (which is not very conducive to good sleep and requires a lot of effort breaking down/setting up) and we were supposed to have another week or so ahead of us in Utah and Wyoming. But upon arriving at Brian's aunt's house, we were just happy not to be moving...  This passage affirmed what we were already thinking, that we should not try to force ourselves to push onward for the sake of sticking to our itinerary. We have been viewing this road trip as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which it is, but I think we have since realized that we have our whole lives together to explore this beautiful country, and we don't have to cram it all in this summer!

So we decided to save our northernmost points for another time, and instead we were able to enjoy a few days in Vegas and pick up with our itinerary in Colorado, refreshed and rejuvenated.  We are driving across Utah today and while we are very excited to be turning toward home, this journey is far from over!  We still have 3,000 miles of exploration and experiences ahead of us and we will not presume to know where this journey will take us next.

Here is a short list of lessons we've learned from the road:

1. Be ambitious in your planning, but flexible to change

2. Eight hours in a car will test your sanity; stop before you lose it. 

3. Schedule time to relax, driving doesn't count. 

4. Choose your companion wisely; it's the journey, not the destination (trust me, I couldn't have done this with anyone other than Brian)

5. In extreme circumstances, one must always find the humor.        

6. There are never too many sunsets to share with the one you love.