Road Trip - The final word !

12 days, 12 states, 3200 miles down....when I reached Los Angeles, I wasn't tired, but rather fresh from the experience and memories that I had gathered along the trip, and infact already fancying a road trip through the Northern states of the country. When my cell phone adjusted itself to the Pacific time i.e 3 hours behind the eastern time, I informed Matt that we have just covered 1/8th of the world. The trip wasnt about travelling the farthest, but it was more about seeing the country, exploring the parts which I would never have planned to gone.

Time and again I have heaped praise on the highway system of this nation, and it still never ceases to amaze me. God bless Eisenhower and his Highway Act passed in early '50s which paved the way for this road-built economy. The easily accessible exits, conveniently located gas stations, food and lodging places, the flashing signboards to navigate you through every bump on the road, make the highways a really special place to drive. It didnt matter whether we were at sea-level or 12,000 ft above msl or going through a densely wooded forest, there was an interstate or a state highway to lead you along. If it were National Parks there were scenic overlooks and routes strategically planned, so that people could enjoy things from the comforts of their car instead of taking a strenous hike. I guess I should probably switch to a profession of highway truck driver, so that I can spend more time on the interstates.

I was eager to look at change in culture, people and diversity as we travelled west, but thanks to the presence of huge corporations and "chain" culture that this country is submerged in, things seemed the same no matter where we went...whether it was Colorado or West Virginia the counter girl at Wendy's always asked whether you wanted to make a combo or the Pizza Hut girl always informed of the 5.99$ buffet or Bob Evans always served the coconut cream pie..the food, the greetings never changed. The only divesity we observed where in the geography, traffic and gas prices. There were highways where your could see for atleast 20-30 miles in each direction (KS, UT and CO), at the same time there were places where sharp curves and steep valleys would limit your vision to 50 ft. There was a time in UT, when we drove more than 40 miles without sighting a single car or seeing a single person and compare this to the 40 minutes I spent driving yesterday through I-10 in LA downtown traversing a mere 1.5 miles.

Our spirits were at the lowest ebb when we were at Boulder with our car at the body shop. However we didn't let that affect our plan, rather it presented us with an opportunity to see more places than that we had planned. Matt's optimism was instrumental in egging me to travel more. We saw some real nice National Parks like the Rockies, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion and drove through some bigtowns and big cities. We also saw stupid things like the world's largest praire dog or dull places like Topeka, Ks. We ate at as many different places that we could lay on and bought water from as many different companies that were out there manufacturing it :)

The defining point for the trip however must be those unpublished chain of events that happened in the Rockies....and hence my final word - sh#t happens all the time, but that shouldnt change things, you gotta keep going....or should I say, "get back on the road again". I still dont know what I achieved or learned from the trip, but something really feels good ....it's not a sense of accomplishment, but rather the satisfaction of nurturing and then following a dream....and so I am off to my next dream :)