A Quick Retrospective

Pennsylvania to
Ohio to
Kentucky to
Tennessee to
Mississippi to
Louisiana to
Mississippi to
Alabama to
Tennessee to
Virginia to
West Virginia to
Pennsylvania.

Nine different states.

Almost 2600 miles.

A stupid amount of gas money.

Memories that will last a lifetime.

That's how you categorize a road trip. What set out as a poorly-planned trip turned into the best week of my life. Sure, I could have known exactly how much I would have spent, exactly where I would have gone, and exactly what I would have seen, but that's not for me. I crave uncertainty. I long for adversity. I'm desperate for a new challenge.

This was our first road trip, and I promise it will not be our last. Roadsickness is a term not taken lightly. When you return from a road trip, I promise if you did it right, you will feel a longing for the road. While I was on the trip, I saw completely new things for an entire week. Every second my eyes were open, I was seeing something I had never seen before. Think about that.

"Miles to Graceland" is the record of a promise fulfilled - a promise made many years ago. It may have been a pipe dream at the time, but stranger plans have been made. I'm glad this one came to fruition.

Get a car. Get a scooter. Stick your thumb out on the side of the road. I don't care, just get out on the road. You will never fully experience life unless you venture outside of the norm. I say this not from a presumptuous position; instead, I say it as a word of encouragement. Go out and talk to a stranger. Go somewhere you have never been before. Go eat something you would never eat in your hometown. Go live..

Sure, I look forward to the future, though I can't help but look back on the past one last time. It was fun, but it's time to move on. I learned a lot on the road. If I could do one-tenth of what I did, for a living, I could not ask for a better life. To be honest, writing this blog was probably the most fun I've ever had writing. I wrote what I saw, and I was overwhelmed by how many people enjoyed it.

The next post will contain some of the hundreds of other pictures we never published. The thousands of words contained in these pictures are no match to anything I can write. Enjoy.

For those of you who have been reading: thank you. I never expected such a positive response. Who knows what the next blog will bring? For now, I can safely look back and call it a blog.

Thanks again everyone,

CPS

Leg 5 to 6: Abingdon to Pittsburgh aka What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Could it really be? Could this really be the end of the mindless journey we set out upon almost six days ago? I wish I could say the trip ended with a roar, but unfortunately, the final leg was more of a whimper than we expected.



The western half of Virginia is the skinniest part of Virginia, meaning we were not on the road very long before we careened in to the home of Pitt's rival: West Virginia. The first thing we noticed was mountains; undoubtedly the largest we had seen in several states. It looked like the chorus of "God Bless America" no matter where we went.



Our first stop led us to Beckley, a small but dense town in the southern swing of West Virginia. After taking the exit ramp, I phoned my Grandma and asked for her recommendation on the best place to eat in Beckley. Granted, IHOP looked comparable to the other fine establishments in Beckley, but we nonetheless decided to press on. Around this time, I began trying to persuade Marc to take exit 47 to the local casino, knowing that table games were legal in West Virginia. Apparently, we stumbled into the Bermuda Triangle of West Virginia, and watched as exit 46 quickly evaporated into exit 48 without warning. My wallet thanked me as we headed to the next eatery.

The road north through West Virginia is - in comparison to others we had seen - a scenic route. Indecisive topography made for decisive photography, and we would have been crazy to pass on such miraculous sights. A quick detour led us to the second largest arch bridge in the country. Words can not do it justice, so I'll let you decide if the stop was worthy of a blog post:




As we passed through nameless town after nameless town, we eventually came across a quaint little strip of strip mall to our left. My stomach gurgled and quickly persuaded us to stop.

I never thought I would find authentic Mexican food in West Virginia, but given the circumstances so far, it really did not seem so far out of the ordinary. We took a quick exit aka left turn in to a strip mall directly off the interstate. We opened the door to La Carretta, which is Spanish for "delicious Mexican restaurant where the only other patron is a young mother with four screaming kids" (source: Wikipedia). I was skeptical, right up until the point where a God-gifted hostess led us to our table.



I ordered a plate of crispy chimichangas, and Marc ordered a plate of random Mexican ingredients aka fajitas. The great thing about Mexican food is this: the ingredients pretty much stay the same, while the mix of these ingredients changes with each dish. After almost no time, my two cylinders of deliciousness arrived. They were packed with steaming beef tips and covered in a bevy of quacamole, queso sauce, sour cream, and lettuce. I barely blinked before I deposited every morsel on my plate in to my eager stomach. Marc followed suit. It seemed almost rude not to.



What else was there? After such a good meal, the rest of the trip seemed like a bleak, foregone conclusion. I secretly hoped for a casino that never came. Believe it or not, there are no casinos between the southern half of West Virginia and the northern half, at least via the interstate (further research revealed several "really?" locations, none of which were blatantly advertised). Green signs flew through the rear view mirror until finally we reached our final state: Pennsylvania (sorry for the lack of state sign - I was slow on the trigger finger).




For the first time in the trip, I recognized our surroundings. I saw familiar road signs. I saw familiar surroundings. For the first time in the trip, I saw something I had seen before. It was miraculous that we had survived so much. The final stretch to Pittsburgh felt more like a victory lap than anything else. There would be no unnecessary road stops; there would be no random departures from the interstate. This was the last stretch of road before home, and frankly, it felt like the longest stretch of the trip. For the first time in the trip, we hit traffic. Hundreds of hesitant-to-drive-through-a-tunnel Pittsburghers stood between us and home.



It was here that I began to feel a strange feeling; something I had never expected to feel throughout the entire trip. In a word, I can only describe it as: roadsickness. I didn't want this to trip to end. I yearned for the road. I craved the uncertainty of an unfamiliar destination. I desperately sought a place where citizens looked at me as the stranger.



As Marc affixed the playlist to the most appropriately depressing songs he could find, we made our final trek in to Oakland. It had been a long, unforgettable trip. If I could describe it in one word; well, I can't. I'll save that for another post, for one word can not do it justice. I had just been on one of the greatest journeys of my life, and to try and sum it up in one word would be doing a terrible disservice to the adventurous spirit of all travelers of the world. I looked up at the Oakland sign and in that moment, I saw home.



At the same time, I saw the most unfamiliar place I had seen in seven days. I realized after traveling for six days with no plan, that my only home was the road. Roadsickness is a disease that never goes away. It stays with you until you make the next pitiful attempt to satisfy its unquenchable thirst. No number of untraveled miles will ever satisfy this thirst; however, the beauty of life is constantly trying to satisfy the unsatisfiable, while at the same time having absolutely no idea why the hell you are even trying.

I came, I saw, and I will never conquer, and that could not make me more happy.

Road is where the heart is,

CPS

Top Ten Rules for any Road Trip

In light of the overwhelmingly positive response to the travel log so far, I thought I would share a few tips we learned on the road before publishing the final two entries. As you probably have figured out by now, our trip ended on Wednesday night. Along the way, we saw some cool stuff, heard some cool stories, and learned some cool tips. Here are the top ten rules to remember for your journey:

10. Pictures are the cheapest souvenirs.

Sure, a tacky shirt that says "I got Bourbon faced on Shit Street," will be good for a laugh, but how many times can you actually wear it? Save your money for something else. Take a ton of pictures, they will be the most memorable souvenir you can buy.

9. Take care of your greatest asset: your car.

If you plan on traveling thousands of miles in a dilapidated coupe, it may be time for a little preventative maintenance. Get your oil changed, get a car wash, and get your tires rotated. A little extra effort will do wonders in the long-run.

8. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Remember, not everyone on the road is trying to help you get to the next place. Some people get wide-eyed when they see a tourist wandering around the streets, and if you're not careful, you might get caught in a scam. Do you really think someone can tell you where you got your shoes? Do you really think there are many gentleman's clubs with no cover? Not likely.

7. Keep your wallet in your front pocket, and keep all valuables secure and within reach.

You won't get very far on your journey without money, and unless you keep it secure, you're asking for trouble. Scammers see tourists as easy target, so keep walking if you hear a lame proposal for money (i.e. I need $10 for a deposit on a gas can). Scammers typically use very detailed stories and will make promises to pay back more than they borrow. Don't be fooled.

6. Carry enough cash with you, especially if you're headed to an unfamiliar location.

If you're headed in to a major city, you probably won't need tons of cash; but when you head further in to the outskirts, remember that an ATM could be miles away. The only thing worse than being stranded is being stranded and broke. Keep in mind though, if you do carry cash, keep it secure.

5. When in doubt, ask a local.

In our case, 90% of the locals we talked to were more than happy to share their opinion on the best things to see or the best places to eat. Most people are happy to help out a naive tourist, but you won't get far unless any request you make is accompanied by a "please" and "thank you."

4. Sometimes, the quickest way isn't always the best.

Or, as some might say, it's the journey, not the destination. You don't have to stick to every interstate. A departure from the norm, even if slower, can offer scenic views and is a welcome change from the familiarity of the main road.

3. Manage your time wisely.

This not to say you need to plan the trip down to every minute; however, a little bit of planning will keep you from being tied down to the same place all day. There is lots to see in this world, so if you spend all your day on one street, you're going to miss out on a lot of really cool stuff.

2. Never, ever be afraid to try new things.

After all, that's the point of the road trip, isn't it? If you've never tried an oyster before, and you end up in the oyster capital of the world, it may be time to break the hiatus. People are often surprised to find they like something they never expected to like. It's out there, so go out and try it.

1. When in [blank], do as the [blanks] do.

I've said this time and time again, but I guarantee it will help you on the road. Remember, you are in their territory, not the other way around. Save your hometown customs for your hometown. When you go somewhere else, you will stand out like a sore thumb unless you consider your surroundings, and the last thing you want to do is offend anyone with a social faux pas (this is especially relevant abroad). Though, this is not to say you can't share a little bit of your hometown flavor with the world, just be smart about it; after all, you are the guest.

Keep these things in mind, and you just might survive your own trip,

CPS