I can’t seem to catch my stride on this trip. I think it’s because a lot of it has revolved around visiting friends. No offense but that tends to alter the disconnect that is so wonderful while traveling. Meeting people who have obligations/schedules is distracts from the freedom of travel. When the deadlines are few and far between, when there are no particular time windows or date ranges to be concerned about, it’s just easier to be somewhere. The reminder that life goes on, well, it’s distracting. There is visiting, and there is road tripping and the two things are not the same. Visiting is concrete; traveling is abstract (for me, at least).
For quite some time now it has influenced the way that I think. Hitting the road and just watching the white lines go by is mesmerizing. I don’t mind the hotels at all, in fact it’s liberating to not have to worry about cleaning up after yourself too much. But by the same token, you’ve got to stay on top of hygiene in the car or it gets to be far too funky for comfort. Living in a metal box can bring out the best and worst in people; I travel best with my wife alone because we know each other well. Even after all this time it never gets boring. We amuse each other.
I’m trying to make a conscious effort to write some this time. She reminded me this morning that you never know which trip will be your last. I think I have a lot more miles in me, but, as she says, you never know.
We passed through the birthplace of Carl Sandburg yesterday. I’m not a fan of his poetry, but I was amused to find out that he was a stereograph salesman for Underwood and Underwood. I didn’t know that. I seem to collect trivia while traveling. We’re visiting in Iowa just now, but I think I want to run away to Circus World in Wisconsin tonight. We have a few days before the obligations begin again in the Twin Cities.
