Saturday, February 2, 2013

Deep Thoughts

Sunset at Carmel Beach
So this is probably more for me than anyone else, and feel free to skip if it someone else's personal reflection isn't your thing.


21 days, over 900 miles on the road, and not a single meal in a national chain restaurant (and Taprock only had 2 locations). Numerous sight-seeing stops, planned and unplanned. Plenty of tasty meals and beverages. A scant amount of TV (always in the presence of others), even less Facebook time (to coordinate visits in SF), and only a smattering of texts (mostly checking in with Mom), a handful of phone calls. A lot of blogging. Friendly faces, fun times, and also countless hours spent in my own silence. And more than a few moments in which I thought some thoughts, learned some things, and came up with this list:
  • I really do like driving in silence. Until I start to become sleepy or bored on some inland straight highway. Then, only sing-along pop music or a riveting football broadcast will keep me from driving off the road.
  • The many, many people who insist that the northern chunk of CA Route 1 is the prettiest highway in all the country are probably right. I mean, I haven't driven all the supposed scenic highways yet, but I absolutely adored my time in northern California. Sunny weather probably had something to do with it also, but I imagine that I would have been enthralled by grey skies and wind-buffeted seas as well.
  • If you see something on the side of the road or a detour that seems interesting, take it. This is my version of the whole carpe diem philosophy, so you can extend this metaphor all you like. If you don't pull over to say hi to the cows on the roadside, you'll never know that there were calves just over the steep edge, and you'll never get the photographs that will astound the folks back home and make you smile years later.
  • Even my informal for-fun blogging quickly turned into a task list with a publication schedule, a photographic eye for relevant story-telling moments, and hours seated at my laptop keeping my online travel journal reasonably updated, which I'm sure saved my sanity in those first solo days on the road. It felt like a job, and I think I needed to feel responsible for something and not like a total loaf. I really missed blogging when I took a break the last few days of the trip. It helped me organize my thoughts about the day and reflect on my experiences. It helped me feel less lonely and more connected to friends and family.
  • You can never take too many pictures of the ocean. Or of sunsets. Or of cute animals. Especially in the age of digital photography. I'm so glad I don't have to stock up on 110mm film anymore.
  • Free WiFi is even more exciting at an inexpensive hotel than a free continental breakfast.
  • Local bars are local bars everywhere you go, and that's why I love them.
  • Cuteness just knows how to find me. And vice versa.
  • I still love maps. The real, foldy, paper kind. Also, the fake, online, Google kind.
  • Missing people because I want them in my life is different than missing people because I need them. This is a distinction I always understood academically, but never felt that I was capable of discerning. It's emotionally empowering to be able to identify the difference.
  • Complete strangers sometimes know who you really are before you've figured it out. I was always floored by each person who commended my trip as something they would never have the <fill in blank> to do (ballsy, courageous, free-spirit, etc). I suppose I am a <fill in blank> kinda person. Good to know.
  • And always make friends with the Abalone Joes of the world. Knowing them and caring about them makes you a better person, and you'll learn a whole lot about being human.
Abalone Joe and me at Ody's Tavern in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
To those at home, thank you for respecting the radio silence that has been so important to help me get away (and for helping me break it when I became a little homesick). To those on the road, thank you for hosting, feeding, and entertaining me. And to all of you who have been following along, many thanks for inspiring me to be curious, take lots of pictures, and type it all up coherently. I can't wait to hear all your stories when I get home. 

Until next trip: Sleep healthy. Eat safely. Drive tight.

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