“We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip,
a trip takes us.”
John Steinbeck – Travels with Charley
And I’m back in Vegas.
I was here earlier this year for the ACOFP conference and a portion of
my boards. I had fun, but would
certainly not put this anywhere near the top of my favorite places in the
world. In fact there are not many places
I could rank lower, maybe Trenton, NJ or Los Angeles. The lights are pretty at night, but
overpriced food, crowds and gambling are not my thing (no judgments if that’s
your kind of thing). Though I’d be lying
if I said I didn’t have fun. In addition
to Shriver coming out here, John Cooper (another Sig Rho brother) came out from
his new location in Arizona to hang out. Great time, but no stories to share because what happens here stays here.
So instead of telling you all about the wonders of Las
Vegas, I’ll use this time for a little reflection on the past two legs of the
trip. I’m now 1/3 of the way through the
trip. So much has already been seen and
it’s hard to believe there are 27 days left. I started reading
the John Steinbeck book Travels with Charley, the quintessential road trip novel. Written in 1960, the book follows John’s
travels across the US along side his trusty Poodle, Charley. There has not been much time to read, so I
have only read the first few chapters, but the very beginning discusses his
preparation and ultimate day of departure.
There was a moment a few days before going that the excitement turned to
a feeling of dread, realizing it’d be months before he’d be in the comforts of
his own home. He wished for an excuse
not to go, and I must admit I had the same feelings. However, 2 weeks in that is all gone, I’m
still going strong.
It’s been great so far.
Dad and I were very surprised by what the South had to offer. The Smokies were mystical. At one point they were the tallest mountains
in the world, reaching peaks as high as Everest. They’re like the wise elderly mountains,
smoking their pipes on the front porch, content with where they’ve been. The cities had so much culture from the
country twang of Nashville to the jazzy swagger of New Orleans. Though as much as I liked the cities, my
heart lies in wilderness. The National
Parks of the Southwest have been unbelievable from the horror movie backdrop of
Carlsbad Caverns to the colorful plateaus and canyons of the Grand Canyon and
Zion. And while I only seem to talk
about the waypoints, I must say the scenery along the roads and highways are
quite memorable themselves. The average
temperature for these two legs has been well into the 90s, but when you’re
seeing such amazing things, its hardly noticeable. Of course the people along the way have been
wonderful too. Listening to stories and
figuring what brought two strangers to the same place and time is always
fascinating. Andy and Dad both fly out of Vegas from here, and I must say I’ll
miss them both.
The next two legs of the trip will be spent alongside my
best friend, Nick. I must give him
credit for igniting my love for travel, especially for the “fly by the seat of
your pants” kind of travel. Our first
trip was back in Med School, we randomly chose to go down to West Virginia for
a couple of days to explore the New River Gorge area. We had no reservations, no plans, just
camping gear and two mountain bikes. It
was a great trip. No plans seemed to
work out better which remained true for visits to Olympic National Park and
Glacier National Park. I even have to
give him credit for heading to Belize, which was a life-changing
experience. So I enthusiastically
welcome him aboard.
The next leg of this trip will take us to California to see
Death Valley, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Red Woods National
Parks. We’ll stop in Stockton to see
Jake McDowell, a former co-resident in Williamsport and then check out San
Francisco. Thanks for sticking with the blog, the feedback has been awesome and
I didn’t realize so many people would be following. With just 10 entries I’ve had 2000
views. For those without Facebook, I’ve
uploaded about 200 pictures to my Google Picasa site. There are a lot more parks coming up which
means inconsistent access to Internet. I’ll
try my best to continue posting, but instead of it being daily, you may get
chunks of posts.
Stats:
Miles Driven: 3880
States: PA, MD, WV, VA, TN, NC, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT,
NV
Money Lost Gambling: 0
Number of times Chris Angel
came off as a douche during his show: 28
Favorite Park: Zion National
Park (so far)
Best Food: Char-broiled
Oysters in New Orleans
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