Day: November 20, 2013

Taking a road trip is something I’ve always wanted to do but never have made the time for.  Actually I have taken trips with my kids that were kind of road trips, like bouncing from one city to the next which was fun but I mean a road trip alone; nothing but me, the road and whatever hotel I stumble across.

My view of a road trip is you get in your vehicle with a general idea of where you are headed but without necessarily having set destinations to stop at along the way. When I think about that though it sounds like a disaster with stress and road rage.

A friend I went to grade school with invited me out to California for a visit which actually sounds great but then I am looking at a 2,256 mile drive and roughly 32 hours. I know me. Driving more than 4 hours is torture let alone the thought of 32 hours on the road. I think I might be able to do close to 10 hours if I had to but that would be it so we are looking at over three days driving one way. Of course I could stop wherever I wanted and just enjoy each town I stop in.

Another problem with that trip is the six days of driving plus the five days I would like to stay in town means I would be away from work for 11 days, unacceptable. It’s unacceptable not because I would get fired, I’m self-employed, but because that’s 11 days of not making any money. I think that’s been what has stopped me from taking more than a week off at a time these past few years. That trip would require a flight but I don’t want to fly anywhere now I want to drive.

I have a friend in Tennessee who invited me to come visit anytime I wanted. Actually a couple of weekends ago he was up here and I told him about my idea to get away for a few days,  he recommended I come down and visit. Nashville is 528 miles away or just under 8 hours. I’ve driven to Tennessee twice so I know what to expect on that trip. The drive sucked both times because it’s more than 4 hours. Still that’s something I could do in one day for sure.

There’s a third option and that’s to drive north but not far north, just perhaps 4-6 hours north. I’ve been to plenty of places up north so I have a good idea where to go. There are a few secluded cabins we have stayed in over the years that would be peaceful and quite relaxing. I could go into town and buy some groceries for one, enough to get by a few days or a week. It would be simple. As nice as that sounds I know too that I would be alone in that cabin all week with nothing to do but think. I’d get lost in my thoughts, not something I want to do now. I want to clear my mind not think about what’s going on over and over playing out the years and trying to make sense of it all, that’s pointless and a waste of time. That sounds worse than driving 32 hours.

Either way I need to figure this out because I really need to get away.