Road trippin’ across these United States

This morning, I wished I had a dog, so the walk I took to the Hudson River would have some purpose.

It did have a purpose though, not that it needed to. As I looked across to New Jersey–not that far away, then at a slow-moving barge, and then at the elegant George Washington Bridge, with its cars that look like small white legos, and then beyond, I wondered what you see if you keep moving up the river. Then, I started to think about how great it would be to see that other amazing coast, the one on the west.

Inspired by my cousin, who is currently on a road trip across these United States, I have decided I want to take a trip this August either across the country, ending in Seattle, and then driving South through California, or I want to just fly to Seattle or Vancouver and continue to drive south until I reach Mexico with stops in Portland, San Francisco, Monterrey, L.A., San Diego, and other places as yet off my radar.

I don’t know if this new curiosity about the other coast has to do with the larger forces of the economic crisis, which has bred terms like the “staycation” and perhaps forced us to look inward at our own nation and its possibilities. I think it has more to do with wanting to go on my first real road trip– a no frills, uncomplicated trip, sure–and a feeling that life is too short and unpredictable not to do stuff like this. So I guess, in a way, that thinking has to do with the economic crisis and the way it has flipped all sense of certainty about the future. As I often say, I think too much.

So here is to a new goal… If anyone has road trip thoughts, let me know.