Free Bird

I am soulfully craving a road trip. Road trips are the greatest way to travel. What else could you possibly need? It’s you, the road, the music, the weather, the faces, the scenery, I can’t think of a better way to travel. My last road tip was a solo trip, across the country and back. I took the Kia from Indianapolis to Las Vegas, on the southern route, and back 6 months later. I left at the end of May of ’04 and returned in late November. It was an amazing trip. Watching the terrain change, lushness dissipating to desert, plains change to mountains, mountains to dry plateaus, stopping along the highway to take in the stars, it was more than I could handle. Just me and the road for almost the whole of three days. Where you head, where you stop, where you explore, it can never be dictated. It is the closest I have become to ever being free. Of course you have a map for your destination, but without time constraints you can be free to stray from your ultimate goal and meet people, see places, and sky that you would otherwise never get the chance to see. I can remember the visions of rocket launches from military bases in the west, the stream of gasses trailing the rockets over the desert, the feel of a desolate Indian Reservation while stopping for gas, taking in the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and its fantastic bends. I will always remember the sights, sounds, smells. The relentless sun as I headed into Flagstaff, the evening I spent in the hotel; I splurged that night on a really great room, with a huge tub, ordered room service with a bottle of wine and spent an hour in the tub, ate a fantastic Caesar salad, and watched Bruce Almighty as I drifted to sleep in a huge, soft bed. I am dying for a road trip, just a short one that could allow for a great 3 or 4 days. Somewhere south, where spring is well under way, Memphis would be perfect, Charleston, or Atlanta, and a companion; it would be bliss for a weekend. But as of yet, my road trip will remain unmanifested as I have no time off during school, and for sure, no money, and most important, no travel companion. So, it would appear I have my work cut out for me.