Traveling Shoes

Lately I have been itching to travel. To go somewhere, ANYWHERE. I have always had a desire to travel, to see the world, to make observations and take in as much as I possibly can.

Every year since I was in the 8^th grade, I have gone somewhere. Every year. Except one. Some years I went two different places. And I loved every minute of it. I love being on the road, I love living out of a suitcase and being in a different place every night. If I could make a living out of traveling (and I’m sure there are people who do) it would be my dream job. Unfortunately, my husband seems to be kind of a homebody, so a life of travel probably isn’t in my future.

Lately I have been desiring so much to go somewhere. Anywhere. It has been lass than a year since we got back from our last trek cross-country and it seems like forever ago to me.

I have tried to talk Steve into going somewhere (even if it just to like South Dakota or something), but to no avail. He keeps telling me “We’re going to Vegas in February, that will be our vacation.” Except that we are going to Vegas for a business trip with thousands of other people—not exactly my ideal vacation, although I’m still excited to go!

I even resorted to trying to talk him into going to our “unofficial” honeymoon location for our anniversary. For those of you who don’t know, our “unofficial” honeymoon location is about a 3 hour drive from where we live, and still in cold, soon-to-be snowy Minnesota. Our “official” honeymoon hasn’t even been booked yet—2 years after being married. Upon this proposition from me to him, he replied with “What’s wrong with staying home?” *sigh* I guess I can pretty much rule out going anywhere until the Vegas trip.

My goal (okay, one of my more achievable goals) is to go to all 50 states, and not just GO to them, but to spend time driving through them and taking in what things set them apart from other states and places I have seen. On my first trip driving (okay, I guess I was pretty much RIDING) from North Carolina to Minnesota, I noticed that each state had one or two things that stuck out about them. Something different that I hadn’t really seen before. Something that set them apart from all the other states. So, I wrote those things down. And started making a journal of my journey through each of the states. I did the same thing for the trip from Minnesota back to North Carolina, and again when we headed home and took a detour through Florida.

I don’t know what spurred me to do this, I just know that I started about halfway through West Virginia on the first trip to Minnesota, and now I desperately want to finish it by completing all 50 states. Some of the states that I am “missing” I have been to, and I have spent time driving through, but didn’t really take time to look around and observe my surroundings and figure out what exactly I found fascinating about that particular state. Instead I spent my time sleeping, or with my face buried in a book, or some game that my brother and I were playing in the backseat—or fighting with my brother over who was taking up more than their half of the backseat. Either way, I find that I’m really bummed out that I didn’t take advantage of that driving time and learn more about the great states that make up the country I live in.

So, I have decided to restart. I have my observations from the trips from North Carolina to Minnesota and back, but as far as I’m concerned, I haven’t been to any of the other states—since I remember nothing about them.

I’m so excited about this “project” of mine, and have found that not only is a good reminder of what I found unique about certain places, but it also spurs memories of my husband’s and my trips. When you spend 2 weeks basically living out of a vehicle and hours on the road, driving through certain states (Alabama) where the only thing on the radio is the “twang”iest backroads country you’ve ever heard, and gospel, you learn quite a bit about each other, and find that you can have conversations about some of the strangest things. Not to mention some of the things you do to entertain yourselves and each other, all while going completely stir-crazy in a Blazer that is literally packed to the ceiling with all kinds of items that are being moved “home”.

Either way, I think the most exciting part about this project, is not only that it involves traveling, which I love, but that I have every intention of completing it with my husband and best friend, since we basically started it together, and since he’s my “driver”. J. I can’t wait until the next time that we can just jump in the car, and take off for the next route with new states to see and new observations to make. I have 15 states down already, which leaves only 35 left!

I can’t wait until the next time that I can put on my traveling shoes.

“A man on the corner, said ‘Son, what would you choose—the life that you’re livin’ or this pair of travelin’ shoes?’ Well there’s a place called California, and the road there is free, so it’s off to California for me”

-“California” Tyler Hilton