Thursday, August 12, 2010

A journey of 2450 miles ends on the last mile

So I am sitting in my townhouse in Lynchburg.  It has been four very long days of traveling from Phoenix, AZ to Virginia.

Why would one want to drive over 2000 miles to school?  I suppose for me it is such things as the freedom of the open road, the rythms of driving, and the music on the radio.  Spend an hour listening to classics such as the Eagles "Take it to the Limit", "Life is a Highway" by Rascall Flatts, or the old country song "Six Days on the Road", and you'll understand where I am coming from.  The Eagle's lyrics stand out specifically in my mind  "So put me on a highway, show me the signs, and take it to the limit ... one more time".

A video of highlights of the trip:



So much of life is really like the driving experience ... in retrospect it flies by just like the blades of grass on the side of the highway.

Thus I spent two days driving from Phoenix to Ellijay, GA, and today from GA to VA.

It has been a good time to think about the summer, and how fast it has gone.  This is a unique perspective for me, facing another challenging year at school.  I think it is good for all of us to have time to process and do nothing for a while.  For me it was about 35 hours of driving, and I can definitely say that I am better for it.

This year will be interesting for me as I am beginning my cadet officer career in AFROTC.  It will bring alot of leadership opportunities, and I look forward to them as much or more than the next fuel stop/stretch break on the road.

Just as road tripping is all about the next bend in the road, I look forward to what this year brings me.  I just hope I am not so focused on what is around the corner that I ignore the beauty on my present stretch of road!

1 comment:

  1. Nice post, Daniel - I look forward to following you along the way...Our road trip 30+ hours, was, well less reflective shall we say, but still worth it. I do my best momentary reflecting during the Idaho stretch...putting in the earphones, turning my ipod up really loud, drowning out the chorus of 4 voices behind me...It was a good 30 minutes! Hugs to you

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