A Little Bit of Background

This is the first time I have kept some sort of online diary. After some encouraging by colleagues I have decided to go ahead and keep a record of my journey.

For those who haven't realized it by now I have decided to go on the vacation of a lifetime. For many years I have wanted to take a road trip all the way down the west coast of the United States. Unfortunately things such as work and school have always prevented me from fulfilling this journey. Luckily for me I finally managed to graduate from college last June. And even luckier for me I managed to secure four weeks of leave from work, starting with the last week in October and continuing on through the first three weeks in November.

Armed with four weeks of vacation and no homework I decided to embark on the journey of the century. Over the years I have traveled to Southern California a couple of times for short stays. But I have never had the time for an extended visit. The time for my dream trip is now. Soon I will be leaving Portland, Oregon and heading south. The beauty of having four weeks to myself is that I don't have to adhere to any sort of schedule. I am free to do whatever I want whenever I want.

Some people have asked me why I would want to travel by myself on a journey of such magnitude. I will be the first to admit that there will be periods of loneliness and boredom. But there is also a pervasive sense of freedom, a feeling that even though we all live in a crazy mixed-up world there is still a chance to be exactly who you want to be. If I feel like taking a detour to admire the largest ball of string west of the Mississippi I don't have to consult anybody. If I find a great campsite and don't feel like hitting the road some morning I don't have to worry about what anybody else wants. This is one of those rare opportunities in life where one has the ability to really ask, "What do I want here?"

But enough with the deep thoughts. By now you are probably all wondering what sort of sweet ride I will be taking. I am sorry to disappoint but it will not be my awesome 1979 Ford surf van. The main reason for this is that I do not have a 1979 Ford surf van. No, I will be taking my trusty 1992 Honda Civic hatchback. I'm not against buying a car just for a road trip, I've bought many a car for way smaller reasons before. I just never found the vehicle that grabbed me so in the end I decided on my Civic. It may not be as cool as a surf van (hey, I don't even surf), but it will be economical. I plan on sleeping in the back whenever I can. This will be another advantage to traveling alone.

I will try to update this as much as possible throughout my trip but I can't make any promises. Feel free to give me any comments or suggestions you may have. I will try to put pictures on here as well. If I can figure it out I may even include video. With that said, off I go.