Anticipation

I spent a few hours driving up to PA this morning to visit some of my family. It was perfect driving weather – blue sky, a few white puffy clouds – and it got me very excited about the driving we’ll be doing in a few weeks. Of course, the trip will still be great even if it rains, but man, a few days like this would be awesome!

Paul did a great job of articulating the big questions about our trip. In fact, I think I even learned more about the trip after reading his post! Paul is much more profound than I am; right now I’m thinking, “road trip!” and that’s about it. I can’t wait to see more of this beautiful country – purple mountains, fruited plains, et cetera. I love being outside, love exploring stuff, and can’t wait to see some of the country’s most famous and beautiful landmarks. This is going to be great!

So while Paul thinks the profound thoughts, I get hung up on the very unprofound ones. Like, how are we going to refer to the vehicle we’ll be using during the trip? We’ll be taking my 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid (silver, if you're curious). I’ve never felt right referring to it as a car, because, well, I don’t think it is a car. It’s ridiculous to refer to it as a truck, as I’ve been told by many people (in truth, some people just snickered when I said it). Calling it “the SUV” is just awkward, and “Hybrid” is pretentious. And I refuse to call it “the Escape” ever since that ice storm on Valentines Day a few years ago when I couldn’t get it out of my parking space at the condo for two days; “Trapped” would have been a more appropriate name then. I wonder if there’s a patron saint for road trips? We could name it after her/him and be done with it. See, this is why I leave the profound stuff to Paul.

We are also starting to pull together provisions. Paul is giving me every indication that this trip will be one for the record books. My non-negotiable has been that we take a coffee maker and brew coffee in the car/truck/SUV every morning. See, it’s a Hybrid, and it has an actual electrical outlet (not a cigarette lighter) on the dash. Come to think of it, a blender might be nice, too. Hey, you never know.

Today Paul delivered a basket that he informed me we’ll be taking on the trip. The basket was roughly the size of a shoe box, and when I opened the lid I found it full of seasonings for cooking. I figured we’d do some cooking on the trip – we’re camping out, so we’ll need to feed ourselves – though in my mind that was covered by the coffee maker. An entire box of seasonings! There’s even a mortar and pestle in there (though in honor of Paul’s great skills at both building and cooking I want to call them “mortar and pesto”). I guess he was serious when he said this was going to be about food! Hard to complain about that.

There are still so many things to do before we leave. I scored an amazing bed roll at REI a few weeks ago – with this thing I could get a sound sleep on top of Washington’s head at Rushmore (do they let you up there like in North By Northwest?). REI is such a temptation – so much cool stuff, most of it will never be used again come September, of course. I still need to get new tires on the car/truck/SUV and get it the once-over before we leave. We have a tent, but still need that coffee maker and whatever electrical appliances we intend to use (a washer/dryer would be nice but it’s probably not practical). So much to do in just a few short weeks!

The anticipation builds! I can’t wait to get started.