They say travelling opens the mind. I drove across northern USA from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. And I know for sure it does nothing for the mind. It does a lot for the heart.
The drive, as it may be called for want of a better word, was not a vacation as much a celebration of a new start in a new place. We human beings do need to feel a 'new beginning' so many times in our lives, we tend to forget that each sunrise is a miraculous new beginning that heralds new experiences. How do we forget that no two days can ever be alike, unless we make it so?
Like all journeys,our odyssey (yes, in an Odyssey too!)began with pangs of separation. Leaving friends that have been the scaffolding of my sanity and the joy of my heart was more frightening than sorrowful. It was so heartening to hear each one of them tell me it was for the best, and remind me that distance is never an issue between friends. Because if even one had said 'Oh no , why are you going?' I might not have made it. Of course New Jersey was far from perfect, but my friends there are perfect by far.
Everyone does need a change, a break, a vacation. It could be a TV time-slot, it could be jog around with your pal, it could be a few month's hiatus from routine. A change recharges our mind and invigorates our soul.
I do not know of anything that could re-enliven you like a trip to a totally new place. Not with a tour guide, or with five star bookings, but on your own steam, and on your own time. What makes it refreshing is not the change of scene, it is the stripping of paraphernalia we collect and the provisions we deem essential. We really do not need the gold, the crystal, or the fancy crockery. What we need is food to fill us and water to quench and clean.
And of course petrol to fill the car! One of the most terrifying moments of my life was up in the mountains that we did not expect to climb, and realizing that we were out of gasoline,not knowing how far we had to go, and my husband rolling the car down the unfamiliar steep slopes on neutral gear to conserve gas. An experience like that redefines stress. Now if someone tells me they are 'stressed' because of their kids' extracurricular schedules I am going to choke laughing! Stress is not that rushed feeling when you have planned- well or otherwise- on things to happen. Stress is the feeling when you cannot take a breath in (or out) because you do not know if you can deal with that 'worst case scenario' if it does happen.
We managed to descend from the mountains without incident, and reached this adorable little store/ home /gas station in the middle of nowhere. (Town of Emmet- population 10). It was the quaintest, sweetest ramshackle cabin out of a fairytale. Had to have been angels. God does not test the unprepared.
Of course we were unprepared! We had the route mapped roughly, we had the iPad, we had overnight reservations in nice hotels and lodges. The rest we would take as it came. That, we thought would add to the experience. I do not much care for what it did add! A lot of nervous checking of signals on the cell phone,rechecking navigation, realizing that we were not mentally conditioned for long roads through deserted lands, and the nagging fear of what if the car..( God forbid, here!). Though it ensured our comfort, and did really, really well, the Honda Odyssey van is not made for cross country roughing it out. Small roads at edges of waterfalls, or after sunset drives across Grizzly country are not exactly comforting unless you are driving a humvee and have OnStar.
Of course I would rather drive across the US than any other country. The blessing of GPS on the iPad is worth more than words can express. The rest areas give a traveller not only a chance to get the blood moving into parts of the body that have lost feeling, but also gives the chance to interact with other people. Some states of course have a better hospitality: South Dakota had scenic rest stops, Idaho rest areas offer free coffee, Ohio has huge service areas; and Wyoming should not be called a civilized state. I cannot believe there can be such barren, uninspiring stretches of empty, depressing landscape that we encountered in Wyoming.It had green of course, and the undulating hills, but the feeling it gave was of a dull, dead place where life cannot blossom.The Exits that are pointers to settled life for highway travellers just end up in dirt roads that lead to nothing.Even the Badlands were not that bad. Barren rock has a magnetism all its own.
But inhospitable Wyoming also holds a part of the gorgeous Yellowstone National Park. We drove through quite a few protected areas, but the raw beauty of Yellowstone is hard to match. One can revel in the flawless lakes, and then walk a quarter of a mile to beds of boiling mud!
We drove on roads through grasslands, hills, mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, forests. It was glorious and awe-inspiring. But at the end of each day what we needed was to stop. Not just to rest and recharge, but to make connect with our fellowmen. To say hello to the friendly hotel receptionist, to sit down for dinner. And yes, to switch on the TV (and laptop!)
Like everything else in life, the travails, of course, came with treasures. The small towns we went through are unforgettable. The warm people we met gently reinforced my belief that we all are exactly the same. The memories we have are priceless. The splendour of virgin lands on this continent have to be seen to be believed.The joy one feels in renewing one's connection to the land does not diminish us as humans. Knowing we share a home of such beauty with flora and fauna of such diversity elevates us to being more than mankind. We become earthlings. I did not learn anything of practical importance. I saw, heard, and felt. My mind probably learnt the names of new places, but what my heart learnt was of more vital importance- that it is not the earth that belongs to us, it is we who will always belong to the earth.
The drive, as it may be called for want of a better word, was not a vacation as much a celebration of a new start in a new place. We human beings do need to feel a 'new beginning' so many times in our lives, we tend to forget that each sunrise is a miraculous new beginning that heralds new experiences. How do we forget that no two days can ever be alike, unless we make it so?
Like all journeys,our odyssey (yes, in an Odyssey too!)began with pangs of separation. Leaving friends that have been the scaffolding of my sanity and the joy of my heart was more frightening than sorrowful. It was so heartening to hear each one of them tell me it was for the best, and remind me that distance is never an issue between friends. Because if even one had said 'Oh no , why are you going?' I might not have made it. Of course New Jersey was far from perfect, but my friends there are perfect by far.
Everyone does need a change, a break, a vacation. It could be a TV time-slot, it could be jog around with your pal, it could be a few month's hiatus from routine. A change recharges our mind and invigorates our soul.
I do not know of anything that could re-enliven you like a trip to a totally new place. Not with a tour guide, or with five star bookings, but on your own steam, and on your own time. What makes it refreshing is not the change of scene, it is the stripping of paraphernalia we collect and the provisions we deem essential. We really do not need the gold, the crystal, or the fancy crockery. What we need is food to fill us and water to quench and clean.
And of course petrol to fill the car! One of the most terrifying moments of my life was up in the mountains that we did not expect to climb, and realizing that we were out of gasoline,not knowing how far we had to go, and my husband rolling the car down the unfamiliar steep slopes on neutral gear to conserve gas. An experience like that redefines stress. Now if someone tells me they are 'stressed' because of their kids' extracurricular schedules I am going to choke laughing! Stress is not that rushed feeling when you have planned- well or otherwise- on things to happen. Stress is the feeling when you cannot take a breath in (or out) because you do not know if you can deal with that 'worst case scenario' if it does happen.
We managed to descend from the mountains without incident, and reached this adorable little store/ home /gas station in the middle of nowhere. (Town of Emmet- population 10). It was the quaintest, sweetest ramshackle cabin out of a fairytale. Had to have been angels. God does not test the unprepared.
Of course we were unprepared! We had the route mapped roughly, we had the iPad, we had overnight reservations in nice hotels and lodges. The rest we would take as it came. That, we thought would add to the experience. I do not much care for what it did add! A lot of nervous checking of signals on the cell phone,rechecking navigation, realizing that we were not mentally conditioned for long roads through deserted lands, and the nagging fear of what if the car..( God forbid, here!). Though it ensured our comfort, and did really, really well, the Honda Odyssey van is not made for cross country roughing it out. Small roads at edges of waterfalls, or after sunset drives across Grizzly country are not exactly comforting unless you are driving a humvee and have OnStar.
Of course I would rather drive across the US than any other country. The blessing of GPS on the iPad is worth more than words can express. The rest areas give a traveller not only a chance to get the blood moving into parts of the body that have lost feeling, but also gives the chance to interact with other people. Some states of course have a better hospitality: South Dakota had scenic rest stops, Idaho rest areas offer free coffee, Ohio has huge service areas; and Wyoming should not be called a civilized state. I cannot believe there can be such barren, uninspiring stretches of empty, depressing landscape that we encountered in Wyoming.It had green of course, and the undulating hills, but the feeling it gave was of a dull, dead place where life cannot blossom.The Exits that are pointers to settled life for highway travellers just end up in dirt roads that lead to nothing.Even the Badlands were not that bad. Barren rock has a magnetism all its own.
But inhospitable Wyoming also holds a part of the gorgeous Yellowstone National Park. We drove through quite a few protected areas, but the raw beauty of Yellowstone is hard to match. One can revel in the flawless lakes, and then walk a quarter of a mile to beds of boiling mud!
We drove on roads through grasslands, hills, mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, forests. It was glorious and awe-inspiring. But at the end of each day what we needed was to stop. Not just to rest and recharge, but to make connect with our fellowmen. To say hello to the friendly hotel receptionist, to sit down for dinner. And yes, to switch on the TV (and laptop!)
Like everything else in life, the travails, of course, came with treasures. The small towns we went through are unforgettable. The warm people we met gently reinforced my belief that we all are exactly the same. The memories we have are priceless. The splendour of virgin lands on this continent have to be seen to be believed.The joy one feels in renewing one's connection to the land does not diminish us as humans. Knowing we share a home of such beauty with flora and fauna of such diversity elevates us to being more than mankind. We become earthlings. I did not learn anything of practical importance. I saw, heard, and felt. My mind probably learnt the names of new places, but what my heart learnt was of more vital importance- that it is not the earth that belongs to us, it is we who will always belong to the earth.
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