Let me answer the question I've gotten most: How was your trip!? Well, I can put it this way: It opened my eyes to an entire world that already is my own country, changed my behavior and outlook on life, and was more crucial to shaping my self-identity than Birthright in Israel, or studying abroad in the UK. Besides choosing to leave New England for college, this may very well be the most life-changing thing I have done yet in my life.
I had begun planning this trip in middle school, tracing out the ultimate route on the time-zone map in the back of my agenda planner. This idea of a cross-country road trip simmered with me though high school and college until this year when I finally found people who shared my passion for travel. Like the "about me" says, we are all east coast natives. I had personally only been once to San Diego, and once to Western Michigan in this country prior to this trip that was off the Florida-Massachusetts eastern seaboard. It had upset me a little that I had seen more of the United Kingdom and Israel than I had of my own country. So to me, this trip meant discovering what exactly the general cultural identity of an American is (rather than just a New Englander), and more importantly, if there is anywhere else NOT on the east coast that I would enjoy living once I graduate college. I had both of my goals answered. I have to say that, we may be one country, but in terms of cultural identity, we definitely have huge differences.
One of the things I've learned is that country music is much more pervasive and ubiquitous in this country than any other genre out there. We began to get almost nothing but country by the time we hit Indiana. I have never really been a fan, but by the time we hit California, I could recognize songs that I had heard before. By the time I hit Louisiana heading back east, I could recognize artists, and by the time we reached Tennessee, I was officially a fan. Since being back, every time I am in the car, I only listen to 103.7 and 92.5, the two local country radio stations out of Philadelphia and Havre de Grace. My new taste in music annoys my roommate so much, but I like it because it counters his new love for dubstep.
I have heard that you don't know your own culture until you leave it. I definitely found that to be true on this trip. I began noticing a difference in the extroversion of people to strangers as I hit Colorado, and there we're finally people to interact with. It was so much easier there, and on out from Colorado through California and all the way back in Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee to talk to strangers, and strike up short, but friendly conversations without seeming creepy or mentally challenged. The entire side of the country west of the Appalachians is just more laid back and not uptight about every aspect of their life, and they seem to be much happier because of it. I now understand why we are called "east coast freaks".
I have brought this attitude back to Delaware with mixed reactions. Most people seem to be just waiting for a stranger to come up to them and strike up a conversation but are just too shy to do it themselves, but others do look at me like I am about to ask them for money. Which is understandable if that's all that you're used to. This same behavior has been reflected in my driving attitude as well. I no longer feel the need to make power-plays on the road, nor do I feel affected by drivers who act like that towards me. I don't let trivial things like a friend changing plans last minute, or a sink full of dirty dishes bother me anymore either. Its all good, man, and I hope it remains that way.
After considering the cities and regions that I visited on this trip, I have decided that there are, in fact, other areas of the country that I find habitable that aren't in the east coast megalopolis. I immensely enjoyed the Denver metro area, and would love to re-visit it. I (of course!) loved California, in a way that it seems like living there would be cheating myself of hardship. Its that nice. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Texas. San Antonio was quaint and cozy, and I heard Austin is the same way. Houston, which we passed through for lunch, was as metropolitan as any place on the eastern seaboard.
So to conclude, I have a very special choice I can make in this upcoming post-graduation year. I am an EMT, and need to work up about 1000 clinical hours before I can apply to graduate school to be a Physician Assistant. So for this year between undergrad and graduate school, I have the ability (if I am brave enough) to move anywhere I wish and work as an EMT before I have to re-locate again for grad school. So in an ideal situation, with a job in the location, after this trip I can say that I would love to move to these cities for the next year:
1. San Francisco, California
2. Boston, Massachusetts
3. Denver-Boulder, Colorado
4. San Jose-Santa Cruz, California
6. San Antonio-Austin, Texas
7. New York, New York
8. Washington-Annapolis, Maryland
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10. Nashville, Tennessee
This being said, I still have yet to see the north-central, Pacific northwest, and most of florida. So I cannot say whether I would like places such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, or even Tampa, but I have the same good feeling about Chicago and Seattle that I did about Denver.
My next trip is already churning idealistically in my mind. I want to do it in the summer, probably right before grad school. I want to camp my way to Seattle. Starting in Chicago, I will head over to the Missouri River, and follow a modified version of Lewis and Clark's travels, camping my way across the Missouri, Yellowstone, Platte, Snake, and Columbia Rivers until I hit the Pacific, staying in national parks from the day I leave Chicago, until I hit Seattle. Should be fun!
I can't believe how much I have seen and experienced over this past winter session. Doing it seemed like no big deal, but now that I am back and reflecting on all of it, I realize what a big deal it was for the four of us to pull this off. Looking back, the title quote at the top of our blog rings even truer now that we have done just that.
I hope you've enjoyed reading, thanks for being our fans!
-Tom
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