To me, the theme of this trip is to get lost. Not necessarily in the physical capacity where I don’t know my way, but more in the idea that I lose all ties to the daily monotony that has been my life for the past year. The trip is to be an adventure of epic proportions; never before have I conquered the vast open area past the Mississippi. Strangely enough, we drove over the Mississippi and I did not even notice…. Maybe that’s an indication of larger themes in my search for getting lost.
Somehow there is a true connection to driving in a car across the country and freedom. Perhaps, it goes back to the ingrained American mentality of limitless land and the idea of free range. We have driven through such varied terrain that honestly I can’t even describe the beauty of this country. On the other hand, we have driven through towns and cities that resemble any other city in this country with their gas stations lining the streets, expansive parking lots in front of WalMart, and fast food dining options. As we drove along the interstate in Tennessee, Illinois, and Missouri I constantly referred back to the idea that if I were driven here blindfolded and then asked to guess where I was, I would have no idea. I also was able to draw references to Denver and Orlando, oddly enough. However, as I sit here in the passenger seat driving through central Utah, I can’t help but utter a “wow” as we drive by the expansive nothingness and erosion rock formations. It’s truly amazing to stare out the window at 80mph and watch as the horizon slowly changes. I’m not saying that it is necessary to go to a so-called untouched land in order to feel lost, but it’s certainly much easier than dining at Burger King and shopping at Albertson’s.
As you may notice after reading this, Jon and I differ in our writing styles. However, it has worked out quite well in our travels so far. Understandably, it is only 4 days into the trip, but I don’t predict any complications. His witty comedic style bodes well with my relatively dry, logical mindset. So, don’t fret, his journal entries will continue. In trying to think about a general theme of my entries, I’ve decided to talk about some of the people that we’ve encountered along the way. Along the trip there have been people that have stuck out in my mind, for some reason or another. I’m sure they have no idea that their existence was memorable to me or that I made any sort of impact on their life.
First, there was Liza, our waitress at Denny’s in a little interstate town called Junction City, Kansas. We arrived there around 7am to her shining face. She was a short, little Asian woman with obvious experience in the restaurant business. I’d argue that she was cute too. She quickly sat us and tended to our needs, all the while joking with us and smiling. It was definitely the encounter I needed at 7 o’clock in the morning after driving straight through. I’d like to add that she was the one that offered to refill my orange juice after it obviously was just orange flavored water. After leaving I couldn’t help but think about her life. I can’t imagine Denny’s being that much of a high paying career, but I could be wrong.
The original idea for the road trip was for Jon to find a place to live in Denver, so most of the day in this city was spent searching for apartments. On one of our stops, we went to an apartment complex called The Lodge. It looked nice from the outside and was in a decent location, so we decided to give it a shot. It was just your typical cookie cutter style complex with fitness center, pool, and little 1 bedroom apartment. However, there were two things that set it apart from all the rest. First, was the fact that you could chose an accent color on one wall for free when you move in. For me, I end up painting my walls anyway and Jon felt it would be amazing to have a red wall in his room. He’s into the passion thing, I guess. The number one selling point was the rental manager, Robin, that showed us the place. It’s not that she was attractive or overly friendly or anything similar to that. It was her attitude toward the whole procedure. She had such a sarcastic, slightly bitter, hurried north eastern mentality that it drew me to her and all that she had to say. If I were moving to Denver, I’d most likely want to rent from her just to wake up in the morning say, “Hey Robin, have a fantastic day” and to eat her fresh cookies that she puts out in a little tray underneath the poster of accent color choices. While meeting with her, I did feel slightly obligated to distance myself from the whole procedure because I did not want to get the question, “So, are both are you staying in the apartment together?” It was, after all, a 1 bedroom, with two guys looking at it….
We’re now about 2 hours out of Las Vegas. Apparently, crazy things happen in Vegas. We’ll see if that holds true, but I guess “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas….”
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