Good news (Pt 1)

Well yesterday was an exciting day - Duncan confirmed his flights. This is a good thing, as the adventure now has at least one definite participant. Despite stealing the last seat on his plane at the travel office, he's got the ball rolling.

I don't want to talk about balls, but we do have a few other balls teetering at the top of a hill, ready to roll, but just waiting for that little nudge or piece of wind to set them in motion. That nudge and fart being time and money.

We have a large North American map on our lounge wall, with coloured pins stuck in where I know people, or where Duncan knows people, or where someone we know knows people, or places we want to go. It's remarkable how straight some of those connecting lines are. We have an almost perfectly straight route from Washington DC, to Pittsburgh, to Cleveland, to central southern Michigan.

We have started emailing our friends and family members and friends of family members and family members of friends of friends. So far I am excited to say we have definite accomodation in Norman (OK), Lexington (KY), Lexington (NE), Cleveland (OH), Pittsburgh (PA), Minneapolis (MN). The two letter initials after each place name are not my opinion of the places we're going. While it may seem fair to class Norman as OK and to remark OH! when considering the-mistake-by-the-lake that is Cleveland, they are infact state abbreviations. If you don't them all then take a peek here http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbr_state.txt

We have a large list of people we need to email and contact. Without these people we would quite possibly have to pay for one, or even two, nights accomodation in a motel. This would completely ruin the whole concept of this journey. That concept being driven, especially by myself as a student, by money. Or lack of.

So why do I love to travel? I was reminded over the Christmas holidays why I love the actual motion of travelling. I don't like going slowly. Walking is great, but when you've got a bike or a bus or a car, it's so much quicker. But it's the range of things you can see in a given time period. In 10 minutes of walking you're unlikely to get anywhere near out of Aberdeen, but 10 minutes on the bike could see you down by the beach or over by Cove lighthouse. 10 minutes by car in Aberdeen: well you'd probably still be further behind than the walker. But 10 minutes on a train and you're already approaching Stonehaven, having taken in the crazy farm for experimental breeds or rare breeds or whatever government-fronted scheme there is going on there. You've already passed the amazing cliff-top golf course on the left and will soon be free of urban sprawl and with the Angus hills fast approaching on the right. It makes me want to swap seats so I can always get the best view.

So during the Christmas holidays, New Years eve in fact, I jumped on a train to Edinburgh from Montrose. Almost as soon we left the station, we moved inland and south, where all the snow had been falling. Even the hated Arbroath (I'm sure you'll find out why with time) looked appealing. Snow draped trees, the setting sun, and then once over the Tay, the rolling hills and low-lying mist completely transformed what was just a regular train journey. Flags on pins on golf course after golf course just peeked out through the mist as the air temperature dropped. How could people sitting opposite me not stare in amazement as the landscape changed and rolled alongside?

I used to think travelling for the sake of getting somewhere was nowhere near as much fun as what you did once you got there. Childhood memories of journeys to the south of England, or over to Europe in the car being the main players there. Being allowed to listen on the stereo to one side of a cassette each on a days travel, or getting a sucky sweet every hour of being in the car. Dad inevitably always used to time toilet stops at 1 hour 55 minutes, so as to save the stash of sweets. But the thought of interstate highways in America, and the changing scenery, and the humungous cars, and the questionable country music once we're in the south, all excite me and makes me add another variable to the equation.

Not only will I be comparing the American places with the American people, but now also with the actual journey.

Welcome

Well hello. Aren't you looking mighty fine today.

I'm new to this blogging scene. I don't like the idea of sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings with potentially the rest of the literate world; especially not with the illiterate world as they just wouldn't understand.

So the purpose of this blog is so that I can have written down somewhere, what I get up to as I travel across America with my flatmate Duncan. Planning, organising and then taking part in a 2-3 month travelling expedition across America is of course the next logical step for a 26-year old with 2 undergraduate university degrees and in the middle of a Masters course.
I'm sure it will be a great adventure which, upon ending, will signal the start of the real world to differing extents for us both.

Perhaps you're thinking that 2 undergraduate degrees and a Masters are not too excessive, but when you realise I've spent almost 9 years at university in Aberdeen and that they are in Geography, Sports and Exercise Science, and now Human Nutrition, you may start to realise that I've no clear career direction in mind.

I've had 3 visits to America before, and each time I have been staying with friends and families and experiencing family life American style. I have always defended America from over here in Scotland. I find Americans warm and friendly, happy-to-help kind of people and I am looking forward to seeing whether a whistle-stop tour of non-family life across the states renders me more of a fan of America's people or America's places.

I'll keep you updated on our thoughts, our planning, and our proposed route as and when we finally get round to finalising.