My EPIC road trip began in Yachats, Oregon on Monday December 20, 2021 and lasted until Saturday February 26, 2022. A total of 69 days (one day shy of ten weeks). I drove down the pacific coast to Pismo Beach and then across the southwest on I-10 all the way to Pensacola, Florida. Then over to Jacksonville down to Key West back up the Atlantic Coast to Boston and over to Vermont and New Hampshire before returning the back down the coast to Florida again and across the country on I-10 and I-8. In the end I drove a total of 12,971 miles in my Subaru Forester with my dog Jerry as faithful companion. I stopped in Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. A total of 22 states including 8 Red States (that had voted for Trump in the 2020 election).
Along the way I visited with friends and cousins and professional colleagues that I knew 40 and 50 years ago and asked them all similar questions about what they had learned in their lives, what they thought came next after this life. I stopped in dog parks in every state and actually talked with Trump supporters and listened rather than argued. It was FASCINATING.
I said goodbye to old friends and relatives that I likely will not see again, and I spent time in places that had been important at earlier stages of my life, I visited beaches and beautiful scenery and I enjoyed the culture of New Orleans.
Some of it I shared on Facebook, some I shared on this blog and some parts I am still processing. Trying to synthesize the experience into something to share both as an experience and a perspective on America in the year 2022. For those of you who have enjoyed my posts and especially those who I talked to from the road I thank you .
I am home on the Oregon Coast. Enjoying the views and the beach with Jerry and working again.
I am curious what comes next.