Skip to main content

The Open Road


The Open Road. Three words that sum up the freedom, the promise, and potentially the risk, of the North American experience. I've waited far too long as it is, and so I will go, to see the things I've always wanted to see, and to live this continent from the outside-in. This will be the chronicle of my travels.

Things you need to know:

1) I'm Anthony and I'm Canadian. And the great majority of this trip will be in the United States, so I'll be playing the part of the outsider while I'm there. That being said I have a great affection for America and Americans, so hopefully I can make some friends along the way.

2) Dave is my travelling partner in those whole escapade. He's a 2006 Dodge Charger (and no he doesn't have a HEMI - and please don't mention it - he's sensitive). We've spent years together driving back and forth to work and doing all the workaday things a man and his car do. We both figured it was time for a little adventure.

3) I'm doing this because I can. I am in the frightening and, some might say enviable, position of having no job, no responsibilities and (a little) money in the bank. My money reserves have been slowly lowering over the past few months so that getting a part-time job (at the very least) has become inevitable. If I'm going to run out of money, I might as well do it in style.

4) After leaving Toronto, I'll be heading down the east coast of the United States, starting in New York. I would've started in Boston, but I used to live there, so that's out. I want all new experiences for this trip. After New York, it's DC, and then slowly on down the 95 to Florida. This is not a race, I'll stop anywhere I feel like if I think it'll be interesting. After Key West, we'll see where I'm at financially, and if I want to chance it, I'll head out west and kick around California for a bit.

5) I'm taking the laptop with me, but my internet may be sporadic, and thus, so may my posts. I will do my damnedest to keep this thing updated though. I intend this thing to be a permanent testament to the trip, and I plan to treat it that way.

That's it for the first post. There may be a couple more preparation posts before I actually hit the road.

As a standing statement, if anybody at any part of this journey thinks there's something I ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE, then by all means, please let me know.


*image is GIS for Open Road. Off lauriegough.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the Shadow of Honest Abe

The first thing you notice about Washington is that it's short.   None of the buildings are over 12 stories max -- something to do with making sure the Capitol Building isn't overshadowed.   Coming out of New York it certainly has a different vibe, giving a small city feel to what's a pretty big city. It rained all day today, but I was determined to get some shots of the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.   Mission accomplished.  Still, the way the rain was falling the front of my shirt was soaked through by the time I got to ol' Abe.  The Lincoln Memorial was,  for me, the real object of the trip.   Even in a cold wet spring day, the sight of the greatest American President carved out of several tons of white marble perched on his chair and literally larger than life still gives one the feeling of being in the presence of greatness.  His words etched on each side of the memorial are still as eloquent as the day he spoke them.   After I got

Florida in the Key of West

Yesterday was not a pleasant day.   10 hours of driving only to end up at the Best Western in Jacksonville, just so I could stand around waiting for my laundry to finish because the hotel in Key West that I'm staying in for 4 nights had no laundry mentioned on their website.   So it's 10:30 at night and I'm sweating on the second floor between the world's loudest dryer and the local ice machine for an hour.  And that's following 30 minutes of washing.   I even had to hang dry some stuff because even after an hour it still wasn't dry yet. It's times like that that make me question whether or not this trip was even a good idea.  It usually happens in the waking moments before sleep when I'm lying in my rented bed in the middle of a town where I know no one.  Why am I here?  Am I learning anything?  Is this just a giant waste of time and money? And then there's times like the Wendy's.   I got in too late in Jacksonville and the hotel was far enough

A long time coming but I'm finally here

So I made it to New York. That's the long story made short. Here's the story at longer length: I got out of the house and on the road about an hour later than I expected to, but judging by all the maps I was looking at I would still be able to make it within a reasonable amount of time. The thing about trips though is you always forget something. I knew that once it was too late I would realize I forgot something that I absolutely needed. That's just the way it goes. I was dreading the border most of all, it would have really sucked to have to go through a hassle just cause some border guard is having a bad day. As I was approaching the Queenston/Lewiston crossing I picked a spot with two cars in front of me. The first car got the point. As in please park over there sir so we can ransack your car . The second car also got the point, and now I'm thinking is this the designated point guy for the day?! Am I gonna cavity-searched cause it was his turn to search everybody?