It took me 3 days to drive my Laguna Hills, California to Damascus, Maryland. It might not have been the most adventurous trip but I did it.
I have two regrets on this trip (aside from the obvious not having more time to take my time and do more awesome things). The first is doing it alone. One goes crazy in a car by themselves for that long. I think I cried at one point. I'm not sure. I do know that making the 20 hour trip from Tulsa back to Maryland, at around 1 in the morning I found a pop music station that didn't play commercials and yes, listening to Katy Perry became acceptable at that point in my trip. Friends don't let friends drive across the country by their lonesome.
My second regret is not having enough music.
Here is where all my Cali friends turn against me. I didn't think I-N-Out Burger was all that great... It was good but the hype machine failed me. The fries were ok, the burger was tasty but nothing mind blowing, and the chocolate shake was one of the worst shakes I've had in a while. Glad I tried it but something didn't click with me. I was expecting more...
"God must be a painter. Why else would we have so many colors?" That line from A Beautiful Mind ran through my head as I traveled through the desert. I also understand why Donald Miller called his book "Through Painted Deserts." Driving through the Mojave Desert and into Arizona and New Mexico, I was just in awe of how beautiful the desert was. Coming into New Mexico on Wednesday morning with the sun coming up over the hills and the clouds resting right on top on these beautiful purple and red hills... Its the kind of sight that makes you just wanted to worship God for his creation. Amazing.
Sadly the middle of America is just as boring as I remember. Once you get to Texas, its flat dusty plains. Not that exciting.
One thing that did make me sad was while driving through New Mexico. Basically every exit in New Mexico is a giant tourist stop to by Native American jewelry, clothes, whatever. And it made me sad. All this rich culture reduced to tourist bullshit… It was frustrating for me.
I did find my favorite radio station, Radio U, was being broadcast in Oklahoma City. That was an awesome surprise.
Some good Christian rock stations all throughout the country, yet DC has none…
My intent was to buy blank cds and create a bunch of killer road trip mix tapes to jam to while I crossed the country. Due to the trip being slightly up in the air for a moment (and mostly my own general laziness) this didn’t happen, so I quickly through together some cds to listen to. I didn’t grab any metal/hardcore or hip-hop. Major fail on my part.
My playlist for the trip:
The Arcade Fire – Funeral
Audio Adrenaline – Until My Heart Caves In
Audio Adrenaline – Worldwide
Caspian – Tertia
Jeremy Enigk – Ok Bear
Jeremy Enigk – Return of the Frog Queen
MxPx – Favorites Mix
P.O.D. – Favorites Mix
Thrice – Beggars
The Make – This Box
The Hawk in Paris – His + Hers
Crosses – EP
Dashboard Confessional – Dusk and Summer
Jimmy Eat World – Futures
mewithoutYou – Catch For Us the Foxes
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