"Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see."--Henry David Thoreau
Although I sit in my parents' comfortable living room while I write this post, in a month my best friend Jesse and I will spend the summer traveling cross country with only a van to call home. We will soon embark on what will surely be one of the greatest adventures of our lives and pushing the limits of an early-90's Ford econono-line van with 275,000+ miles (which has been affectionately named Sven), we plan to drive across the country and explore what the west has to offer.
Jesse and I have had a long history of talking each into things. I believe the saying goes, "a friend will bail you out of jail, but a best friend will be beside you in the cell;" well our parents, and the local authorities, will confirm that we really took this proverb to heart. Jesse and I have been inseparable since middle school, and from the first time we peed in the road during a sleepover, to the time we stood in front of a Goochland County Judge for trespassing in a local quarry, we have remained close friends and eager for adventure.
We have no itinerary and no majority restrictive time table; our plan is to figure it out as we go along and discover what is worth doing. However, if we had to define a destination I suppose I would say the Rocky Mountains, so to quote John Muir, "the mountains are calling and I must go."
There are still hurdles between now and our early June departure, the most pressing possibly the fact that Sven currently lacks a transmission. Pshhh, details.... Luckily we have one working, and it is just a matter of instillation, but nevertheless, I think this will not be the last time we have to figure something out along the way.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading and please continue to check in as the summer progresses to see how we are doing. I look forward to your comments, and hope we can meet some of you along the way!
-Matt
