We weren't stupid enough to try to get it done without stopping, so in reality we were on the road for about 41 hours including an overnight stop in Amarillo, TX. In hindsight, the drive was pretty rough... but only in hindsight. During the trip, I was perfectly content to look out the windshield and watch the tree-covered, rolling hills of Georgia melt away. First came the faded grasses on the prairies of Arkansas and Oklahoma, then the windmill-dotted plains of Texas, the striking red mesas and deep canyons of New Mexico that eventually grew into snow-capped mountains and thick evergreen forests in Northern Arizona, and finally dropped and flattened into the nearly barren desert of Nevada.
While I watched the landscape slowly transform, I was more relaxed than I've been in months. There's just something so simple about a road trip. Committing to traveling along one road (in our case) for 2 whole days makes every other care fade away. Our only obligation for 48 hours was to drive from point A to point B. If we had really felt like it, we could've turned off our phones and ignored everything but road signs and gas stations. I didn't think about the bills I had to pay in a week, the laundry I'd left behind, the rough nights I'd had at work... and if we're being perfectly honest I didn't think much about my health either (greasy fast food, lots of cigarettes, waaaaaay too much caffeine). I just rode or drove along and chilled the hell out. My brother and I shared music and standup comedy, we told stories, we talked about everything from the past to the future, we laughed at things only we would laugh at, we just existed in that tiny little space together for 2 days. I would say we got to know each other, but he already knows me better than anyone on the planet and vice versa. Driving with him made the whole thing a helluva lot more enjoyable.
My point (WHOA! One of my blog posts has a point?!!?!) is don't underestimate the power of a good road trip. I found the experience to be cathartic and refreshing. My head can't wait for the next one, but my butt and legs definitely can.
