The road is calling!

OH MY GOODNESS, I am jonesing for a road trip. Not just a day's drive in the country around my hometown - I mean one of those long trips that cross several state lines; stopping at truck stops at 3 a.m.; sleeping in a motel, tent or the car; listening to the same CD 25 times with the window down so I can't hear it anyway; stopping in small towns to watch 20 minutes of a baseball game; the food, the traffic, the sun. I need that right now. I crave it.

Funny thing is, when I had a bunch of "time off" (read: unemployment), I didn't have the resources to make a trip like that happen. Even if I did, the weather was crappy most of the time. Not to mention that I needed to be ready to report to work or an interview in short order. And now that I'm back to full-time (if still temp) work, and the weather's slowly getting better, I'm sitting here wishing I had a week off.

Last year's trip was a great one. I flew into Kansas City to meet my friend Aron, who was transporting a huge load of family belongings from Chicago to Portland. He basically needed a second driver, as well as a traveling companion in lieu of his then-pregnant wife, Yvonne. The drive took place over the 4th of July weekend, and it was HOT most of the time. We drove a heavily-burdened vehicle that was in constant overheat (as well as constant uphill - the whole state of Kansas is one solid upgrade) so that meant driving 45 mph WITH THE HEAT ON.

But you know what? That was the only real misery of the trip. There were so many good parts of the trip that completely overshadowed the negative. We watched DVDs on a laptop (yes, while driving...I know it's unsafe). We saw the most spectacular fireworks show ever - because it was trumped by the symphony of lightning in every direction. We felt the cool Kansas breeze at 11:00 pm while munching on beef jerky at a lonely gas station. We saw the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, both uphill and downhill. I got to meet a cartoonist friend in Boise whom I'd only spoken with online, and share quesadillas at the House of Hexagon at 1 am. We saw the sweeping splendor of northeastern Oregon from the top of Cabbage Hill, and felt the thrill as the freeway joined the mighty Columbia River. And we visited my mom in The Dalles and enjoyed the conversation.

That's the good stuff. That's what I want to do again. I just don't know when I'll get the chance now.