Antietam/this week
Not a single filter has been applied to any of these photos.
Country road, take me home, to the place I belong.
I did not grow up listening to country music. In fact, my parents both did not like country music, and that is putting it politely. I don't know why I like country music against the odds; it is something that is all mine.
Sure, I have lived and traveled around this country and have seen sea to shining sea, but if it comes to the options of a sunny beach vacation or a mountain retreat, I'll be coming around the mountain when I come. The vast spaces, the earth sounds of a forest, the sound of wind moving through ancient, historic, or untouched parts of the land, and the musical instruments that echo these sentiments all feel like home to me.
When I start feeling stir crazy, and/or the hustle and bustle all becomes too much for me, I find myself fleeing to vast spaces, Dolly Parton and friends blasting. There's something about the experience of a long drive on an open road surrounded by vastness that heals me. And Dolly certainly grew up with these same teachers of music and sound.
New Paltz, NY/October '18
Perhaps it is the type of company I keep, but I find that most of the people I know have some sort of desire to travel. Wanderlust has been my constant companion, but sometimes I think it is more than that. In fact, earlier this week I wasn't feeling well at work and the people who sit around me were all chatting the afternoon away, so I finished my work and left a little early and headed to the open road for some consolation. On this drive is when I started thinking about all of this.
Stonington, CT/Thanksgiving '18
As you probably know if you follow me on social media, I am often taking small trips all around. This winter, I've been to Connecticut, San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, and Los Angeles. It can oftentimes feel hectic with one thing right after the other; the days are long and the months are short.
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO/December '18
It happens every year, and you'd think that I'd see it coming and find a way to stop the train before it reaches the station.
Oatman, AZ/December '18
But I don't stop the train in time, and then I find myself pounding on the door of an unlocked cage. It won't be long until I find myself driving on 70-West waiting for The Road and The Mountains and Dolly Parton to tell me where the car is headed.
North East, MD/late summer '18
It helps me to think of what a gift waking up in the morning is. Some people never leave their house and are perfectly content; some people never leave their house because they can't.
The things I have seen with my own eyeballs in my not-exactly-short life so far are things some people can only dream of. Even the mundane days of driving to work (45 minutes on 695 each way), or the days working at the cat shelter or one of my many other volunteer jobs, these days are all gifts.
San Diego, CA/November '18
Sometimes I lose focus of the grand picture, and upon realizing this, I will find myself marching to my car to find a vast space upon which to set my gaze.
To be perfectly honest, I think my subconscious is the one grabbing the keys and marching me to the car, knowing that there is a lesson that needs to be learned and that I subconsciously know where to find it, in the absence of actual travel.
Glen Burnie, MD/this week
I spend most of my days/months/years feeling lost for some reason, and sometimes it takes wandering off to get found again. It doesn't help the blues, but it does help me get my perspective back in place.
Let's do a road trip with this blasting, y'all:
It is Yes and Amen.
Send me funny memes please thanks.
