Thursday, May 20, 2010

On-The-Road Reading, sans Kerouac

I've temporarily set aside the great gear dilemma in order to focus on more important issues, namely what reading material I'll take along with me. (Yes, quality books are more important to me than itinerary planning-after all, a good read can help you survive anything).

Anyone who knows me, even if they just talk with me for five minutes in the dentists' waiting room, knows that I don't go anywhere without a book. Naturally, there's no way I could travel for 6 weeks book-less. I wish I was incredibly well-off and could purchase myself a Kindle. But I'm not and I can't, so I'll have to settle for actual ink-and-paper tomes. I want to learn about the history and culture of some of the places I'm visiting, delve into a classic or two (maybe on audio book for the long drives), read a spiritual/theological book or two, and of course indulge in some funny chick lit. My picks so far (feel free to suggest others):

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown & Hampton Sides
Undaunted Courage: Merriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson & The Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose
Travels in Alaska by John Muir
Two in the Far North by Margaret Murie
A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska: The Story of Hannah Breece by Hannah Breece
Travels With Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
You May All Prophesy by Steve Thompson
Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad by Paul David Tripp
Who Do I Lean On? by Neta Jackson
Driftwood Lane: A Nantucket Love Story by Denise Hunter
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

This seems like a pretty ambitious list for a six-week vacation, even to me, especially when you consider that I'll probably have only one or two hours a day of reading time. Maybe I'll get started a little early (although I do confess that I have an entirely different list in store for my Caribbean cruise).

Friday, May 14, 2010

Planning

I'm not sure when I became quite such a conscientious planner. Lord knows I wasn't as a teenager. But here I am, again, meticulously planning every detail of what will (hopefully) be another amazing road trip. I now know more about tent poles & fabric manufacturing than I ever thought I would need to, and I'm still not sure what kind of tent I want to get. Aluminum vs. fiberglass poles seems to be the biggest conundrum for now, but center height and rain-fly coverage are emerging as critical issues, too. And don't even get me started on cooking equipment! Stove or grill? Tow burners or three? What kind of fuel? What capacity cooler? What's the best plug-in brand (because I have NO intentions of messing with ice)?


And that's just the boring stuff. The itinerary planning is such a massive undertaking, considering that I'll be spending 41 days on the road and visiting 16 states, 5 provinces, 1 territory & countless amazing sights. Which way to go? What to see? What to leave out? Despite it's time consuming-nature, it's a task I totally enjoy. In fact, I wish I could do it for a living (or at least a profitable side business).


So stay tuned over the next few weeks as I finalize my itinerary & begin to post some pictures; even though you won't be with me, you can still enjoy-and comment on-my adventure vicariously.