Road to Realizations

• 2,683 miles driven
• 3 days on the road
• 9 states
• maximum driving altitude – 7,000 feet
• minimum driving altitude – 0 feet
• 4 Hours flight time returning from Portland to Indianapolis

Yesterday I returned from a week long trip to Portland, Oregon. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life.

It is no great feet; people surely make similar or greater treks routinely. But for me it was a chance to do what I’ve always loved to do: drive.

Along the way, I experienced a few unexpected things that will stay with me. I was able to watch the sun rise in one time zone and set in another, on three different days. While driving, I was able to look down at a C-130 dropping parachuters during a training mission. I drove through a day and a half of rain in Idaho, passed mounds of snow in Wyoming, drove through dust clouds in Oregon and tried to sleep during a tornado warning in Western Nebraksa.

I walked on the blue grass at Boise State University, passed near an oil refinery, and saw the mountains cleared by loggers.

I talked to countless people this past week that each helped fill me a with a desire to work for more. Work for more adventures, more interactions, and more enlightening moments.

I have always found people interesting, no matter who they are or how well I know them. The idea that everyone has a story to tell is something that I find great joy in. My job, and my hobby, is to learn these stories.

Interacting with others is how we grow. We swap stories at the restaurants and diners, the shops and sights. We learn about the local culture, and how it fits into the broad spectrum of this nation.

If we are traveling, we are able to interact with a wider variety of people, and learn just a small piece of their countless stories.

I was reminded quite vividly of something as equally as important as interaction, this trip reopened my eyes to the importance of getting out. We won’t always be able to jump in a car and drive 2,000 miles. But we can get up and learn about the people and places around us. We can go to a park and read, or ride a bike through crowded city streets. We can pause and talk to other people we see, and learn their story.

Memories are not made with two hands on a keyboard, or with one grasping a television remote. While the sedentary read about other lives lived on their monitors and screens, the world moves on.

 I regret the countless hours I have spent in front of a television screen, or online. But the past is the past, upon which we can choose to improve. 

I want to learn Arabic and German, how to play the harmonica, master my tennis serve, be a better journalist and finally finish this bike project. These are just some of my goals for the near future.

I am lucky to now have this story to share, and I hope I can learn of the stories of others every day.

 -Jay