I am finally finishing my third trip driving across the U.S. in the past 6 months. This time from California to Florida, taking a northern route through Chicago and down the East Coast, a total of4736 miles. In this journey I avoided Interstate highways whenever possible, choosing the two lane roads connecting the thousands of small towns and burgs that are off the main roads in the back country. It was an opportunity to see a part of our country that exists away from the big population centers, and also to see how our country was reacting to the recent attacks against us. I came away from it confident in the common decency and strength that was found everywhere I traveled.
My trip began with travel through the canyon lands and national monuments of Utah. This is an unbelievably beautiful place that must be seen to be fully appreciated, for I don’t believe any artist or photographer could ever adequately capture the spirituality that exists in these ancient places. My first night I camped in the bottom of a canyon, next to a stream, and as beautiful as it was, I awoke to frost and 30 degrees in the early morning. That day I traversed the mountains heading south to my next destination, my old home state of Colorado. It was spent stopping countless times taking pictures and enjoying the colors created by the turning Aspens and Birch trees covering the mountains. This experience, as I would find out in a few days, would pale in comparison to what I would experience in the mountains of Colorado, driving from Durango north along the “Million Dollar” highway. This highway got it’s name when gold was discovered during it’s construction, and which ultimately covered the costs of building it.
Anytime I am back in Colorado I feel a deep kinship with the mountains and the state, having grown up and creating a family there. I have crossed over these mountains many times and have never grown tired of them. They rewarded me with spectacular views of color, and on every turn my breath was literally taken from me by another vista covered in splendid Fall colors. It was after driving almost 75 miles along a rough, dirt road, far in the back country that my truck broke down and wouldn’t start. I had stopped near Vail to make some calls to the Virgin Islands after I discovered I had cell phone coverage for the first time in several days. It was a lucky break for me, for it would have been a very long walk to help, for while in the backcountry I had just driven through, I had not seen one other car or person. It is the first time my truck has broke down in the 16 years I have owned it so feel very fortunate.
While in Colorado I visited my family’s old weekend home site next to the Colorado river in the town of Hot Sulfur Springs, located near the Rocky Mountain National Park. There have been changes, but not many since my last trip there. In Denver I visited the house I sold when I moved to California. This is the house my girls grew up in and I have many very fond memories of my life there. Recalling those memories, it became a very emotional experience for me. My first home that I bought and owned at age 20 has been completely transformed by a later owner. It originally was built in 1880, and was a great example of Victorian architecture. The only thing I can say is it is now very blue and stucco. I drove around the old neighborhoods, visiting my old schools and relived many of my past experiences growing up there. It is amazing how much smaller everything seems now. The hill my brothers and I sledded on is not nearly so formidable as it was in my childhood.
The landscape changed from rugged, mountain terrain to a flat, straight, long drive across Nebraska, where I stopped in the town I was born. Not much to be said about Iowa, or Illinois either. These states are beautiful, with their rolling hills and beautiful farmland, but not a place I could ever see myself spending much time in. I drove along the Great lakes before heading south through Ohio and into Pennsylvania. The landscape again changed to hill country with some of the most thickly forested country I have ever seen. The trees grow so densely, it was impossible to see but a few feet beyond their edge. It is here that our history starts to become more apparent. The homes are much older than we are used to in California, with many dating back to the early 1800’s. While in Pennsylvania I stopped at the Gettysburg Battleground Memorial site and walked over the fields where the great battle had taken place. I do not have the skill as a writer to describe the feeling of this experience. Many brave men fell in battle here with a ferocity that has few equals in our history as a nation. Some would argue the waste but none can dismiss their bravery or devotion to duty.
I decided to spend a few days in our nation’s capitol. While visiting this place for the first time I had the opportunity to drive past the Pentagon and see the still ongoing clean-up of the damage done by the terrorist attack. While walking along Pennsylvania Avenue, heading towards the National Gallery I got stuck in the middle of the peace rally. The police showed great restraint, and must be credited with keeping it from turning into a riot. The demonstrators tried everywhere they could to antagonize and get a reaction. This crowd was made up primarily of 60’s flower children who never grew up and 18 something’s, who obviously can’t understand how the rest of us, who don’t agree with their position, can be so stupid. As far as the city is concerned, I loved the mall but the rest of it, in a word, for the most part, sucked.
I followed the coast south, making stops at several historic landmarks, including Yorktown, where the British finally surrendered to General Washington. My schedule, as undefined as it was, still did not allow me to spend as much time seeing everything as I wanted, and I will be returning again, either by boat or RV. The Carolina and Georgia coasts are as beautiful a place as I have been. Savannah, is a city that can only be described as amazing. History surrounds you there and is a city filled with people who truly love where they live as have the generations of their ancestors before them and is definitely at the top of my list of places to revisit.
I am now back in Florida, at my daughter’s, and the weather has cooled off considerably from when I was last here. My time will be spent preparing and organizing the shipment of my things down to my boat in Tortola. I have electronics and equipment to buy that I need for the boat and will be shopping for them as well. I talked to the shipwright who is doing the needed work on my boat while she is in storage, waiting for the end of hurricane season, which is November 1st, as defined by my marine insurance carrier, and he thinks the work will be completed by then. According to the people I have talked to down there, things have really slowed down and they have had many cancellations due to the attacks in New York and Washington. I was originally going to crew on a yacht delivery from Charleston to Tortola, but because of the huge number of yacht charter cancellations the boats that were to be delivered are no longer needed. I guess this means I will have the place to myself, with un-crowded anchorage’s and plenty of available moorings. To all who have written me and not heard back, I will be answering each of your e-mails when time allows. I know this letter has been long, but nobody ever said I was short on words.
My best to you all,
Marv
