Even though, it was at times, tiring, trying, or inconvenient, I do not regret deciding to drive cross country over flying. I knew that this was a rare opportunity to see so many things I had never seen before and it may just have been a now or never situation. I like to keep the coulda, shoulda, wouldas to a minimum, so really, it wasn't much of a decision to make so much as a plan to make.
One of my primary concerns was how my cats would handle the trip. They were the biggest reason why I almost didn't drive. I thought of all the worse case scenarios and planned accordingly. But you know what? They were great. There were no accidents and no real incidents. They slept most of the time they were in the car and put up with being in their carriers for hours on end. If I didn't already spoil them, I would spoil them incessantly for being so good.
I think one of the best decisions I made in planning the trip was inviting Jess to come with me. Jess and I were college roommates, so we know that we can share a small space together without going crazy or hating each other. She's a good driver, a great traveler, a cat lover, and we have similar interests. All of these things made the trip very smooth. We also hadn't seen each other in awhile, so we had plenty to talk about and catch up on. She was awesome (especially considering her bout of food poisoning) and I'm so glad we got to share the experience together.
I'm really glad that Jess and I didn't overload our schedule with a lot of stops. We missed seeing a few sights we would have liked to see, but doing so allowed us to keep our sanity and or health in tact. It's impossible to see everything the United States has to offer in nine days, but I like to think we did a bang up job since everything we did see was amazing. I lost track of how many times I exclaimed, "Oh my god" and "wow" and "holy shit" and "you're kidding me." My mind was blown almost everyday. It was an intense nine days.
Driving across the country was one of my many lofty plans for things to do one day. I didn't really think it was ever going to happen and I certainly didn't think it was going to happen when it did. But so many things that I did over the last couple of years culminated in me being able to do this trip: working in libraries, deciding to get my masters, earning my masters, moving to my dad's, applying for the job in California, kicking ass in the interview, saving money. I was planting the seeds and I didn't even know it.
Life is awesome, you guys. Take advantage of opportunities while they're in front of you, especially if they will take you somewhere new.
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