Taking the road less traveled


As much as I looked forward to getting my own car as a teenager, I have to admit that driving was mostly very dull for me. 

As a kid, I'd imagined that a car would help me escape the dull world, and be able to escape to a world of adventure. Sadly, what I found over the years is that it rarely took me anywhere. By the time I learned to drive, super fast and safe freeways had been built, and the idea was to get from one place to another as quickly as possible. All of the conversations that I had with people about traveling was about how quickly it was over, and driving, like flying, just turned into leaving one place and arriving in another place that was virtually the same.

So I never traveled much, at least not in the way that most people did. I took the road less traveled, and I still do. Nowadays I call it "history adventuring", but that's really just my excuse to go hit the road, stop at a lot of places, and breathe it all in.

Now don't get me wrong, I like safety and comfort as much as anyone, and I realize that in 1934 if I broke down on this lonely road it would be awful. I'd be lucky to be able to catch a ride into town, and there was always the chance that some unscrupulous repair shop would realize that I was from out of town, and would cheat me. And it's really kinda true nowadays - the road less traveled has its hazards.

You really are much safer, and wiser, to take the freeways, keep your windows rolled up and your doors locked. I used to drive back and forth between Phoenix and LA, and I was glad to have cruise control, and be able to listen to an audiobook on the way. I owned reliable cars, and I always had some type of road side assistance program, and I was assured by the people traveling with me that if I got in trouble, someone would help me.

But whenever I could, I would exit the straight and narrow and seek out the road less traveled. I can feel my blood-pressure drop just thinking about it this morning.

Image from the Duke University Library Digital Collections.
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