Week 2

I was hitchhiking around California last week and got a ride with two men, fairly young, who seemed completely manic. I couldn’t tell if they were drunk or not – honestly, the road was empty, and I was so happy to have a ride that I didn’t really care. They were just rambling on and on, and I slept for most of the trip, but once I woke up I chatted with one of them about America. He’s from the East Coast and I think those guys just have a different view of the world. He was talking about California like it was some kind of holy land, like the end of the continent. I think we in the west don’t really romanticize it in the same way. I love the west, of course – but I don’t see it as more pure, or anything like that.

We agreed on one thing, though. Jack (the one from back east) was talking about how being on the road made him feel connected to everything. He was saying how he felt like, when he traveled, he became part of something bigger – like he became a little part of everyone who lives today, and everyone who came before us. I hadn’t put it in words before, but that’s one of the things I love about being on the road, too. It feels like everything is connected and we get to be part of it. I don’t know what it is about traveling that makes me feel part of something so big and important, but I love that feeling.