Fun was no longer waiting at my doorstep and I quickly learned that I needed to create it for myself. I needed something to look forward to, but was seeking more than another trip to Acapulco or a 7 Day cruise through the Caribbean. I wanted to do something different, adventurous, and potentially life changing. I remember looking down at 3rd avenue around 8pm from my office window one night. I watched hundreds of headlights heading uptown. It was a cool view so I took a picture. They were all going somewhere and it sparked an idea...
So I made myself a promise. I will Drive Across the United States of America. (Before the Age of 50)... I like to set attainable goals...
After a solid 2 years of planning & waiting... it will finally happen as Joe Costanza (My Cousin) & Vincent Cocito (myself) will be departing Hoboken NJ on April 25th for a 20+ day road trip across America, lodging only in campgrounds with an emphasis on visiting National Parks & US Ghosts Towns. Yes, Ghost Towns.
I can't speak for Joe, but my purpose is to simply get away, see new things, meet new people, and experience new adventures. Hoboken/NYC is a fun place to live, but how many times am I going to spend $145 on a Saturday night and pretend like it was worth it? Probably many more... but not between the dates of April 25th & May 18th.
My goal in the blog is to simply share stories & my interpretation of experiences along the way. I have no idea how frequently I will post new updates (Not good with the whole commitment thing) but I promise to post when I think I have something worth saying.
Joe and I depart Monday April 25th around 4:00am. First Stop: Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Cades Cove)...
Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
Vin
I am excited and happy for you that this journey has finally come..!Don't know about anyone else but for me, I'm def. can't wait to read about your story in whichever "Ghost Town" you will come across!
ReplyDeleteSafe trip and blog often! =D
Vin! hope you have a great time! have a safe trip and bring some weird things back to the office... and take a ton of photos/video! can't wait to read up on it... and im watching the TED video as we speak :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I'll be checking in frequently! Have a fantastic time!
ReplyDelete1st of all, there is nothing wrong with going bak to acapulco for 7 days.. haha just saying.. and def interested in some ghost town stories, those ppl are crreeeee-peeeee.. just make sure to turn the flash off ur cam when takin a pic or ur 22day trip may be just a little longer.. sorry, one too many house of thousand corpse type movies.. actually, watch it before visiting so ur sharp n kno what can happen if u visit a creepy house cuz ur tire was blown out
ReplyDeleteHi Vincent and Joseph, Hope you have a wonderful and safe trip, love you guys!
ReplyDeleteyour mom and auntie am LOL!!!
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ReplyDeleteHi Vin, Have a fun safe trip. From De
ReplyDeleteHello Vin and Joe!
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed your blogging Vin and Joe's gorgeous photography. I'm glad you were able to break free for a few weeks and take in so much of the country, marvelous idea! And thank you for inspiring me to check up on that infamous, stagnant, workish "Camen" blog of mine I mentioned so I can comment on your exciting cool one.
(Side note: Never found my runaway ID. Turned right around after you saw me and walked back up to Nevada Falls and never spotted it. While those vertical stairs become infinitely steeper and my legs quite shaky the second time, I can have no complaints about the universe presenting me with another opportunity to be beneath those falls twice in one day. Oh yes, and I saw a bear in a meadow in the valley close to evening. Sorry I misdirected you to look towards your bottle of peanut butter and sunblock.)
(Haha :-) I have to post my comment to you in sections; world's longest blog response ever...)
I'm really happy you're soul searching your way through the USA. Your post about the moment you decided to take your journey made me think of my own "aha" moment. (Because as you know, I am scheming my own great adventure as we speak). The moment happened for me after I picked up a collection of Walt Whitman poems in college that was sitting dusty on my shelf; a book I bought years ago, tried to read, but couldn't never really get into it. One day I was feeling a bit idle and decided to scan it over again. The first page I happened to flip to mid-book was Walt Whitman's goodbye to life and writing poem, and I literally went from a pleasant lazy-Sunday type of nonchalance to weeping quicker it seemed than you could pass a hot potato. It was like a head on collision of language, one of the strangest and most marvelous occurances of my life. After that poem I was in total rapture, gobbling up each word in joy and peace. One of the next songs I read was, "On Journeys through the States," what has become one of my favorites, and the idea to travel across the country someday hooked me like a fish, or hit me like an apple, or whatever metaphor you want to use. I thought I'd share it below, as you may appreciate it too, especially now.
ReplyDelete(Side note again: Did you know Walt Whitman was a native of New York? A gruffy guy in many ways that loved everything, wrote poems about everything, and loved watching people in the city as much as trekking the wild, wide open road and countryside.)
"On journeys through the States we start,
(Ay through the world, urged by these songs,
Sailing henceforth to every land, to every sea,)
We willing learners of all, teachers of all, and lovers of all.
We have watch'd the seasons dispensing themselves and passing on,
And have said, Why should not a man or woman do as much as the seasons, and effuse as much?
We dwell a while in every city and town,
We pass through Kanada, the North-east, the vast valley of the Mississippi, and the Southern States,
We confer on equal terms with each of the States,
We make trial of ourselves and invite men and women to hear,
We say to ourselves, Remember, fear not, be candid, promulge the body and the soul,
Dwell a while and pass on, be copious, temperate, chaste, magnetic,
And what you effuse may then return as the seasons return,
And may be just as much as the seasons."
I wish you the best of luck and safe travels, and I look forward to reading up on the Yosemite chapter! If you ever come back here, promise you will venture into Tuolumne Meadows in the summer, find something you love off a trail, swim in the Tuolumne River and doze off on some hot stone. And be up on Glacier Point, atop the world like the birds and see the infinite heaven of white domes that disappears into the horizon like the ocean. I wish the roads to both were open to you when you were here. It is a whole other dynamic of Yosemite, and a place the soul can pine and soar for the best of things.
Take care and may you escape the clutches and prisons of "work" for a life of many more adventures to come.
Most sincerely,
Carmen from California