Planning of a Cross-Country Roadtrip

Having walked through graduation from Syracuse University in May of 2001 with a few courses to finish later that year, I spent the next few weeks farting around Syracuse, went to Boston for a weekend to see my friends James, Matty and Brad for the Yanks/Sox game at Fenway. For my first game at Fenway, it was a great time, with requisite heckling of me, the Yankee fan. After a drunken adventure through Boston heading up to Chris’ place in Brookline, I headed back to Syracuse so I could start amassing what I needed for the upcoming trip around the country.

             I had planned this trip deciding to go from Albany -> Orlando -> Mobile, AL -> Grand Canyon -> LA -> Las Vegas -> Yellowstone -> Mount Rushmore -> St. Louis -> Chicago -> Cincinnati -> D.C. -> Long Island -> Albany. It would encompass more than a majority of the country and gave me weeks to roam the country with no set deadline to be anywhere unless I chose to impose a timeline on myself. However, days after I had drawn up a map of where I would travel, Trey Anastasio from Phish announced a 20 date cross-country tour that mirrored the west->east part of my trip if I were to dip south a little on the return trip. So goodbye Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore, hello Vegas, North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Colorado! Although I still haven’t made it to the missed locations, it was well worth it and provided me with a reason to be on the road which ultimately was better for me. Without any sort of timeline for my adventure, I could have wandered and gotten complacent. Following a tour meant I had to be on the ball and focused and get from show to show, regardless of the events that might transpire in between. It gave a needed purpose to the trip.