Day 1: Saturday, July 21

Katharine and I pulled away from my friend’s Becca and Phil’s house around 9:30 from a small group of my good friends. I have no pictures of any of this goodbye because I was totally overwhelmed—by the enormity of what was about to take place and knowing that I was driving away from an incredibly loving community represented by my friends standing there. This moment was the culmination of weeks of seeing people from all parts of my life, reminiscing and enjoying time together. It has been intense but it was an important process for me. I have many vivid memories from these last few weeks and I will carry them with me to California.

So, after my tearful goodbye, Katharine and I made a brief stop to pick up my plants and return my keys at my apartment and we were off.

We decided to capture the end of the first mile—which was on Galen Street in Watertown—before hitting the Mass Turnpike. The beginning of a major road trip is sort of surreal. You are just headed out on a familiar highway as though you were on a jaunt to the other side of town. As you go farther, it seems just like a longer trip, maybe to visit a friend in a neighboring state or to go away for the weekend. It doesn’t really set in at first that the destination is actually 3,000 miles away.

So, Katharine and I went through Connecticut on 84 then got on 91 to head in to New York. We stopped at a delightful little restaurant called Gaetano’s in Carmel NY where we discovered this fascinating dish (look at the piece in the back.)

That’s right: pasta pizza. Why exactly hasn’t that made it into the Pizza Hut menu so that more American’s can eat carbs on carbs? Really people, this is the answer to our national dietary shortage of white flour.

From lunch we drove straight through Pennsylvania passing our original stopping point of Harrisburg and continuing to the tiny town of Hagerstown, Maryland where we spent the night. There we discovered the joys of Motel 6, which is stripped of the frivolities but has everything you really need. Katharine took a swim and I read Harry Potter book 6 (because I am not quite ready to start the last one).

Although this brings us to the end of Day 1 I realize that I have neglected to mention an important force driving (ha) our decisions during the trip. Katharine and I decided that we are making a pact not to eat at any fast food chain restaurants. Shortly after making this pact, however, I came up with an exception. Regional chains are exempt. However, Katharine chose to amend my exception with a limit of 2 meals each of the regional variety. I am not totally convinced that we will stick to this limit but I like the idea of it. I already know my exceptions: Chick-fil-A, a favorite from growing up and my beloved Waffle House. And for those of you who scoff at Waffle House, I will give a full exposition of why I love it when we go. So get ready.