Life in the Slow Lane?

Getting out of the day-to-day routine that hadbeen a constant in our lives for the past 13 years was easy, but establishing a reasonable pace after having sprinted to the finish line to get outta Boone by September 3^rd has proven to be a bit more difficult.  Unfortunately, the world does not slow down even though you may want it to.  We were reminded of that every time we got behind the wheel in the northeastern U.S.  After driving in places like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, and New York, we have a few choice words for you people…slow the fuck down already!  Is 10 seconds of your time not worth the life of a stranger?  Where on Earth did these people learn how to drive?  Shari is convinced that most people took a crash course (pun intended) with the Wii School of Driving.  Just for the record, passing a 35-foot vehicle on the right on a single-lane highway on-ramp is not only illegal, it is highly unsafe.  And pulling out in front of a truck/camper going 50+ mph is flat out stupid.  Granted, our accident in Canada has certainly made us more sensitive to road safety overall, but neither of us had ever seen such aggressive, impatient, and mindless drivers. Keep in mind, Shari grew up near Los Angeles.  It was good to visit the northeast, but we will not miss the insane drivers.  Here’s another thing I guess I never knew that I appreciated about the south -- a little bit of sanity, courtesy and kindness, behind the wheel.  Sorry Notheast, love the politics, but not the pedal.  

Ok, enough ranting for the moment, but the next time someone is stalled on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway during rush hour traffic, consider helping them move their car off the road instead of just whizzing past them at 65 mph and honking.  Just sayin’….be HUMAN people!  Unlike the DC area locals, we helped push the car out of traffic and made sure the young lady had help on the way – gotta represent Watauga County where every car slows down and asks you if you need help. Remember, you could be that stalled car next time.   Lord knows we’ve had our fair share of help on this journey.

 

Time to regroup and give y’all a recap of our experiences over the past 3.5 months…

We’ve traveled over 7000 miles, through 17 US states and 3 Canadian provinces, including an international bus trip and an international flight, taken 5000+ pictures, launched an online photography business, survived a major car accident followed by the purchase of a new truck, visited with over 20 longtime friends and 8 family members, made 15+ new friends, completed our Peace Corps applications and attended a Peace Corps program at the national headquarters, explored multiple national/state parks, coastlines, islands, and mountains, celebrated at a friend’s wedding, attended a marriage equality rally, enjoyed the annual Hogwart’s Yule Ball at the Keplinger-Hanson household, attended 2 free live music/theatre events, eaten at 10 restaurants (mostly pizza), celebrated 2 Thanksgivings (North Bay, Canada & Orono, Maine), overcame 4 different cold viruses, enjoyed 2 acupuncture treatments, slept in the parking lot of multiple rest stops/Camp Wally’s (= free camping!), worked on a WWOOF farm, completed a sea kayak instructor re-certification, and have acquired 20+ more hours toward our NC Environmental Education Certification. 

As Shari’s mom likes to remind us, we “just don’t know how to do boring.”  While we never want to pass up a great opportunity, we have discovered that we do need to slow the pace down a bit.  Our favorite, most vivid memories are those places at which we’ve stayed for at least 1-2 weeks – getting to know the locals, the area, and the culture of a region is the best part of traveling.  Our 2013 resolution is to try life in the slow lane for awhile, moving with intention rather than determination.   As we head out west after the holidays, we hope to spend quality time in beautiful places and begin to really experience each moment of this expedition.