Monday, July 21, 2014

A Man Travels the World Over...


We recently took a trip across 4 states. Not a whole lot maybe in comparison to some, maybe but a whole lot to a recovering recluse.

I'm originally from California and like a true Californian, I would make fun of anyone that was from anywhere else! So when we left the busy, beautiful, judgmental (don't be offended; you know it's true) California for Small Town, Idaho I had a bit of a culture shock. I'll spare you the details (for now) but visiting the place that I know so intimately was not exactly how I thought it would be...

Before moving to Idaho I would have considered myself a good, normal driver. After moving here, however, I found that I am an aggressive, and overbearing driver! This became even more apparent when visiting California after only a 9 month absence.

This is how I felt about my time in California:
I DEFINITELY felt like Buddy the Elf coming from a happy-go-lucky, smile-loving village visiting a run-you-over, demolition derby, give-you-the-bird, angry-because-it's-over-100-degrees-outside city!


We drove through Nevada to get there, but driving through Nevada means going as fast as you can without getting caught because it's hot and boring and you don't want to fall asleep at the wheel and taking a nap at a rest stop is out of the question. To make the trip home more interesting, we drove through the bottom part of Oregon. I remember Oregon being beautiful and full of friendly memories. And whenever we travel anywhere I always imagine what it would be like to live there...to see how it feels and if I could do it. Ordinarily I would have given an emphatic YES to living in Oregon but this jaunt through the South East part was less inviting, to say the least. Don't get me wrong! Oregon is a great place, just not the place for me.

Coming across that Idaho state border was definitely a welcomed sight!

Could my judgement be skewed because I don't like leaving home and would rather do a Stay-cation rather than go out of my Small Town, USA? Maybe. But I have a cute artsy craft thing I painted long ago that states, "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." (George A. Moore) Well, I found "it": Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!