I always get a good laugh when people tell me that they have driven so far to be at an event. Now I understand that comparing a festival goers 7 hour drive to my epic crisscrossing of the American highway system is inherently unfair, its apples to oranges really but it doesn’t keep me from internally having a good chuckle.
In reality I automatically win any sort of distance competition because I leave from my home in Phuket Thailand every May to tackle the summer festival season head on. You start adding the mileage put on our van to the mix and its not even close. I mean who here has typed their destination into google maps and have been told it will take 1 day and 20 hours to reach your destination? Its quite disheartening when anything under 10 hours is considered a short little hop.
The open road with all of its twists and turns calls to many of us. Singing a siren song that promises adventures and freedom from the daily doldroms. Kerouac’s On The Road really set down the first guide posts for getting out onto the American highway and seeking adventure. It has become almost a right of passage in the modern day to take at least one road trip with your friends before entering what most consider a responsible life and taking on serious responsibilities. For some, the calling of the road is too strong to turn back.
Driving from one festival to another, with nothing more then the hum of the tires on the road and a few tunes on the radio to keep me company can be exhausting and even at times nauseatingly boring but in my dreams and throughout my life, it calls to me. The road calls out with her sweet promises and I must answer…..i always answer