Day 48: Massachusetts

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Today I wanted another Covid Test before I went home. My appointment was at 10:00 in the next town over from Reading, so I took my time from Rhode Island. I stopped by Gillette Stadium and the State House in Boston before getting to my test.  My test was a molecular test, which is better than a rapid test and it only took an hour to get the results. Also, while they took my credit card information, they told me insurance usually covers. This is an improvement over August, when we went to the same brand of Urgent Care after our trip to Colorado and had to pay out of pocket. More encouraging signs that testing is getting better. Oh, and by the way, my test was negative.

Soon after I started this adventure, one of my friends in Minnesota told me that Travels with Charlie was one of her Dad’s favorite books. It had been probably 30 years since I read Travels, so I downloaded it on my E Reader to read again.

It struck me right away the connection I had with the book. Steinbeck wrote the book in 1960, the year I was born, he was also about my age when he did his trip. As he embarked on his trip in September, the nation was going through a Presidential election year, and the country was facing racial strife.  Steinbeck started his trip by going to Maine and then followed sort of the same route that I planned although he ended up only going to 34 states.

Where we differ is that towards the end of his trip, Steinbeck stopped in New Orleans and ended up being really disillusioned by the protests over school integration.  After New Orleans he just wanted to end his trip and rushed home. Steinbeck also talks about being lonely, even with Charlie in his camper.

For me there were 4 keys to my success:

1. Family. Michele and Amanda were very supportive of my trip. In Michele’s case I think she was just tired of hearing about it for so many years. She is my rock and offered encouragement and excitement about what I was doing every night when we would talk.
2.  Luck. I had unbelievably good weather, no traffic, and no car problems. I missed snowstorms in the West by 3 weeks, I dodged a hurricane, and was able to skirt one the worst fire seasons in US history.
3. Expectations. Unlike Steinbeck, who was in search of America, I had just planned a point to point task of getting to all 48 states in 48 days.  I had a few sights I wanted to see planned out, but most of the time I just figured out what I wanted to do the day before. I surprised myself about how much I was able to see. Like the tattoo I saw at the Route 66 museum: “It’s about the journey, not the destination” it served me well because I was content, even if the site I wanted to see was closed.
4. Attitude. My Mom’s saying “if you don’t have fun, it’s your own fault” was by guiding mantra, it got me out of bed every morning, and I never forgot that this was the trip of a lifetime.

We have an unbelievable country. I don’t think there is any other country in the world that has so much varied scenery From the Columbia River Gorge, to the Atlantic Coastline and everything in between. It’s nothing short of amazing. Everybody I met was nice and I just feel lucky to have been able to do this trip.

Finally, thanks to all of you for reading this blog, your notes of encouragement and just knowing you were reading helped fuel my drive.

Song of the Day: Who Says You Can’t Go Home Bon Jovi, Jennifer Nettles

No Pod Cast or Audio Book today, I have been making a playlist of all my songs of the day, so I listened to that

Total Miles for the trip, a little over 15,000