what happened
Although I originally planned on driving from Connecticut to California in one month, the trip actually took me two months. I quickly realized that my plan to spend two nights per stop didn’t allow me enough time to explore, rest, or write. Particularly because one of those nights came after a travel day. That meant I really only had one free day per destination which is why I felt hurried. I slowed my trip significantly about half way through, but also…
trip, interrupted
I took an unexpected hiatus from my trip in October. I had always planned on flying back to Connecticut around that time for my cousin’s wedding but figured I would stay, at most, for a weekend. However, a few weeks before, when I was in New Mexico, I learned that my father was in poor health. The news threw me into turmoil and I didn’t know what to do.
I ended up staying in Connecticut for almost three weeks and do not regret the extra time I spent with my parents. My presence appeared to provide my father some comfort and I gave my mother a break by driving my dad to his various medical appointments and running errands for her. Still, racked with guilt, I considered cancelling the remainder of my trip and staying indefinitely. But that’s not what I wanted in my heart. Instead, I continued my journey west when my father’s health stabilized.
The map below does not reflect this interlude. I made a u-turn in New Mexico and drove to Texas to drop my car off at my aunt’s for safe keeping. I flew back and forth from San Antonio; all of this added considerably to my travel time.
the route
Most people who drive cross-country opt for either an efficient northern or southern route. I inefficiently zig-zagged my way across America so that I could see the sights I wanted to see and visit the friends I wanted to visit. It was fun!
lodging
I camped in or around national parks when possible and stayed in Airbnbs and hotels when it wasn’t. I opted to sleep in my car at the campgrounds because it was easier than setting up and breaking down my tent. With the back seats folded down, I slept on a mattress that extended almost the whole length of the car. It was cozy!
alone and not alone
I spent a good deal of time by myself by design. Potentially blowing up my life in pursuit of this goal put me in a reflective mood. It was a lot to process as the trip unfolded and reality set in. It was one thing for me to talk about chasing my dreams; it was an entirely different thing for me to actually do it.
Driving through miles of farmland naturally put me in a pensive mood. Sometimes I thought about cows because I saw so many of them. It occurred to me, for example, that we should all be eating 3-4 times more hamburgers a day than we currently are given the number of cows in the country. Mmmm….cows!
I also stopped to visit friends along the way, all of whom I had not seen in years. They welcomed me into their homes and showed me around which was great fun. Christina in New Orleans, Bart in St. Louis, Ellie in Chicago, and my godfather, Nicky, in Phoenix—thank you!
I’m also grateful that two good friends joined me for parts of the trip. Ravi flew from New York City and I picked him up in Iowa as I passed through the state. We had a blast exploring South Dakota and Wyoming during the week he was with me. Just hours after dropping Ravi off at the airport, I picked up Michel who flew in from Washington DC. He also stayed for a week and we traversed Utah and Colorado together.
I drove my EV across the country
This is not the remarkable feat that it was even five years ago. Electric vehicle owners of yore were hesitant to drive their cars far from home, giving rise to a new phobia dubbed “range anxiety” that has now entered the mainstream. Range anxiety refers to the fear that an EV won’t have enough battery to get you to your destination and back.
I met many people who were surprised that I was able to drive my car from Connecticut to wherever I happened to be speaking to them. They expressed a belief that there were not enough car chargers in the country to make the trip possible. I decided this must be the “misinformation” crisis I kept hearing about in the news. I recall one disbelieving fellow in Colorado who, with his arms folded tightly across his chest, grilled me about my trip and charging stops. He did not leave convinced but he also never came up with a better explanation for how I got my car to Colorado.
Owning an EV now is easier than it was in 2017 simply because there are more car chargers available. Tesla began building its own nationwide network of superchargers in 2012—five years before they manufactured their first mass market vehicle. These superchargers are located on major traffic corridors across America and that is how I was able to drive across the country.
I opted to sleep in my car because of a feature called Camp Mode that keeps the interior lights and climate controls functioning when the car is parked. So on hot nights I kept the air conditioning running and on cold nights I left the heat on. I told you it was cozy!
the writing part
This blog was not for you—sorry. Assuming you, the reader, even exist. I have no idea.
I started the blog as an exercise, so I could get used to putting myself out into the world creatively on a regular basis. Doing so was deeply uncomfortable and I often felt raw and insecure in the days that followed a post. It didn’t matter if anyone actually read my blog; the discomfort came from the act of expressing myself publicly. I eventually learned to tame my inner critic which was necessary for me to continue posting.
The thoughts I shared with you here are run-of-the-mill, Bryan thoughts. Welcome to my world! These are the types of observations and reflections that appear in my personal writing. For years now I’ve started each day with a stream-of-consciousness writing exercise called Morning Pages that I learned from the book The Artist’s Way. Every morning I sit at my laptop, set a 20-minute timer, and write until the alarm goes off. Sometimes I have seamless and brilliant thoughts; other times I have a page full of nonsensical word vomit with lousy grammar to boot. Both are fine!
The point of Morning Pages is to forge discipline, not just for writing, but for life. It is also a powerful tool for self-reflection because, as author Julia Cameron points out, the Morning Pages will not lie to you. My Morning Pages revealed to me how unhappy I was at my job and how much I longed to to make a living from creative pursuits that bring me joy. Morning Pages were the genesis of this adventure.
city of angels
I booked an Airbnb in Hollywood for one month to serve as my home base while I looked for a place to live. I arrived at the apartment, just outside of Runyon Canyon, on a Saturday afternoon. That night, I passed out around 7 p.m. and woke up around 9 a.m. the next morning. Everything caught up to me that night. The next two weeks were tough.