The two primary inspirations for this trip are a hobbit and my father. The hobbit is Bilbo Baggins. He was a homebody (much like myself) who with a bit of prodding became a valiant adventurer. For him, it turned out he was actually an adventurer at heart although he didn't realize this until he went on his first adventure. I've been places before but I hesitate to classify any of my previous journeys as adventures; they were far too structured to use that term. One purpose of this trip is to see whether or not I too have deep within me buried the spirit of adventure.
The second inspiration for this trip is my father. He has been on winding, cross-country travels like this multiple times in the past and stirred in me a desire to see the vastness and beauty and idiosyncrasy of these United States. My father's ambitions are much grander than mine--he seeks to traverse the Himalayas, the Patagonia, Africa, really the entire globe. Perhaps one day I'll share this ambition. For now, however, I'm starting with destinations that are more economical and less exotic, but equally magnificent in my mind.
One final note pertains to the title of this blog: Lunar Dispatches. Whatever could I mean by that you, dear reader, and my future self might wonder. Clearly, I am not sending dispatches from the moon. True as that is, I might as well be. I expect the terrains and locales I pass through to be as foreign and awe-inspiring as the moon itself, the furthest mankind has ever physically ventured.
With that as a brief primer, I look forward to the next dispatch, which will hopefully be from the road.
