Check, check. Is this thing even on? 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, check, check... This is my first ever attempt at a ‘blog,’ or, as I heard them once (hilariously) referred to on CNN: ‘weblog blogs.’ That said, please be kind and forgiving when and if you should choose to make comments. It is much appreciated (in advance, even). More to the point, however, is the reason for the creation of this here weblog, and that is to chronicle my much anticipated and upcoming (presumed) adventure. Some of you out there may have already heard a bit of my plans, some of you may not have. As such, I feel it is now my duty to take this time to explain myself further, clarifying various points where applicable. Prologue: For quite a long time now I’ve had what you might call a desire to get away from the things I know, a feeling of, well, restlessness (as pointed out to me by a good friend in college). During this time of feeling rather restless, I’ve had neither means, motivation, time, nor any number of other things to get myself together and do something about it. The stars have aligned, so to speak, and the time of realization is at hand. I’ve been saving money basically since I started working, way back in 1999. My saving and spending habits haven’t been exactly consistent during this time, but I’ve managed to save myself a bit of money; I now have a vehicle that I’m reasonably confident can be sustained over a multiple-thousand mile journey, and I’ve graduated from college and haven’t yet taken any sort of long-term job. In short, I find myself in the somewhat unique position of being able to act on my restlessness. Introduction: A number of months ago I began toying with the notion of a road trip of sorts, around these here United States. I wasn’t sure at the time exactly what I was thinking, but was pretty sure it was nothing more than a day dream. There came a day when, in passing, I heard the television mention something about Route 66. It was at that very moment that I was sort of smitten with the idea of traveling what I now know has come to be called the “Mother Road.” The trip, in its current form, began to take shape. I thought about and researched Route 66, found out that it begins in Chicago, and ends (basically) in L.A. The fact that the road ends in L.A. gave me another idea. You see, I have a sister who lives in L.A. who I can stop by and visit/stay with for a while, and get a more in-depth feel for Southern California. I’ve also heard many great things about the Pacific Coast Highway, which I’ve decided I will drive on my way back to the Pacific Northwest. Addendum: I know there are many of you that I’ve told about this plan of action, but in my head I always feel like I’m being slightly dishonest. I say dishonest because in my mind, this plan is just sort of a vague basic. What I really think about is being open to changing the plan at (basically) a moment’s notice. I’ll probably follow the plan as outlined above, but am willing to take whatever curious roads and paths I find and deem worth following. Recently I’ve been explaining to people that last bit, but I know for a while I was just giving people the abbreviated triangle of I-90 to Chicago, Route 66 to L.A., and Pacific Coast Highway back to Seattle. Finally (at least for today and this initial blog entry), I plan on documenting this journey fairly thoroughly, and have created a photo sharing account at www.flickr.com . I’ll probably post the more important/mile-stoney pictures here, too, if and when I figure out how. Even more finally, I’m still a few days away from actually leaving, this is more or less a preliminary post, and cyber place I can direct people to, including, but not limited to: friends, relatives, and people I just generally know. The Warning: My plan for this weblog is to stop at towns and cities and whatnot that have the coffee shops with the clouds of wireless internet. This plan, however, may not pay off, due at least in part to its unpredictable and foreseeably erratic nature. I’ll try and update early and often, but don’t necessarily get your hopes up to high. Thanks for caring.