Amazon.com Widgets The Missing Part of the "C" - A Round-the-World Travel Blog: Devil May Care

The Missing Part of the "C"

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You might notice that the roadtrip doesn't make a complete circuit of the country, but instead forms a "C" shape, beginning in New York, curving up through Canada, across the Midwest, down the Pacific Highway and coming to a stop in Texas.

For me, there's already been a kind of prelude to the roadtrip Tony and I are taking together. My parents loaned us their minivan, but as my parents are in Texas and we would be starting our trip from New York, we somehow had to be united with this minivan.
Luckily, I was already planning to be in Texas toward the end of May to see my cousin graduate, so my older sister kindly brought the minivan to Austin, and then even more generously helped me drive it most of the distance to New York (in Baltimore, she hopped on a flight back home). I'd initially intended to stop in Graceland on the way, but my younger sister asked me to drive up to St. Louis to put a small portion of her multi-suitcase wardrobe into the van and take it to New York, where she would join it a few weeks later.

Despite the loss of an Elvis pilgrimage, the haul had its uses: I became familiar with the minivan's cruise control, memorized its license plate, noted its fuel efficiency, and became fully aware of just how long a 10 hours -- even switching drivers, even taking breaks for lunch and an afternoon snack -- could be.

And I got to see a couple places I'd never previously been: we had a lovely lunch stop in Louisville, KY, and a comfortable night at a Marriott Courtyard in Beckley, WV. I also took the opportunity to check out what was new in places that had been familiar: a hot Chinese restaurant in Charlottesville, VA; tasteofpeppers.jpg the new construction at my alma mater;
 
portablebldgs.jpg almamater.jpgand a welcome addition to Vienna, VA's dining scene.

I guess it really was just as well that we had the trunk space loaded up with my little sister's luggage, because otherwise I might have gone a bit crazy at an Austin supermarket.
 
mexicancoke.jpgSoda without high-fructose corn syrup: I only find it in Texas.

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