If you and yours can afford the time, do it. There's no better
way to appreciate a country than to drive it from coast to
coast.
Back in the summer of 1990, when I was still a grad student, my
roommate and I took the summer off and spent six weeks on the road,
driving literally across the country and back. We headed from Iowa
to the east coast, south to the panhandle of Florida, west across
the southern states to California, then back east to Iowa. In all,
we put nearly 9000 miles on his car during that six-week
period.
That road trip must rank as one of the most enjoyable events of my
entire time here thus far. It really opened my eyes to just how
enormous and varied this country really is, and gave me a much
deeper appreciation of its people and places. I would, in a
heartbeat, embark on a similar journey again, but finding the time
to pull something like this off when you're working a regular job
is nigh impossible.
