Waking Up at Wal-Mart

“We have a reservation,” I said as I hung up the phone.

Julie laughed. Kinda hard.

It was funny because I’d just been on the line with the manager of a Wal-Mart Supercenter outside of St. Louis, asking if they would allow us to park overnight in their parking lot. We’d be sleeping outside “Wallyworld.” Read more…

Free Cookies and WiFi

The last time I wrote here I was at home in Jonesville, Virginia and was thinking about the ease and comfort of being in a place you know. That’s changed.

We hit the road less than a week ago but we’ve already been deep into unfamiliar territory. I’ve been to these parts of eastern Kentucky before, but never like this. We’re seeing the places and the people I would usually zoom by at 70 miles per hour. And we’ve become again the faceless, forgettable people who “aren’t from here.” Everybody’s a stranger and every turn is undiscovered country. As much as I enjoyed being home and rooted, life on the road ain’t bad either. Read more…

Among Ghosts

You may have noticed from the map box over there on the right side of the page that we haven’t moved around much in the last week or so. It’s because we’re at my Mom’s house as the family deals with a few things that have come up. Julie’s been wonderfully understanding of the situation and we hope to be back on the road by the end of this week. Read more…

Beginnings

Look with favor upon a bold beginning.
-Virgil

I don’t suppose ol’ Virgil was thinking about taking off cross-country with a some video cameras, a couple of laptops and an old RV. But his point is taken.

Beginnings for me are twisted up in anxiety and boundless excitement. Six years ago I began an international backpacking trip on a ferry bound for a dusty Mexican port. Read more…