My 47-Hour Road Trip
Post #11 of #20: I am reflecting on twenty years of personal and professional experiences in Birmingham and beyond. Visit www.medium.com/HonestlyEd to read the full #20For20 series.
Have you ever taken an unforgettable road trip? Road trips are adventures that stick with us for years. Most of my best road trips have been with friends and loved ones. But, I had a singular road trip that I won’t ever forget — and I took it alone.
In August 2015, I took an epic 47-hour road trip that lasted two weeks and took me through 14 states. I relaxed, broke bread with others, hiked, did sight-seeing and took business meetings along the way.
The trip was timely. The first half of the year was challenging — transitioning out of my business, starting new line of business with my new employer and navigating a marital separation.
I had some pretty specific goals in mind:
- Extended time to think and relax
- Benchmarking best practices for my company
- Connect with family and friends
- Sight-seeing
I planned the trip using Evernote, one of my favorite productivity tools. I organized my travel around appointments, energy, traffic and weather. I don’t think I ever explored Google Maps and Google Earth so much! I was looking forward to some serious windshield time.
Itinerary
Friday, July 31 Arrive: Charlotte, NC
Saturday, August 1 Arrive: Washington, DC
Sunday, August 2 Arrive: New York, NYC
Monday, August 3 Arrive: Cleveland, OH
Tuesday, August 4 Arrive: Dayton, OH
Wedneday, August 5 Arrive: Detroit, MI
Thursday, August 6 Arrive: Grand Rapids, MI
Friday, August 7 Arrive: Milwaukee, WI
Thursday, August 13 Arrive: Birmngham, AL
Total Hours = 47 hours Total States = 14 Total Satisfaction = 100%
Highlights
- Visiting with close college friends: Washington, D.C., Dayton, Detroit
- Exploring the Advance Publications offices: New York, Cleveland, Grand Rapids
- Experiencing the 9/11 memorial
- Seeing the mountains of Pennsylvania
- Taking an unexpected hike
- Visiting my childhood haunt at Lake Michigan
Memorable Moments
Thanks to some personal journaling, I have prompts to remember nearly everything from this trip, especially visiting with my friends and loved ones. I look back on this trip with a measure of pride knowing I conjured it all and made the time for it. I did not have to do it. For the previous five years I had been too busy to do something like this. This was a turning point in self-care, affirmation and exploration.
That said, while all the moments on this trip were meaningful to me, there were a few that touched me and stayed with me.
First, you need to know I love New York. I have been there several times and have never been disappointed by my experience. But, this trip to New York was wholly different. I was going to the headquarters of employer’s employer — Advanced Publications, a $40 billion, privately-owned media enterprise owned by the Newhouse Family. Advanced Publications serves as the anchor tenant at One World Trade center, occupying 18 floors. I visited the executive headquarters to meet with the head of the marketing who was interested to know more about our team’s efforts to drive the membership strategy with custom events at Alabama Media Group. After our meeting she took me around the building. Massive window panes — the most expansive view of New York City in all four directions by far. Absolutely breaktaking. There was a legitimate art gallery near the corporate cafeteria which I recall being both posh and energy efficient. My host walked me through the executive suites — a carpet so plush I thought was walking on one of the clouds I could see mere feet beyond the wide-pane windows. I saw Mickey Newhouse — the family patriarch standing in a doorway, deep in thought. The venture capital arm of his company was down the hall. Perhaps he was contemplating his next acquisition. Or, just keeping the massive enterprise steady on the sacred ground upon which we stood.
Whatever the case, it was eerie being at the World Trade Center site. Partially because of the tragedy of 9/11 and standing there, looking out of the window to envision an airplane coming straight at me. It was also eerie because I remember being at the World Trade Center plaza during my very first trip to New York City in 1996. I was a college kid, exploring the city with no real sense of direction. My high school friend whom I was visiting suggested I go there, but I didn’t know why. She just said it was a cool place to be. Ironically, The Manhattans were performing in the World Trade Center Plaza and that was good enough for me. I remember leaning backwards in order to look up because the towers were so incredibly tall. Taller than any buildings I had ever seen in my life. The juxtaposition of the older black men singing soul music — real soul music — as suited professionals and tourists scurried by was odd to me. But, that’s New York. Everything is juxtaposed. Here, some twenty years later the whole space had been destroyed and rebuilt. And, I arrived anew.
The next big moment was experiencing the 9/11 Memorial and Museum that sat at the foot of the One World Trade Center building I stood in just the day before. The Newhouses were also top-tier donors to the memorial. The memorial was as well-design and emotionally-impactful as I imagined it to be. I was twenty-six years old when the towers came down and visiting the memorial reminded me of everything that happened that day. Everything. You should visit when you can.
The third most memorable moment of the trip was an unexpected string of miles and mountains in Pennsylvania. It did not take long to hit the Pennsylvania state line after leaving New York. I was totally and pleasantly surprised by the scenic beauty of Pennsylvania. This seven-hour portion of my trip was by far the most beautiful. Something was different and special about the elevation, the types of trees and their distance from the highway, and roads that curved just enough to offer breathtaking view after breaktaking view. If you have ever driven between Denver and Vail, it is a similar experiences — just much longer.
Finally, I used Google Maps and found a random place to hike between Grand Rapids, MI and Chicago, IL. The path was simple enough to start, but it is always strange hiking in other states with no understanding for how the terrain will evolve. What appeared to be a dusty plot of land with a few trees on it turned into a multi-terrain experience with a small lake, a group of Boy Scouts, an abandoned bridge and many other scenes I can now recall. There is always a bit of trepidation or fear when I am so alone in such an unfamiliar place. But, that is also the point of taking on an adventure. Right?
I have a few remnants of the trip in my possession. Mostly memories, my evernote file and my journal. But, I also have Bilal’s album, In Another Life, which was released just two months before my trip and became the soundtrack of my life for two weeks.
I loved this me trip. I do not see another one like it in the near future. But, things change and when they do I look forward to getting back on the road again — in another life.
I am celebrating 20 years in Birmingham with #20For20 — a series of reflections, insights and homages to my journey. All posts will be featured on my personal blog: www.medium.com/HonestlyEd. Follow me on Medium, LinkedIn and Twitter to be notified of new posts.
