The Perpetual Tourist

It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve been west to my “other home” in Oregon, but my husband and I are flying out on Tuesday to the land of Christmas tree farms and “real” mountains.  I couldn’t be more excited for this trip.  Soon, the only thing standing between me and my beloved Northwest will be a five-hour plane ride.

Cross-country flights have become the norm for me, but they’re still hellish if I don’t have a good book.  I still haven’t mastered the art of sleeping on an airplane, so I depend on literature to get me from coast to coast.  I’ve had good and bad luck with books — the worst is when I take a book I think I’ll enjoy, only to find myself bored to tears within the first few minutes.  I don’t take chances with books anymore when I fly.  I still take a new book to try each flight, but I also bring a backup favorite — something I know can entertain me, even if it’s the hundredth time I’ve read it.

Here are the books that have gotten me through even the longest of delays, the worst turbulence, the smelliest seat partners, and the most boring of times…

• Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King — This memoir is hilarious, gripping, and heart-wrenching.  You don’t have to be southern or female to enjoy it (my Yankee brother gave it to me), but I think being both of those things certainly enhanced the reading experience for me.  I definitely recognized my own family in King’s humorous descriptions of the southern obsession with ladyship.  It’s a very honest look at the South of the past and present, and even though she’s a cynical Republican, it’s impossible for me not to love Florence King after reading this book, which I’ve now practically memorized.
• One for the Money (and the entire Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich — You’ve seen these books everywhere, I’m sure.  There are fourteen in the series now, each one more hilarious than the last.  These books are a guilty pleasure for me — they’re trashy and ridiculous, but still hilarious and entertaining.  They’re great for a trip because they’re fast and easy reads, and every page is full of laughs.  If you’ve already read all fourteen books, check out the between-the-numbers novellas by Evanovich, all featuring our favorite heroine:  Visions of Sugar Plums, Plum Lovin’, and Plum Lucky.
• The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling — I am always skeptical of hype, which is why I didn’t pick up the first Harry Potter book until 2005, just before book six came out.  Most people who are going to read these books already have, but I definitely recommend re-reading.  Rowling wove an intricate web with these stories, and every time I read back over the books, I discover little details and clues that she’s left along the way.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — There’s a reason this book has been made into about 30 different movies.  It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest love stories ever written.  Warning:  if you are like me and tend to get really sucked into a novel, you may find yourself severely depressed at the end of this one.  I was — I didn’t want it to be over.  So I turned back to page one and started all over again…
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris — Sedaris has authored several collections of autobiographical essays, and they’re all fascinating, charming, and witty, though also a little dark.  This one is my favorite, though.  It feels a little more light-hearted than his others, and I especially love the chapter on poop — whenever I read it, I laugh so hard that I wake up all the sleeping passengers around me.  I may be immature, but I challenge you to get through that essay without snorting.  I don’t think it can be done.

I have other favorites, of course, but these are the ones I’ve read over and over again, and would recommend to anyone.  What else belongs on this list?

Every road trip needs music.  Once you get out of the familiar territory of your local stations, you might not find anything worth listening to.  Or you could be like me and never listen to the radio anyway, because you love your own collection too much.

When I’m on the road, especially on long drives, I prefer high-energy tunes and things I can sing along to, which will keep me happy and awake instead of bored and tired.

Here are five of my favorite CDs for the car:

1. Great Big Sea, Road Rage - Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk rock/celtic band, and this is their 1999 live album.  Live albums are great for the road because they’re about the road, and artists always put their best, most fun performances on these albums.  Road Rage has lots of great sea shanties and drinking songs that are perfect for whole-car sing-alongs.  Save the drinking for later, though.  Favorite tracks:  “Lukey,” “I’m a Rover,” “Mari-Mac”
2. Indigo Girls, Retrospective - This is the Indigo Girls’ 2000 greatest hits compilation.  They’ve since put out two more studio albums that rock my world, but Retrospective is solid throughout.  “Get Out The Map” is my personal anthem — a song about the joy of carefree journeying with those that you love most.  Emily Saliers and Amy Ray alternate writing and singing duties, and each woman has a unique sound and style, giving the album wonderful depth.  Favorite tracks:  “Get Out the Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Shame on You”
3. The Decemberists, Picaresque - I admit, it took me a while to come around on the Decemberists.  The lead singer has a distinct nasal, almost phony sort of sound, and it rubbed my ears the wrong way for a long time.  But the songs were just too good for me to sustain my dislike.  The tunes are catchy, but not at all in the way that pop songs are catchy.  This album is full of intense emotion, so I prefer to listen to it when I’m calm and happy, lest it exacerbate any tension I’m feeling.  Favorite Tracks:  “The Sporting Life”  (about a teenager’s ultimate embarrassment — I identify all too well), “The Engine Driver”
4. Hanson, This Time Around - That’s right — Hanson.  I love these guys, and I’ve been a diehard fan from the start.  Unlike other teenybopper sensations, Hanson writes and performs their own music, and they do it well.  This Time Around is their second major studio album, dating all the way back to their teen years in 2000.  It’s my favorite because it’s a little more grown up than Middle of Nowhere (remember MMMBopping to that all summer in 1997?) but it still gives me a nostalgic rush of teenage glee every time I listen to it.  The harmonica part in “If Only” is enough to cause a speeding ticket, though, so save this one for the freeway.  Favorite tracks:  “Sure About It,” “If Only”
5. Cake, Fashion Nugget - You probably own this CD, don’t you?  All the cool kids of the 90’s bought it, back before all music was downloaded.  Hell, maybe you even have it on cassette.  But if you haven’t listened to it recently, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  It’s impossible to feel anything but cheerful and excited when you’ve got this disc spinning.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (from laughter), you’ll sing along.  Dust it off and put it in your player for the next hour of your trip.  Favorite tracks:  “Stickshifts and Safety Belts,” “Italian Leather Sofa,” “The Distance”

This list should not be taken as a TOP five.  I love all my music and I couldn’t imagine my life without any one of the 1,000+ discs I own.  There might be artists on here that you’ve never heard of before.  Find their MySpace pages to hear some of their latest stuff for free, or click the links above to buy the albums I’ve recommended.  You really can’t go wrong — not even with Hanson.

I feel guilty for all that I’ve left out, though.  Perhaps I’ll revisit road trip tunes in a future Perpetual Tourist post.  If you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them — maybe they’ll make my next list!

As a tree-hugging environmentalist, I’ve always argued that rising fuel prices are a good thing.  As gas becomes unaffordable, people are forced to change their most environmentally destructive behavior.  Those who can’t cut driving and travel entirely out of their lifestyles turn to more fuel efficient vehicles like the Toyota Prius and other hybrid cars, or they utilize public transportation and carpools more often.  As rising fuel costs make it impossible for the general population to go on living life as they always have, change will be absolutely necessary, and it is my belief that it will come in the form of environmentally friendly renewable energy sources to power cars and planes — cleaner, more affordable fuel.

This trend is already starting to show.  Whether folks listen to Al Gore or not, they can’t help but listen to their bank accounts.  That’s why we’re seeing a real decline in driving and fuel consumption, while we’re also seeing an increase in use of public transportation and carpools.  Airlines have been suffering perhaps most of all, as they can’t increase fares enough to keep up with rising costs of flying their planes, and fewer people are flying due to a combination of higher costs and the slumping economy.  Those who are still frequent fliers (hi, that’s me) are noticing some big changes put in place by airlines to offset the rising costs of keeping their planes in the air.

Two major announcements came recently from the airlines that have some travelers absolutely outraged.  The first was that planes will be slowing down to conserve fuel.  Just as cars do, airplanes get better mileage when they slow down a little, so airlines are doing just that.  But before you flip out about having to sit even longer in those cramped little seats, look at the actual statistics.  Most airlines are adding at most 10 minutes to their flights, while at the same time saving millions on fuel.

For example, on an international flight from Paris to Minneapolis, a Northwest Airlines flight added just eight minutes to the total flight time of almost nine hours, saving 162 gallons of fuel and $535.  $535 for eight minutes is a pretty good return.  Add this up across the board and airlines will save millions of dollars while saving tons upon tons of fuel — and the reality is that most travelers won’t even notice the extra few minutes of flight time.  This is not something to get upset about as an airline passenger.  But of course, people will…

The second major change is that airlines are charging more for checked luggage.  They have always charged fees — often very high ones — for oversized bags.  That is, bags weighing over 50 pounds.  Most airlines have generally allowed up to two free checked bags per passenger, in addition to two free carry-on pieces.  However, since airlines can only increase fares by so much before passengers bail completely, they are adding fees wherever possible, most notably to check luggage.  Southwest Airlines changed their luggage policy from two free checked bags per passenger to one earlier this month, but the big news came when American Airlines announced it would start charging fees for all checked luggage.

Other airlines are expected to follow suit.  So what does this mean for you?  Well, you can be the asshole who tries to stuff your giant bags into the overhead bins on the plane, or you can accept that packing huge bags adds weight to the plane and therefore reduces its fuel efficiency, and adjust accordingly.  Pack as much as you can into a reasonably-sized carry-on bag, and try to fit everything else into one less-than-50-pound suitcase.  With American’s new policy, your first piece of checked luggage will be $15, and your second is $25.  I’ve just returned from five weeks on the road — DC, Texas, Oregon, North Carolina, and finally home — and I was able to pack everything I needed for that trip in one big bag.  Granted, I’m not traveling with children, but if I can pack for three different climates and five weeks of travel time in one bag, surely you can consolidate your trip to one piece of luggage as well.

You may also notice increased prices for food and drinks on the plane when you fly.  Remember that you are allowed to bring food and drinks on the plane — I always fill up a water bottle inside the terminal (rather than spending $5 on a soda that will only make me have to pee on the plane) and pack a few light snacks in case the peanuts and pretzels served on board don’t satisfy.

Yes, the airlines are making lots of changes, but the fact of the matter is that these don’t have to affect you, the traveler, very much at all.  You simply need to be aware of the new guidelines and plan accordingly — but this shouldn’t really mean any major changes in your plans.  These changes will affect you very little; they will have an enormously positive impact on the environment (even if that is only a side effect and not the purpose).  But go ahead and bitch about it all if you want — bitching won’t bring fuel prices down, but it will help encourage positive change.

The drive up I-81 from Virginia into Pennsylvania is fairly pretty, as car trips go. The traffic is never too bad, and there are mountains and rivers to admire all the way there and back, but when you’ve made the drive a hundred times or more like I have, even the four or five hour trip can be pretty miserable.

When I was a kid on family trips to visit my aunt in Philadelphia, my parents would break the monotony by stopping for little side trips, mostly educational like Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefields, historic houses, or the occasional detour that made them simultaneously the best parents ever (in my opinion) and the worst parents ever (in the opinions of anyone who had to deal with me afterward) — a trip to Cinnabon for ooey, gooey, goodness — in a box of twelve!

I’m quite a bit more health-conscious now than I was when I was eight, and I’ve seen those battlefields plenty of times now — the stories haven’t changed much in two hundred years, so I’ve grown out of that kind of pit stop. Still, I haven’t grown up enough to handle a multi-hour drive gracefully, so I need something to break up the journey, lest I become an unbearable travel companion.

My solution is live music. McKenzie and I are really into folk music, which is perfect because the venues that host these shows tend to be cozy and usually have tickets available on short notice. We always build some flexibility into our plans in case we find out that one of our favorites will be making a stop somewhere along our path to or from our destination. We’re familiar with lots of concert halls all up and down the east coast, but you don’t have to know the areas to find a good show. Pollstar is a great tool to find a show near where you are or where you will be, and you can search for all your favorite artists at once.

As we were trying to decide on our plans for our return home from this week’s Philadelphia Flower Show, we got an email from the Steep Canyon Rangers saying they’d be in southeastern Pennsylvania for two weekend shows. Perfect! A quick internet search found hotel reservations for us for one night in York, PA, and plans to see tonight’s show and the Sunday matinee in Mt. Holly Springs on the way home. (This is definitely a band worth seeing twice in one weekend.)

I wish I had the experience to recommend the best venues anywhere in the US, but I do know a thing or two about Virginia music halls. The best ones are easily accessible from the major interstates and quite possibly along your route as you travel up and down the east coast. Off I-95 near Richmond is Ashland Coffee & Tea, a venue I’ve heard many artists profess to be their favorite stop on a tour. When the artist loves the venue, you’re sure to get a good show. Off I-64 in Charlottesville is my home away from home, the Gravity Lounge, featuring an extensive beer and wine list to go with all the best acts in the folk world today. And in the DC area, my top picks are Jammin’ Java for intimate shows and Wolf Trap for larger shows (and not just folk music; also a good mix of theater and other music genres).

Not only is live music a fun diversion from a long, boring car ride, but it gives you a much needed burst of energy, and you have the opportunity to pick up some new tunes for the car CD player as well. If you have the flexibility to take a few hours off your drive or add an extra night in a hotel somewhere, stopping for a concert can be the best way to keep from getting road weary.

It’s more than a little ironic that right after I write about healthy vacationing, I leave for my trip with something I definitely didn’t plan to bring with me — the flu. Being sick on an airplane is no picnic, but being sick in a car on a 10-hour drive in the middle of nowhere is worse. No rest stops, no comfort, no end in sight. Getting here was not easy, but we made it to Reno yesterday morning, and I’m feeling a lot better now, so I’ll spare the details of my illness and focus on the highlights of the journey.

Oregon is one of just a handful of states in the US that I’d never visited. McKenzie grew up there, and has seen every piece of the state working as a FedEx driver over the past decade. The two of us met on the bridge circuit, fell hard in love, and he left Oregon behind to join me in Virginia. He says he loves it in my home state, and I believe him, but his homesickness is obvious most of the time. I’ve been looking forward to my first trip to Oregon for a long time. He has a lot of great things to say about it, and not a day goes by that he doesn’t tell me about the places he wants to show me. With all this talk over the past several months, you’d think I would have been prepared for what I would see.

We landed in the Portland airport just before midnight on Christmas day. It was cold and wet outside, and I couldn’t really see much in the dark anyway. We drove to his parents’ place in Salem that night, and left the next morning for our 10-hour drive to Reno. My first real glimpse of Oregon came on Wednesday morning just after a light snow had painted the hills white. I didn’t honestly expect the beauty to live up to all of McKenzie’s wistful testimony, but so far Oregon was exceeding my expectations.

We were only on the interstate a short while before exiting for Route 58 through the Cascade Mountains. The road was icy and I was sick, but all of my worries evaporated as I looked out the window of our van at the scenery we were driving through. There are lots of sights in Virginia that are breathtakingly beautiful, and our state’s rich history and visual appeal are well documented. However, most of the best views are off the beaten path, and you sort of just have to know about them. Driving along the highway back home is pleasant enough, but I had no idea you could see such amazing landscapes along any roadside until we hit Oakridge, Oregon, a little over an hour into our drive.

The Middle Willamette River runs alongside Rt. 58 as you drive into the mountains, and the Douglas Firs were covered in snow like I’ve only ever seen in paintings before. Every couple of seconds, I excitedly pointed out things to McKenzie that he has seen a thousand times before. “Z! Do you see that?! Look over there! And there — oh my god, this is beautiful. Oh, wow.” These were the only words I was able to get out in the times that my jaw wasn’t hanging down in my lap. I’ve been moved to tears by beauty in literature, film, and music in the past, but this was my first experience where nature did it to me.

For the first time, I really grasped why McKenzie was so homesick, and how much I must mean to him, that he was willing to leave this behind for me. It was overwhelming, but in the best possible way. When a downed tree blocked our path and we had to stop for a bit, I wasn’t even frustrated. I was happy for the opportunity to get out of the car and take it all in, and figure out how to work my new digital camera.

Even though the flu made me more uncomfortable than I can remember ever being in my life for 90% of this long drive, the scenery along this stretch of road is enough to easily put this trip among my all time favorites. Now that I’m feeling better, hopefully I’ll have some fun here in Reno before turning around for the drive back next Tuesday. I’m studying up on gambling strategy today… Check back soon to see how that works out for me on the casino floors.