driving?!

a few photos from the Pacific Coast trail in southern Oregon that i hiked with the parents on my dad's birthday. perfect weather for a hike as the sun was setting and the heat of the day was finally dissipating. i marveled at the number and size of the trees, haven't seen anything like them in months. also, while it is hot and rather dry in southern oregon for the moment, in comparison to the most recent places i have been (say Arizona, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) everything is so GREEN!

it has been many months since i last drove a car (not including the 1 day of remembering how to drive a stick in Costa Rica) and in the past few days i have covered many miles. funny to go from not driving at all to driving 6-8-10 hours in a day! covering all this ground could have been done by plane and possibly by train but the truth is that i was itching to have some time behind the wheel. i suppose it is a level of control that may be more symbolic than literal but it fulfilled some need inside me.

driving gives you lots of time to think. ok yes, any type of travel will do this but as i am currently living a life of travel i find that the moments of reflection and contemplation tend to come when i am actually in the process of moving from one place to the next. in some ways it is the perfect time for reflection however, i have found that MANY hours of this type of thinking can be less beneficial and at times detrimental. luckily music, random radio stations, phone conversations (hands free of course!) and rest stops all act as fantastic distractors and deterrents!