Well, that intermission was a little longer than I intended! Anyhow, let’s get back to the job in hand.
Lost in America
Most people are aware of this thing called 'Route 66' even if they are vague on the details: where it starts; where it ends; how long it is. Many people want to drive along Route 66 because it is somehow understood to be an experience that is quintessentially American. That was one of the factors that made me want to "get [my] kicks on Route 66": seeing the US up close and personal rather than as a blur passing by at 85 mph in a soulless rush along an interstate.When I heard that there was an older transcontinental road, the Lincoln Highway, that was truly coast-to-coast and, therefore, even longer, I knew I had to experience that too. Another chance to engage with small town USA sir? Don't mind if I do! Unfortunately, the romantic notion in my head was to get lost somewhere along the huge meander that constitutes the Lincoln Highway.
About half way into our Lincoln Highway drive we had a shared moment of revelation: we had probably set ourselves too tough a target and, in doing so, had rendered the ‘holiday’ less enjoyable than it could/should have been. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to have completed the drive, to have travelled (for 85-90% of it) on the original LH route(s) and to have enjoyed a version of the US that many who visit places such as New York, LA, San Fran and Miami will never see. But what we realised half way across the continent was that, when we drove Route 66 five years ago, while that trip contained its own challenges, it was mapped out for us in a turn-by-turn guide of the original route, it included a greater concentration of attractions along the way (a tribute to the great marketing that has been done on behalf of Route 66 in recent years) and it was a thousand miles shorter drive but done in the same 12 day period. The LH, although older than than 66, is pretty much forgotten or at best, only just on the verge of being rediscovered. As a consequence, there are no turn by turn guides although there are books that will detail the history of the road whilke other books list some of the diners along the way and one even gives you an idea what it was like in to drive it in 1928 (the latter book is a bit of a favourite: a reprint of a driver’s guide from that time detailing the towns en route, their populations and garage and hotel facilities (some are still there!). As a consequence, the LH requires a greater degree of *work* to drive: work by the driver (3,300 miles) and by the navigator who has to try and recreate a turn by turn guide for each day from a combination of an LH phone app and Google Maps. Every night in a new motel, I was knackered and Elaine had to plot the route for the next day. On top of that, stretches of the LH are unmade road and when you’ve agreed via signed agreement not to drive your hire car on gravel roads, it meant that alternative routes were constantly being researched on the fly. All in all a tough drive.
Along the way - and even more so reflecting afterwards - I realised I’d engaged us in a task, a chore. Rather than embarking on an adventure, I’d sent us out on an endurance test. Consequently, we have made a pact: any future fly/drive trips to the US, indeed anywhere, will be concentrated on a much smaller area with a chance to stay in places for more than one night. I’m not sure that there are any more US road trips based on historic roads but, even if they do exist, we will not be driving them. In future the rule will be no more than four hours driving in a day. That allows for plenty of mileage to be covered but also plenty of time get out and explore places properly rather than worrying about getting to our next destination in daylight!
Bucket list-wise, it is now ticked off so we can finally put the need for marathon drives to bed. That said, I recently heard about the Pan-American Highway that runs from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina, a distance of around 15,000 miles. Should I mention it to Elaine? ;)
