February 26, 2013

The bug

I'm a Third-Culture Kid (TCK), so I have the bug. 

The travel bug, that is. 

Every once in awhile, it itches real bad. (Hear me in a Southern accent here.) 

Once I got my driver's license when I was 20, I started driving all over the place. Because I'm a TCK, I have friends who live in all parts of the country (and other countries, but I haven't gotten there yet). I drove to Michigan a lot, drove down to Texas a few times, drove to the East Coast at least twice, made it down to Georgia once, drove down to New Mexico for a wedding, and finally ended my college days by driving all the way to California. 

I like driving. And I like seeing other places. In October 2004, I drove all the way up to the Northeast just to visit the states that I hadn't visited yet. I did, of course, see friends along the way, and I'm not sure I would have gone without friends to see. But the official point of the trip was to see the fall colors and to nail my off-states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. 

I love driving. 

I used to love flying, too, until I got a sinus condition that makes flying pure hell about half the time. I miss flying. But then, flying with 2 children has little appeal anyway. I think I'd like to try taking the train one of these days. Of course, wouldn't you know that there are no train routes across Georgia and Alabama? I would have to go all the way north to Washington, DC, to catch a westbound train. Pretty funny. So maybe we'll just take the train up to Washington, DC and stay there to see my sister's family. Not a plan, just a dream. 

Because I have the travel bug. I have lived in southeast Georgia for over two years. In those two years I've only made two trips of more than 250 miles. I think I am going to go crazy. If my aunt, uncle, and cousins didn't live somewhat locally, I think I would have already lost my mind. 

So maybe this summer I will escape, if only for a few days, to a destination north of the Mason-Dixon Line or west of the Mississippi. 

Here's hoping.

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