A brief series begins here. My dear, dear friend Delaney McLemore is on a road trip of her own, eastbound as I am westbound, and she’s doing a few posts along the way that I wanted to share here (with her permission, of course).

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose.
.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune.
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
–Whitman, from “Song of the Open Road”
(for my literary followers, Carmel should evoke Steinbeck, obviously.)
Thanks, D. Safe travels to us all.