Here are the things it's really important that we
do.
Right, So now you're convinced. But still you're wondering, (as sre the
people going on this trip
with me) why the hell do you want to go to Denver? Why don't you go
someplace cool to find yourself, like San Francisco?
This all makes sense to me, really.
First, we gotta drive there. Motorcycles would be best, of course,
but probably tough to pull off. Cars are next best, with the ASCIT van
having a definite coolness advantage (sadly, the van has already been reserved
by the Vietnamese Student Association. Wankers.) Also, we will
use no interstates.
(this is a little something borrowed from Pirsig. Kerouac never had to worry
about freeways.)
Interstates have no personality, and will only remind us of L.A. and Tech.
Ick. The plan
is to take Route 66 as far as it goes before it becomes a freeway, and then
only state or old U.S. highways. And none of this flying crap. You simply
do not fly someplace for an adventure.
Second, only close friends get to come. This has to be the kind of deep
friendship building experience we will look back on for decades. Either that
or drive us all insane. That'd be okay, too.
Third, we gotta take a video camera, (and a regular camera too, so we can scan
some stuff onto this page...) but no goddamn tourist type shots. This is for
recording human interaction and growth, man.
Fourth, no skiing, no hanging around skiers, no going near any
ski areas. That'd just be lame.
Finally, we must remain flexible. At any point, we have to be able to completely
ditch Denver and decide to drive to Chile, or Montana or whatever. Sure,
Carrie has to be back by the 25th, but other than that, we make as few plans
as possible. This means no reservations, no schedules, and as little idea
where we're going as possible. We're making a list of cool places to go, but
these are only guidelines.
Well, I'll tell you. Because everybody goes to smegging San Francisco.
Sure, it's probably an incredibly cool place, but I'll go there some other
time. No one expects you to go to Denver. I don't. I mean,
I'm sure we'll be
able to find some cool, unexpected stuff there, right? Right.
And wouldn't it be great to get out of the sprawl of Los Angeles and
see the night sky out in the barren wastes of Utah or the Colorado Rockies?
Also, I've got a deep, symbolic urge to hang around in the Rockies and stand
on the continental divide for a while. Just because.
Finally, Kerouac thought it was cool. What else do you want?
But the real point is, it doesn't matter where we go. If things work out
right, we won't really be spending much time in Denver at all. The point
is to just drive someplace and experience the adventure of traveling.
