Hello everyone! Yes… you read that right. I know many of you might have come here expecting to see an update on my trip to Budapest, Hungary – the trip that I started planning in 2019 with a travel buddy.
I booked the flights and hotels in December last year, and… just like you… I anticipated being there this week. Well, sometimes things don’t work out the way you think they will. Sometimes something just doesn’t feel right, and with that trip for some reason… I got a very strong feeling that I wasn’t supposed to go. Now… I’m normally an anxious traveler – “why are you doing this”, “what have you done, why are we breaking routine?” – all of those types of questions come up as I wring my hands in the weeks before I have some of the best experiences of my life – but I’m usually able to calm those feelings with exactly that thought. “Calm down Brad, relax. You’ll have fun once you get there.”
That wasn’t the case with Hungary. I don’t know why, I don’t anticipate to see anything go wrong there this week or last (when my trip was planned), I just know I wasn’t supposed to go. I called six friends, travelers all, to discuss the feeling. Some told me not to ignore it, others said it could just be anxiety since I haven’t done a huge trip in a while, but all gave the same advice – if this isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime booking… don’t go. Re-book the trip later and go another time when you don’t have these feelings. I cancelled the reservations mid-week before my vacation started last Monday.
And so… you adjust, make plans, make the most of things. I still plan to go to Hungary someday – just not today or this week – so instead this coming Saturday I’m leaving on a road trip to visit a friend who lives in rural Tennessee on an epic, across-the-US road trip! I haven’t seen Jeff in a few years, and it’s high-time I rectified that!
The entire trip will be done in my Jeep – whose name is Zoe for those who haven’t met her (she’s new to me!). It’s about 2,809 miles round-trip (43+ hours of driving), and should take three days in each direction plus a few days meandering around Tennessee. Heck… I might even visit Dollywood! Why not?
To make it fun… I’m also setting a few goals/rules on this trip – things to do each day and things I want to try to do each day:
- Find the best cup of boba tea on the route between here and Tennessee (Find one daily)
- Stop at every reasonable roadside attraction (Max 4 a Day)
- Eat breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe in Knoxville (at least once)
- Gas Station Food – Lunch each day is the “best” food from a gas station, as defined by the owners/workers/customers during road days
- Interact with, and photograph, any life-sized statues that I come in direct-contact with (i.e. I won’t stop for them, but if they’re at a stop… I’m required to interact)
These may be modified during the trip, we’ll see. I also will likely try to get a photo with every state sign as I move state to sate – but we’ll see how that works with traffic and time of day. I can’t decide if I’m more worried about the gas station lunches… or trying to find boba in Kansas – anybody know of a good boba shop near Salina?
Here’s to making it a grand adventure… either way!
Outbound Trip
Day 1 – Severance, CO -> Salina, KS
Day 2 – Salina, KS -> St. Louis, MO
Day 3 – St. Louis, MO -> Oak Ridge, TN
Return Trip
Day 1 – Oak Ridge, TN -> Springfield, MO
Day 2 – Springfield, MO -> Burlington, CO
Day 3 – Burlington, CO -> Severance, CO
