Travel Log: Day Two

If you didn’t read last week’s blog, now might be the time to do it. Why? Well, because Day Two of this trip begins just like how Day One ended, just in reverse.

I was up and at’em early and ready to get on the road. I like to get in a couple of hours of driving before my clients get into their offices or studios, and the emails start flowing and my phone starts ringing. Trying to get out of the hotel was just as frustrating as trying to get into it. The only difference is that I wasn’t on a timeline to make the bar before it closed. Just as I loaded the last bit of cargo into Kirk, my phone rang. I would have normally ignored it until I got on the road, but it was my business partner Alison, and I needed to know what was up. I really should not have answered it. Poor thing got an earful about how ticked off I was. I’m not generally a ventor. I’m more of a ventee. But today was different, and I’m sure she probably forgot why she even called and was just waiting for me to take a breath so she could get off the phone.

Fortunately I’m someone who gets over stuff quickly. I’m sure you don’t believe me after two years of this blog, but to clarify, on any given day, I get over things quickly. If I’m mad at someone, I’ll forget why after a short amount of time. If I’m irritable, it wears off quickly. If I’m mad that I didn’t succeed in one of my tv or magazine pitches for a client, I’m off to the next thing quickly. So, this brief call with Alison was all I needed. Troubles were behind me, and I was back on the road.

This is where the drive really starts to feel different. As soon as I was out of Omaha the traffic began to clear out. Up through Sioux City, Iowa it begins to get quiet, and once I turned on to I-90 in Sioux City, SD, it’s like a different world. The scenery begins to open up. The sky opens up and my heart opens up. It seems a little bit easier to breathe, and a lot of my anxiety falls away.

I stop for what is likely to be the last Starbucks for many hours and turn on a podcast. It’s one of dozens I’ll listen to on this trip. The terrain sets my mood. I’m inside my own head and out on the beautiful plains at the same time. I move through the Badlands, and it feels great to not be sitting at a desk. I begin to let go of the stress of leaving my office and move toward being grateful that I still have these opportunities to travel for my work.  Today I did a conference call from the car and sat in a coffee shop to write and service a press release. I appreciate my flexibility, and it’s all healing. Tonight’s stop will be in Rapid City, SD. Home of Mt. Rushmore. It will be me surrounded by about 10,000 Harley’s and their riders headed to Sturgis for the big annual gathering.

Some people’s reaction, when I tell them I’m driving to Montana, is to cringe and be glad they don’t have to do that, or feel bad for me that I have all that driving ahead of me.  But I love it. I didn’t think I would, but I do, and I look forward to it.