Traveling Route 17 (Andre)

Andre blog entry 3-1-13

We have spent a lot of time the last few days traveling back roads like Route 17 through VA and NC to see some different things from that which is so familiar along the major highways of the east. While it takes a lot longer to get anywhere this way, we seem to have the time on our hands!

After driving by hundreds small, non-descript, and weathered farm houses, we saw one that caught our eye. Door wide-open, middle aged woman standing in the doorway talking on the phone, thick flannel short or coat, with what appeared to be a troubled look on her face.

I am not sure why, but as we continued down the road, de Tocqueville came to mind and his travels around what was then the expanse of the US in the 1830s. He came from France on a mission from the King to learn of our prisons. But he was fascinated by what he saw, the people, the spirit, the challenge, the persistence, and what he saw as the wonder of the new and young US, democracy.

He turned his travels into one of the more fascinating and still relevant ‘stories’ of the US and its people, ‘Democracy in America.’ Not sure just yet what will become of our travels, it has been less than a week, but it was fun to think about a bigger context.

Onto something a bit lighter, here’s the play list for our drive yesterday:

·         Avett Brothers – Carolina Jubilee

·         Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls

·         Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young – Looking Forward

·         Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever

·         Trampled by Turtles – Stars and Satellites

·         Carey Ann Hearst – Dust and Bones

I suspect the next part of the blog might shed some light on where we spent the night.