![]() ![]() (I’ve talked him out of adding an additional 700-mile detour in the name of this elusive thing called “relaxation.”) ![]() This year, we’re taking in Los Angeles, Palm Springs and any number of national parks nearby. Last year, Charleston and Savannah made V-Day double the fun. Our first Valentine’s Day weekend was spend navigating slippery roads between Denver, Vail and Aspen. So, on the nation’s most romantic holiday, would Julien be content with a prix-fixe dinner in New York’s newest restaurant? Of course not. If travel imitates life, then we’re learning to enjoy the ride - and each other - despite the occasional spat. Sometimes my way prevails other times it’s his path we follow. We disagree on whether speed limits are a rule or suggestion, how much time to spend in the car versus seeing sights and when, if at all, to stop for souvenirs. #ROAD TRIPPER R US FULL#True to form, our actual and metaphorical journeys are full of speed bumps and potholes, sugary snacks and makeshift bathrooms. “Every day is a winding road,” Sheryl Crow sang in a classic road-tripping song. Paris, London, Morocco and Hong Kong are among our more ambitious long weekends. So we make the most of it - including jaunts overseas, too. #ROAD TRIPPER R US PLUS#My own vacation days are limited, plus my job includes travel and I have many dear friends overseas. For another, his family is scattered across the world. #ROAD TRIPPER R US FREE#Why do we pack so much into so little time? For one, Julien’s intense finance job means that free time is scarce. Nevada’s Route 50 isn’t so lonely when you drive it with people you love. We welcomed 2017 by driving from Vegas to Death Valley - the lowest point in the North America - followed by a traverse across Nevada’s ghost town-flecked Route 50, the “loneliest road” in the country (730 miles). Skiing in Park City, hiking in Utah’s national parks and indulging in Vegas rang in 2015 (762 miles) 2016 saw a trek from Phoenix and Tucson to El Paso (and a brief cross-border jaunt into Ciudad Juárez), followed by New Mexico’s dunes at White Sands, cowboy boot-shopping in Santa Fe, and some green chilies at an Albuquerque greasy spoon (836 miles). We’ve made a tradition of spending the first two or three days of each new year driving out West with his brother. We cry talking about deaths in our families. We laugh as we pass towns with names like No Name (Colorado), Truth and Consequences (New Mexico) and North Pole (Alaska). How much time should we spend listening to his deep house, my pop playlists or NPR? I know Julien’s favorite rest-stop beverages (Coke Zero, watered-down coffee) and roadside cuisine of choice (Mexican). Hours upon hours in a rental car lead to conversations that meander from politics to childhood memories to fantasies of the future. The year after, we upped the ante, covering a whopping 817-mile loop that started and ended in Anchorage, spanning Denali National Park, Fairbanks and a gorgeous but sparsely populated stretch whose main attraction was an overnight stay on a working farm in Delta Junction (pop. ![]() The first time, we glacier-hopped along the peninsula between Anchorage, Seward and Homer. Only Julien would fly 11 hours from New York to Alaska for a three-day weekend. Albertsįrom humble beginnings, distances skyrocketed. The author and Julien take a pit stop in Alaska. Think apple- and pumpkin-picking, Dia:Beacon’s contemporary art and the Hilton Garden Inn. There was the first overnight excursion to Fishkill, a mere 69 miles from the city. Indeed, ever since that September 2014 night, ridiculous road trips at home and abroad continue to define, test and strengthen our relationship. ![]() I should have known - or at least guessed - that his love of the open interstates, of adventure, speed and novelty, presaged more outings to come. He picked me up at the door of my apartment building in his gently used sedan and whisked me off to a restaurant on the banks of the Hudson River in Hastings, NY, electronic music thumping from the speakers. Who takes a car to a first date in New York City? ![]()
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