“Our unity as a nation is sustained by free communication of thought and by easy transportation of people and goods. The ceaseless flow of information throughout the Republic is matched by individual and commercial movement over a vast system of interconnected highways crisscrossing the country and joining at our national borders with friendly neighbors to the north and south.
Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear—United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
February 22, 1955
“It’s a journey with no end; Americans crave mobility, and wheels will always need roads.”
George Constable and Bob Somerville
A Century of Innovation: 20 Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives, 2003
The highways and byways of America represent the veins and arteries that have connected families, transported goods, and introduced ideas and regional cultures since the early years of the 1900’s. With the addition of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, we have been able to move across the country expeditiously and venture further and faster to parts of America only recognized in photos and on postcards.
Interstate 40 has been an artery of travel in my life as long as I have been able to create memories. The strongest is heading home from a day at Wrightsville Beach, NC, where we would pass by a highway mileage sign noting the distance home; and most interesting to me, how far it was to California. I have always been enamored by the fact that the largest public works projects has connected the United States from North to South and East to West, and everywhere in between.
Fast forward a quarter century or so from my youth, taking day trips to the beach, and we land at the crossroads of opportunity and wanderlust. I think it is safe to say that most will never reach this intersection as expected. Many times, there are obstacles that inhibit us from fully exploring this time in our life; and passing through with the expectation that we will return later in life (during the golden years of retirement).
But why not now? Better yet, one should ask, where to first? Travel abroad to see ancient wonders. Set sail on a journey circumnavigating the world. Or take that road trip you always wanted to, venturing through small town America in a classic ride – enter Pearl, my 1980 International Harvester Scout II.
America is vast and full of adventure, traveling along scenic routes to our National Parks, recreating outdoors on the nations many public lands, and tasting my way through the best diners and dives that small town America has to offer.
2021 is set for an unforgettable journey! Follow along and see where we roam.