I find myself drawn to stories of exploration and adventure. Movies such as Wild and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty have always drawn me in. I live vicariously through these characters as they seek and find the catharsis they need, whether from bad relationships, deaths of loved ones, or just from a boring life.
One area that I would like to dive deeper into is to read more stories like this.
Enter John Steinbeck.
John Steinbeck may be most famous for writing the dust-bowl classic, The Grapes of Wrath, which as of yet, I’ve never read. He was, however, a prolific traveler and wrote about an extensive road trip he took starting in 1960. Those writings became the book Travels with Charley.
As I mentioned in my post about my first camping trip with Alan, I read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed (and finished it at my first solo camping trip four months later.) It was a fantastic book and helped me through some of the trials and tribulations I was going through at that time.
That desire to consume more stories, though, has not waned. I’m still craving more so I bought a copy of the Steinbeck book and it sat in my drawer until I was finished with the book I was reading prior.
On Christmas morning, I finally cracked the book open and began my journey.
I hope to glean some lessons from Mr. Steinbeck on how to travel and how to SEE the country. If it is as impactful a book as I’m hoping it will be, I’m willing to bet it will be a rare re-read for me.
I may or may not post my thoughts on the book as I read it, or when I’m done (book report style) but at the minimum, you can bet I will use quotes from the book from time to time here on this blog.
I’m excited.
-Phil