The Rules of the Game

There are probably an infinite number of variables you could change to make a cross country trip different from someone else's, but I have a few basic rules I'm going to try to live by:

• No more than 4 hours of driving a day, distance travel reserved to 6am-12 noon.
• No hotels or motels.  Basically, don't pay for lodging (except for US Forest Service cabins in the woods). (more details on how I plan on doing this later)
• Use my car, bicycle and walking in the most efficient manner to get to experience the most fun on the trip.
• No compromising my personal beliefs to take assistance for people with agendas (ie proselytizers or creepy old men) (I say this now and am sure I will be kissing the ass of the born-again road side assistant I find myself needing in Death Valley, but hey I have a sense of humor and irony to fall back on too)
• No expensive crap like fine restaurants etc on the way.
  

Goals:

• Finish this trip and be ready to face my next adventure (whatever it may be)
• Get totally comfortable with back-country and car camping
• Get a hang gliding certification so I can go up by myself when I feel like. (http:/www.ushpa.aero/, more on this later...)
• See the sailing cities of the US
• Train Max a bit better.  I hope that being out of the big city will be therapeutic for both of us.
• See the country
• Develop thoughts on where I'd like to live outside of the North East US.
• Meet a whole lot of different people.

Anything else that happens is incidental and I guess I'll just have to take it as it comes...