Summative Post on Place and Growing Up

Dear Readers,

As I sit at my kitchen island and write this post our whole big trip is beginning to recede into the fog of memory. Did we really drive 8,007 miles across 19 states in a matter of six weeks? What was our favorite place? What was the hardest part? What was the most unexpected? Those are questions that many of you readers have asked. There will be a final post with Grace and Julia answering some of these questions. For now I'd like to opine a bit about how place influences our point of view in a attempt to summarize our travel experience.

Ellen comes from Michigan, the Great Lakes State (for the record Michigan is a big place known for a lot of different things, but it's uniquely surrounded by the Great Lakes). Coming of age for her occurred on the harsh but beautiful and unspoiled shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, in a town of a few hundred, surrounded by undeveloped land. There is an abundance of nature in this region and lots of clean freshwater (the Lake is called "Superior" for a reason). Her memories include exploring this landscape with friends and siblings as a backdrop to her childhood imaginings. The granite and agate strewn beaches and sand dunes, thick forests home to old growth hardwood trees, and sparsely populated landscape have shaped Ellen's personality. She likes finding cool rocks, Great Lakes swimming, and seeing beauty in nature. She feels uncomfortable in deserts and prefers to avoid crowds.

I come from Indiana, the Hoosier State (for the record I would rather my state be known by a cool geographical feature, but somebody has to be from Indiana). Coming of age for me occurred in the partially wooded suburbs of Indianapolis along Williams Creek, whose floodplain was thinly forested for miles in either direction. There's not a lot of nature in the suburbs,  but the offerings along Williams Creek were about as good as it got inside the I-465 beltway. My memories are of romping around the creek with a passel of four other boys that included neighbors and a sibling. The karst limestone waterways, forests interrupted by major city thoroughfares, and the traces of other children who used the woods along the creek have shaped my personality. I like finding fossils, turning over rocks in streams, and seeing oneness in nature. I feel uncomfortable seeing suburbia swallow woods and, like Ellen, prefer to avoid crowds.

Our children live in Macon, GA (for the record they prefer the land of blue states that exist in plenty along the west coast, especially Oregon). Coming of age for them is occurring in an urban neighborhood within walking distance to a University campus and their elementary school; it lacks any real forested area. There may be a few places along the railroad tracks that are partially wooded but trust me, you wouldn't want your kids exploring there on their own. Their memories might include playing with neighbors on the sidewalks and backyard, growing food in the garden, and walking/biking/scootering to dad's office or park. The cement sidewalks, railroad crossings, pecan trees, boarded-up houses (although these are much fewer in number these days), and living life as a pedestrian with neighbors one can trust will shape their personalities. They like imagining anything and everything, rollerblading, as well as drawing with sidewalk chalk. They gravitate towards animals and are not afraid to be in wild nature, but also enjoy riding city buses and trolleys.

Now we have traveled so far and seen so much, all of us. The exotic landscapes certainly made an impression as they raced by from a car window or meandered by during a hike. I think one can still be shaped by this terrain, even if it's while passing through. I hope we all soaked in as much of it as possible.

We took this trip to show Grace and Julia that there's so much more out there than what they see in their everyday life. In this we succeeded magnificently. I wonder though about other motivations. Maybe we wish we could replicate aspects of our own childhood (only the best parts, of course) by immersing them in the most beautiful natural places. Maybe what we really wish is that we could replicate childhood for us, the parents. If we could go back to the beginnings, where our personalities formed, and somehow get it all right the next time around—maybe that's what we were after. Unfortunately there are no do-overs in life. We all must struggle with accepting our choices because we rarely get to see both sides. Speaking personally, adulthood has meant making tough choices and living with them while trying not to let that inner voice, which second-guesses those choices, dominate in your head.

The 8,007 mile trip was at times tedious and grinding, but it was also exhilarating and poignant. Certainly it was memorable. I'm glad Ellen had the guts to try this with me and also that she helped create such a great platform for documenting it all (this blog and its associated pages). Someday far in the future, this record will probably be the only memory left of our adventure.

Thank you all for following along.

Sincerely,

Craig