I’ve been doing a lot of road trips over the past twelve months.
Some of them have been sort of out of necessity–I live in California and most of my family is in Oregon–and some just for fun. The longest ones were about 700 miles each way, while the shortest were only about 70. Most were with my husband, although one was solo and one was with my younger kid, who’s 20.
I’ve been able to visit some wonderful places: the Oregon and California coasts. The desert. The redwoods. The Sierra foothills. Disneyland. Portland. I’ve visited shops, wineries, and brewpubs; eaten delicious food; tromped around on beaches, in parks, and in zoos; attended local performances; helped my kid move into her first apartment; spent time with friends and family.
Excellent adventures, all of them.
I think road trips have pros and cons. On the plus side, you can overpack (or, ahem, buy too much yarn and too many books). You can pull over anytime something catches your fancy, or just because you want to stop and stretch your legs. If you have anyone annoying sharing your space, at least you know you picked ’em–and they’re very likely a relative. You can explore whatever your time and finances allow. I get a lot of plot ideas.
The cons are the costs, the traffic, and OMG I have seen WAY too many miles of I-5 over the past twelve months.
I’m still organizing my plans for 2024, although more road trips are already in the works. What are your thoughts on road trips?
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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.
After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her family and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.
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