Skyline Drive

Last summer I lamented the lack of a proper road trip. Not so this year. Two full days of cruising down the winding ribbon of road that snakes along the Blue Ridge Mountains at heights ranging from roughly 1000 to 3000 feet is a trip indeed. Perhaps it’s the altitude or the overwhelming number of gorgeous views, but I feel peaceful and refreshed up there on that road; lighter. It’s as if the usual array of life worries that weigh on the shoulders were abandoned on the valley floor below.

Inspiring? Well, it elicits a state of readiness to be inspired. Driving, for me, is akin to the shower. As in, the best ideas tend to bubble up in that setting. Plus, to travel, even within the confines of the U.S., is a reminder of how much world is out there beyond our own little bubbles. As an introspective artist, that’s an important reminder to receive. That is, maybe to have the best ideas, one has to get out of one’s own head. Hit the road.