Let the Dash Begin!

"The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life."
--Agnes Repplier, American essayist


East Coast Dash, Day 1: Today is a travel day, and so starts the Dash.

Several years ago I coined one of my particularly hectic trips back to the States "The East Coast Dash" and the term has stuck, probably because it's such an apt description of my whirlwind race up and down the Atlantic Seaboard for various graduations, birthdays, school concerts, doctors' appointments, friend reunions, family visits, home maintenance projects, even business lunches.

The standard Dash is a road trip (always in a rented SUV) generally consisting of stops in NYC, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and DC, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey and Corning. Each stop along the way is about 2-3 days, depending on the occasion or event, and the average Dash lasts from about 10 days to 2 weeks, seldom less.

I love the Dash and find it strangely exhilarating. After many weeks and months spent in China where we're not permitted to drive and where I rarely go anywhere unaccompanied, the Dash always gives me a renewed sense of autonomy and freedom. There's nothing quite like finding my favorite radio station, cranking up the volume and cruising down the highway to my next destination, filled with anticipation and expectations!

Today I'm headed to Virginia for my niece's 8th Grade Graduation, a highly anticipated event that will involve many dinners, parties, sleepovers, cookouts and various other celebrations. Despite being a little overwhelmed by the fact that Cate has suddenly, somehow managed to become 14 years old and is ready to embark on four years of highschool, I'm loaded up with Kleenex and Visine and intend to call upon my Super-Aunt powers to help my sister play hostess for a weekend of family, friends and frantic fun!

Let the Dash begin!