Every road trip deserves an FAQ, I hear. Ergo:

What is a road trip?

No, actually, I’m not starting with that one.

How long is the trip going to last?

According to the latest itinerary, 123 days.

Are you going by yourself?

Yes, but: I have friends and family in different parts of the country that I’ll be visiting. Plus I have a few people who are planning on joining with me on some stretch of the trip. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of alone time, though.

How many miles?

With side trips, I’m guessing 19,000 or so.

Isn’t that a lot of driving?

Meh.

No, really, that seems like a lot of driving.

It averages out to something like 150 miles a day, which is more than I usually drive, but doesn’t seem that daunting to me personally. There are going to be a couple of days when I’m on the road for 10 hours — but only two of them (although there are also a couple eight-hour days). On other coast-to-coast road trips that I’ve taken, I’ve found that after the first six or eight hours, I just get used to it. Consecutive ten-hour days aren’t a big deal to me, so consecutive two-hour driving days probably won’t be either.

What car are you taking?

My 2004 Nissan Titan. It has a camper shell on it, which should come in handy, plus it can hold a lot of stuff, which seems useful given that I’ll be living out of it for four months.

What is the fastest land animal?

The cheetah.

You should take a dog with you so it can be like Travels with Charlie.

I’m guessing a four-month-long road trip isn’t the best way to break a dog in. Plus poodles are high-strung and I don’t believe Steinbeck when he says otherwise.

What’s the general path your trip is taking?

Clockwise.

What are you going to do once the trip is over?

Go around again? Not sure, but I’ll have a few months to think about it.

Can I friend you on Facebook?

You can sure try.

Fair enough.

Indeed.

All right, well: if I get asked any other questions frequently, I’ll append them to this page. Probably.

bkd