New York, NY > Durham, NC > Athens, GA > New Orleans, LA > Austin, TX > Marfa, TX > Tucson, AZ > Los Angeles, CA My 6th cross-country trip, this one my second fastest at six nights. Honestly, this drive is just habit now. I like seeing the physical and cultural expanse of this continent: the subtle shift in mood between states, the not-so-subtle change in geography and architecture and snacks. The mystique and the shame of this country is more present when observed slowly. Across three time-zones is a banquet of ebbing prosperity, hushed main streets and prosaic agriculture, oftentimes slapped clumsily onto one of the most stunningly biodiverse regions of our earth: a wild, ancient land of canyons and swamps. A journey of pure paradox. My two-hour visit to Eddie Martin’s Pasaquan in Georgia made the entirety of this trip (and its 50 hours of driving) worth every bit. This drive has become my reset button—a moment of forced solitude and a creative jumpstart. Truthfully, on the more repetitive stints of the journey I fantasize about a fast cross-continental railroad. It would take 15 hours coast to coast if the US had a train as fast as Italy’s Freccia Rossa, France’s TGV, or even Britains HS2/Eurostar (HS1). Imagine!