12 states
3,000 miles (4,800 km)
10 days

We had no idea where we were going to wake up the next day.
No hurry to get anywhere.
Stopped at so many random places…

Talked to so many strangers with great stories of their lives – Rosalind at the bar in State College, Ryan who was cleaning the restrooms on Jersey shores, Jovana who has gotten me excited to visit the erstwhile Yugoslavia, Vicky our cleaning lady in the Durham hotel who is from Guatemala…

So many old friends revisited – middle school friend Partha and his family in New Jersey, college friend Madhav and his family in Virginia, old colleague Mark and his family in Kentucky, not-very-sure-how-we-becamme-friends-but-we-are-strong-friends Budhu and his family in Tennessee…

Not to forget the chance to see Natasha in New York and then pick up Nikita in North Carolina

The incredible mountains of Tennessee and West Virginia and the equally beautiful beaches of Virginia and North Carolina… and those teeming crowds in New York city…

That random waterfall…
That even more random flower by the roadside…

The endless roads…
No destination…
Just the journey…

Wherever we went… there we were…