The road has always been full of allure and mystery and dreams to me. Born with a gypsy soul, one I like to say I inherited from my Grandfather, I have always been fascinated with trips in cars as a child, and as an adult, road trips with friends and family. I love driving. The hideous Los Angeles traffic has yet to lessen that love; I’m not sure anything could. There is nothing quite like driving with the windows down and the music playing loud. Besides standing by the ocean, there is nothing that makes me feel freer and myself than being behind the wheel.

Sometimes the road calls to me, that itch that nothing else will quell, to get in the car and just go, without a particular destination in mind, or map to follow. I love the long stretches of highway, the off-ramp diner stops, the roadside attractions, the stories just waiting to be told out on the road. I would have made a great drifter, I think, backpack and journals to fill and a book to read, stopping for long stretches in tiny towns and big cities, long enough to get my bearings, make a little money, get a feel for life in each place, and then move on.

But the wayward life is hard to live when you have responsibilities and family. I live for the moments when I can take off for a day trip, or sometimes a longer cross-country adventure. It’s been too long since there’s been a reason to take one, or any opportunity, and I know that I need to find the time, because I know what being on the road gifts to me, the inspiration it feeds, the muse it represents to me, my writing, and my peace of mind.

Sometimes you just have to get in the car and go.

Top 5 Streets and Roads Songs
Friday Five

1. “Roads” (live) by Portishead

2. “La Cienega Just Smiled” (live) by Ryan Adams

3. “Mercy Street” by Peter Gabriel

4. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John

5. “On the Road” by Angus And Julia Stone