Only a Fictional Poodle with Me

John Steinbeck wrote a book called Travels with Charley. It's about him traveling around America with his poodle, Charley. If I were to retrace Steinbeck's steps, I supposed I could write a book called Travels with Travels with Charley. But, whereas Steinbeck begins his travels in New York, I started in Michigan. Steinbeck's incentive for his journey was to reexamine the American landscape and people. He thought this is good for a writer to do every so often. My agenda is not to generate material to write about (except for this blog); really, it's to visit people and places. Still, it has been ten years since the last time I automobiled from my home to the Pacific coast, and I reckon making a trip like this every decade could be a good plan.