FAQs
How the heck are you paying for this? That's a good question! Have you seen my GoFundMe campaign?
What makes you think you can talk about library issues and other related stuff? I have a Master of Library and Information Science from Dominican University, 2011. I have also worked in a busy, small-to-medium-sized library located in suburban Chicago for five years in the Adult Services department as a reference librarian. Before that I had over twenty years in professional service related positions, mostly within the travel industry.
What was your undergraduate degree in? I have a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the State University of New York, the College at New Paltz, 1992. I have always had a keen interest in people and their relationships to land and community. Libraries are major players in sustaining these relationships.
When are you leaving? I'm planning on leaving around the 15th of October. For safety reasons I will be putting this blog on a delay, so the exact day will only be revealed once it has come and gone.
In which direction are you headed? As of right now, (August) I'm leaning towards taking a back-road route to Seattle via Mount Rushmore and Glacier National Park. Weather may push me farther south though....
How old are you? A lady never tells.
No, really.. I'm in my mid-to-late 40's.
How old is Mavis? She's nine.
What breed is Mavis? She's a basset hound.
What's with her eyes? She had surgery to remove one of them and then later her other one lost sight.
What kind of car are you driving? A 2004 Honda Odyssey minivan. I'm not a minivan driver usually, but it is useful for car trips.
What are your inspirations for this trip? My family first and foremost. My parents always made the big summer road trip in my youth. I clearly remember an early one of us tooling around the West in a 1976 Plymouth Volare station wagon. Memories! Later trips and published travelogues from the likes of William Least Heat Moon, John Steinbeck, Tony Horwitz among others gave me a framework (see my bibliography).
A 1976 Plymouth Volare station wagon. Ours was turquoise blue.
Are you staying in motels mostly? Actually, I'm going to experiment with a formula such as camp, camp, motel or Airbnb, camp, camp, motel/Airbnb each consecutive night to save money. We'll see. I'm not heading into optimal travel months.
What about meals? I'm going to try to eat a good, sturdy, protein-laden breakfast each morning at a local diner when available. Other meals will probably come from my cooler in the back, although I can see myself breaking down and treating myself to a restaurant every now and then.
How are you accessing the internet? While I'll be using my CREDO LTE service via my smartphone on the road proper, I will most likely be utilizing the free wifi available at public libraries primarily.
Where can I access your road tunes? My YouTube playlist. Hopefully they won't have pulled everything before I leave.
Mavis on her dog bed. Note the extra pillows.
New FAQs updated February, 2017:
Why haven't you updated this more consistently? Due to the holidays/family concerns/troubles with Mavis' health/lack of consistent wifi service, I got backed up. I'm trying to post as much as possible.
Why am I seeing posts about things other than libraries? I always wanted to do a travel blog as well as a library advocacy program. I also quickly learned that finding open libraries when I was rolling into small towns was getting to be a problem. I decided to write about other educational endeavors such as landmarks, National Parks, museums, and other roadside attractions as they became available.