March 28, 2010

Road trip.

A 600-mile road trip is not as crazy as it may sound. Ten years ago, I took a 5,000-mile road trip from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland — from mile zero to mile zero on the Trans-Canada Highway.

That road trip, of course, took twelve days and included performances in 17 different cities across Canada. During the day, we would drive, in the evenings we would perform, and at night we would party, and occasionally sleep. I was surrounded by 12 people and two dogs that I cared for very much, and the trip was more of a two-week adventure than simply a drive across the country.

This morning, perhaps as you’re reading this post, I’m in the middle of a ten-hour, 600-mile drive from Washington DC to Toronto. Driving alone, in an SUV full of kitchen appliances, clothes, books and furniture, across the border and back to my parents’ apartment.

By the time you read this, I have already given back the keys to my apartment, picked up a cup of coffee, and started the long move back to Canada.

There are many things I’ll miss about the metro DC area: my apartment with its lovely fireplace, balcony, and granite countertops; the Tidal Basin in the early morning when the birds are ruffling through the trees and nobody is blocking my view of the Jefferson Monument; the playground in the square near the fountain where I’d always hear the laughter of children; the walk to and from Boccato Gelato; lazy afternoons by the Georgetown Waterfront; free concerts at the Kennedy Center; the cavernous but still beautiful Metro stations; playing hide-and-seek in the Air & Space Museum; flying kites on the National Mall; reading in the sun on a hot and humid afternoon in the middle of the Botanic Gardens; the handmade cufflinks in the antique market at the Eastern Market; and of course, all the amazing and wonderful people that have made my time here so special.

This morning, I’m driving back to Toronto on my own, leaving all these fantastic things behind. Not because I’m tired of them, or because I need a change of scenery, or because I’m unhappy here.

Then why?

Because when you’re in one place and your heart is 600 miles away, the only thing that can cure it is a solo road trip back home.