Where You Spending the Fourth?
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Nothing says Independence Day more than getting in the car and heading for some far off destination. To celebrate the Fourth when I was 22, I got in a car with my then girlfriend and drove ten hours just to see a show at Red Rocks (Blues Traveler and the Allman Brothers), and then we returned the very next day. When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, I drove an hour to the coast just to get drunk and watch high-school kids shoot bottle rockets at each other (and on one unfortunate occasion, me). Strange to think that such holiday road tripping is quickly becoming a luxury most of us can’t afford.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Instead of looking at the impending “energy crisis” as a bad thing, why not celebrate the benefits of the Death of the Car Culture? The mainstream media is starting to catch on. In a special report, Time magazine lists “Ten Things You Can Like About $4 Gas.” I feel like I could name twenty more.
So where am I going this weekend? I’m staying right here in Austin, enjoying my house, maybe doing a little work outside. The farthest I plan to go is Barton Springs, a world-class swimming hole less than ten minutes from my house. I could drive two hundred miles or fly half way around the world, and I wouldn’t find a better swim spot.