Travels With Charlie
by John Steinbeck

I purchased this book for 52 cents in a used book and record store somewhere in downtown Minneapolis
on July 11, 1998.

Steinbeck packed up his dog in a winnebago an took off to write about his life-long fascination
of driving acrtoss the U.S.  Despite the difference in our ages, his experiences were remarkably similar
to ours.  He trumped us by going up to Maine and Seattle and spending more time in Texas.  But
I think we saw more of Colorado, Florida, and Virginia than Steinbeck did.  He also spent a
significant amount of time on the Monterey peninsula because he had grown up there.

Steinbeck hypothesizes that the Wanderlust that we seem to feel toward a manifest westward destiny
is genetic in that our early ancestors in Africa had to wander the Earth to become what we are
today.  

Special thanks to Zinovy Lipkin for recommending this book right before we departed on the trip,
and to Dan Lovejoy for taking us to the aforementioned bookstore.