How to survive when the yellow brick road stops. Even the greatest road trips must come to an end. (Even if you're following a band around the continental U.S., the party only lasts as long as the band does.) And that end is always where you began, because, I think we can all agree, a one-way road trip is not a road trip. Even moving across the country isn't a road trip. It may be a journey; it may be a life-changing, soul-affirming event; however, a road trip it is not. Road trips must come full circle. (I think I read that on Wikipedia, which means it must be true.) In any event, that end is always bittersweet. On the one hand, those hours in the car have probably made you feel more cloistered than a ninth century monk. And regardless of whether or not you've stayed in the finest hotels, your clothing and physical being will still manage to smell, shall we say, funky. Even if you've had a deeply meaningful bonding experience with your car-mates, let's be honest -- two weeks in a car is more than enough time to spend with people you like; never mind people you may have begun to hate. Like Bible college students who end up being atheists, the proximity generated by a road trip will have the concurrent effect of bringing you closer to your friends than you've ever been, and making you want to not see them for a long, long time. Right about now you might be wondering, is this column going to be about music? Is this even a column? And, what's for dinner? Those are all valid questions. The answers: everything is about music; it is a columnella; and you took the pork chops out of the freezer, and I recommend a side dish of grilled asparagus. Related Tyee stories: Spring Road Trip! Songs for the beginning of your journey. Songs for the Road (of Life and Asphalt) Escape with some sing-along, filth and a good beat. Music to Soothe Us in Troubled Times Bush, sub-prime and Nancy Grace require good soft rock. Read more: Music
