A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins

...in roughly 9 hours, at any rate.

Good evening, netizens. I write to you from Square One, as it were, in the quiet Virginian suburbs of Washington, D.C., be-they-ever-so-pretentious (but not as bad as the Maryland ones). A few meters from where I sit, Mr. Saavedra lies asleep, preparing for our imminent departure tomorrow morning for Toronto. And so, not three days after being reunited with my home, my family, my dog, and my bed, I shall steal away and leave them all in early morning somnolence, as we two Musketeers go to reunite with our compatriot in the French Territories (pronounced 'Canada'). At last, the summation of a year's daydreams and procrastination is about to move from design into production, most likely only partially resembling our expectations. Elaborate timetables have been wrought; they will be wrecked. Supplies have been inventoried; they will be insufficient. Directions have been printed; they will not be precise. We hardly expect this trip to go entirely to plan. Given that we are in search for America, we wouldn't have it any other way.

We all look forward to regaling you with tales from our search for that elusive, shimmering city on a hill. Hopefully we will be able to tell you that, beyond the Walmart's and McDonald's on the climb up, there is a rich history being built upon, and natural beauty being protected at the top. That said, we're also stopping at the International SPAM Museum in Austin, MN, so all bets are off.

The opportunity to while away a month exploring this vast land we call America, beforing spltting off our separate ways - two going back across the border to NYC, and myself to Beijing - is one we all cherish and look to capture completely through photos, writings, and, of course, blog posts. So please continue to check back with us as we journey on our way, we three ancestors of immigrants driving in an imported Japanese car, to do what we can to boost the U.S. economy...mostly by supplementing the ledgers of already bloated oil companies. But before we can play the part of blogging bards, our quest must, like all journeys, begin with a single step.