One Year Later Ben Kane Last weekend I saw the film “Space Station 3D” at a nearby Imax theatre. It made me think about how foggy the memory of our trip was becoming. It occured to me that it must be similar for the people who have voyaged out into space. Sure, looking at pictures and reading my journal does bring back a flood of memories, but there are subtle nuances and feelings that I know have been lost since October. At least the space travellers have an IMAX 3D film to remind them what it was like. Danny and I were together most of the time during the trip, and once we had picked up an extra traveller in Vancouver, I was almost never alone. One day, however, in the Alberta rockies, Danny and Holly decided they wanted to hike up a mountain to drink glacier water. Neither the trip nor the destination seemed sane to me, so I found a deserted picnic area and settled down for the day. It was a perfect day: cool, crisp mountain air, sunshine, and nobody within sight. With Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on my MiniDisc player and a pen in my hand, I began several hours of thinking and writing. By the end of the day, one of the things that I had achieved was a set of goals for the year. Looking back on them now, I am amazed by how completely I have achieved them. In some cases, I have surpassed what I thought possible back in September. Perhaps I need another day of introspection and insight to set my goals for next year. Perhaps I need another road trip. Both Danny and I know that we will do something like this again, but we both need at least another year or two to re-fill our bank accounts. Danny Wright So, it’s been a year since the trip. As I write this now, one year ago today I was drinking in midtown Manhattan. Not enough time has passed so that I am still able to picture every minute detail in my head. What I had to drink, where I was drinking, and even more important still, what I had done for the entire day, and the days to come. As the next few months pass, each day that passes I will be thinking of what I did one year ago, and wishing that I could be re-living that very moment. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about the trip in some sort of way. Going on the trip exposed me to such great wonders, Bourbon Street, deserts, the Las Vegas strip, Tijuana, California, The Rocky Mountains, and many others. So many places that were visited on the trip, I long to re-visit, while some others were good just to pass through, but equally important to see. One thing that this trip did to me was to make me want to travel even more. I intend to build upon this trip, to see more of the planet and, most important, to go for even longer. I recommend road trips to everyone, the longer and more diverse the better, and I guarantee it isn’t something you will soon, or ever, forget. < Back to Main