Eric's musings

Scott McGinnis and Jay Straughn ruined my life. Really. In January 1990 I was a simple, naive, 21 year old who didn't know much about the world. That January after studying for 2 weeks in London I joined Scott and Jay as we backpacked for another 2 weeks across Europe. It was crazy. From trying to get across the English Channel to looking for a doctor for Scott after he stepped on a nail coming out of the shower at the Three Duck Hostel in Paris to getting locked in the bathroom in Rome - the trip created a life time if memories. During the trip - lone before Facebook and twitter and Instagram and vine - we created an audio tape of the whole trip. I still have it. The memories of being young and traveling around trying to figure out life pop as I listen to it. 

Now that I'm a dad with older children, I can help but want to continue to create lasting memories for both my daughters and me and Marcia. The great American road trip is a family version of backpacking across Europe. We take in new parts of the world. We look to see what each day holds. We spend so much time with each other that we never spend at home. We explore. We give ourselves permission to stop and try something - like today when we passed by the Central Park children's zoo. It was free and Sydney wanted to see it. Some we went in. 

So often in our lives we have to be some where so often that we lose the appetite for adventure and exploring and learning. The road trip brings adventure to life. It's not staged. We aren't on a tour. We are having to oriented to each new place - sometimes we good results - like making it to the 9/11 memorial on the subway the does day, sometimes by back tracking- like to tonight when I forgot again the difference between uptown and downtown. 

Jay and Scott ruined my life so that I can long longer settle for a life of being settled. I craze adventure and new places. I love to see what people god will

Bring  my life that day - like the man seeking $1 photos of NYC under the overhang of the late show on broadway or meeting home friends in a far off city. 

I am glad my life is ruined. I would not have it any other way. 

A few pictures from our second NYC day.