On being up early

 

I don't think of myself as either a morning person or a night person.

I tend to avoid labels to begin with. That's probably why I couldn't be categorized in high school.

I tend to adapt to staying up late or being up early but, perhaps if forced to choose, I might be more of a morning person.

As I wrote yesterday, I had to be up at five this morning. That's not necessarily too early for me so I didn't see it as a big deal.

But I awoke to my alarm and stepped into the office before daylight.

Of course, it got me thinking about hitting the road. Those hours will always make me think of that.

Oh we've gone over it so many times, but as we sit in a pandemic, there's a different feeling.

I'm not as broke as normal and I have a car that isn't a lease. I can actually drive!

In fact, speaking honestly, I've only put maybe 4,000 miles on my car since the end of June.

Essentially, that's unthinkable for me, given I was capable of 500 miles per week.

Still, I can't say I feel comfortable just jumping in the car and going away. Oh, sure, I can take a ride, but there's also that feeling that it is somewhat irresponsible. You know, COVID and so on

If I'm guilty of having a conscience, then sure. Throw me in jail. I'm not really sure that's a bad thing.

Amazingly, we can freely roam in New York. So, think about that. I can drive from here to the edge of Long Island. I can drive to Rouses Point or Wellesley Island at the Canadian border. I can drive to Ripley at the Pennsylvania border. Some of those drives are 3-6 hours or more in length.

Put that into perspective. I can make Fredericksburg or Richmond, Va in 6-7 hours.

It's slightly insane, but those are the rules. What changes when I cross into any other state?

Still, the numbers are the numbers, so I respect the rules.

So, back to my point. I can do a day trip to any other part of New York. Heck, I can even get a room and stay somewhere. No testing when I come home. No quarantine.

It is sort of tempting to jump in the car and go...but where? I was throwing scenarios around in my brain. But, I would most likely be alone on this journey. Sean has admitted he likes Cooperstown and would go back there. It's shocking that he likes it but why question it?

Otherwise, a drive to...who knows where? One that doesn't include Waffle House (remember: there are none in New York)? He probably wouldn't be interested in that.

Of course, I'm overthinking all of this (a trademark of mine!) but it's what occupies my mind when I'm up early for work and am otherwise zoning out.

I love travel and I miss it. It's why I don't really mind the bus trips with a sports team or driving to places just...because.

There's a reason I say I'll drive to games somewhere. I hear it all the time: "You don't want to that drive."

Oh?

So forgive me if I'm waxing a bit poetic about getting out of bed at a ridiculous hour to drive in the dark on some peaceful roads.

Even if I can only see my state.