U. S. Route 1: Rediscovering the New World

Book excerpt: Stretching over 2,400 miles along the East Coast--from remote, forested northern Maine to bucolic, artsy Key West--U.S. Route 1 is one of America's most historic but long-ignored highways. While roads such as the decommissioned Route 66 have found their way into American pop culture through songs, books, and TV shows, Route 1 is largely forgotten while it still thrums with life as thousands navigate it each day. This eclectic road started as a pathway for patriots trying to launch a new nation and ultimately became one of the country's most important thoroughfares as the automobile arrived early in the 20th century. Because of its unique position along the East Coast, it is a critical lens through which to observe how what was once known to Europeans as the New World has evolved over centuries.Early in the summer of 2014, I set out to drive every inch of this road. My goal was to experience a road trip similar to the car journeys of my early youth, and to witness for myself what the so-called New World had become some four centuries after pilgrims began landing here. After a lifetime living on a tight schedule as a daily newspaper journalist and as a senior manager in corporate America, I resolved to set out with no itinerary. My only goal was to drive the road while absorbing the stories of the people who live along the thoroughfare and to experience the diverse geography through which the highway twists and turns. Over two weeks I found myself in situations ranging from the exhaust-filled canyons of The Bronx to the wide-open expanses of the Carolinas to an intimate meeting with a deer in Maine. Among the people who spoke with me were a Baptist minister in South Carolina, a policeman in Camden Yards ballpark in Baltimore, and the curator of a historical museum in Key West. I woke up each day with no real plan for my journey and went to sleep each night amazed at what Route 1 showed me. And it was during a quick stop in Boston to visit my two sons on the third day of the trip that I began to understand what I was trying to do. When they pressed me for answers about why I had launched my whimsical journey, I finally arrived at one response: I have always been in love with this diverse country and--through my drive--I wanted to leave my sons with some sort of snapshot of the 21st century America none of us sees on the news each night or reads about in the news each day. It was a simple goal, but I found so much more. So I decided to share my experience in this book.Travelogues have always fascinated me. Whether it was the epic story of a man who journeyed to and walked on the moon or the humorous tale of a middle-aged man trying to hike a 2,000-mile trail, I have always reveled in narratives that helped me see a journey through a travelers' eyes and words. None of us can go everywhere to experience all the sights and sounds of our beautiful planet. We must rely on the stories of men and women who went places and took their time to tell us their stories. It is my hope to add the story of my trip to this valuable collection of travel and history literature.