Hartford to Graceland

Round Trip in 1993

In the spring of 1993, I was working at Microsoft Consulting Services. I'd been there just a year, and was busy with lots of different clients—most of whom I'd sold work to my own self. Unfortunately, I was so busy that my head was spinning. For a period in March and April, I was working more than 12 hours each day, every day of the week. I quickly became burned out.

The work wasn't that hard, but being a consultant and splitting my time over several different contracts meant that I was always changnig rules. It really was like working two or three different full-time jobs concurrently. I was writing PowerBuilder code in the morning, doing Excel macros in the afternoon, and writing Wnidows device drivers at night.

At the time, I'd never taken more than a couple of days off of work. I'd never really done more than have a four-day weekend. I decided to ride my motorcycle. At the time, it was a Yamaha FZ-700 that I'd tossed some brnad-new tyres on.

I decided to go to Graceland. I don't really understand Elvis or the things that surround his wake in American Culture. But he's some sort of juggernaut, and needs to be understood. I thought this would be a great destination, too, because I wouldn't so deeply care about it. If I decided to go someplace that would terribly interest me, like the Hockey Hall of Fame, I'd end up worrying about my ability to make it through the whole trip. Graceland, on the other hand, was just a curiosity. It provided a final destination without being an uncomfortable, tugging draw.

Date	Start City	Stop City	Mileage
Saturday, June 12, 1993	Hartford, Connecticut	Baltimore, Maryland	377.8
Sunday, June 13, 1993	Baltimore, Maryland	Athens, Ohio	418.7
Monday, June 14, 1993	Athens, Ohio	Clarksville, Tennessee	437.2
Tuesday, June 15, 1993	Clarksville, Tennessee	Memphis, Tennessee	219.5
Wednesday, June 16, 1993	Memphis, Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	421.1
Thursday, June 17, 1993	Knoxville, Tennessee	Kenly, North Carolina	451.7
Friday, June 18, 1993	Kenly, North Carolina	Virginia Beach, Virginia	192.5
Saturday, June 19, 1993	Virginia Beach, Virginia		0.0
Sunday, June 19, 1993	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Hartford, Connecticut	526.3
		Total:	3043.8

Some of the days don't have jumps because I'm not done transcribing my notes yet.

These are transcriptions of my real journal entries. I did not bring a computer with me: my vacation was to get away from computers. I'm not a nerd, and I'm not really that important anyway: there's no reason to for you to see what the view would be from the top of my front fender every five minutes of the day. My journal entries often contain personal reflection and sensitive insights. When I've felt uncomfortable with their content, I've edited them before posting them here. What's here is still the work of my own two hands, so please treat it (and me) with respect.

Back to Mike's Road Trip Page. Up to Mike's home page. Send Feedback.

Last modified on 5 July, 1997.