Aboard the California Zephyr #6 Amtrak train, I left out of Union Station in Denver. Within two days I was at Penn Station, having stopped in Chicago just long enough for pizza and beer.

Inside the Lounge Car

In the end, Lucinda and I traveled 3,458 miles together. When I think back upon the experiences I had on this trip, I seem to circle around the idea of thresholds. In the words of John Pack, “Thresholds serve two purposes as I see it… One is a barrier to stop us, the other is a portal through which we are meant to pass.” Although it may come across as hyperbole, that I met myself in odd, unfamiliar places without submitting to fear; that I met and shared time with so many different people; because of these experiences I believe I have somehow changed.

In conclusion, out of Pirsig’s, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

“Trails never end, of course. Unhappiness and misfortune are bound to occur as long as people live, but there is a feeling now, that was not there before, and is just not on the surface of things, but penetrates all the way through: We won it. It’s going to be better now. You can sort of tell these things”