one of my favorite games to play on my apple IIe as a kid was oregon trail. problem solving was fun for me as was imagining what it was like to live way back when, before computers and E.T. and Montessori school.
as a kid i dreamed of living on the west coast, typical american dream i suppose but mine nonetheless. i watched tv shows about high schoolers in beverly hills, i listened to nwa and too short and all the flannel shirt/greasy hair music coming out of seattle and yes i remember exactly where i was when i heard kurt cobain died. for the last five years i have been living out my childhood dream, carving out a little life for myself on the west coast first in san francisco and now in portland.
since moving to oregon last summer i have wanted to follow the oregon trail. partly for fun and partly to learn the history. i remember learning about the oregon trail in school but most of what i learned i have forgotten and now it's been seeming like the perfect time to delve into the history of it all and see what i uncover.
much of my process as a person is about familiarizing myself with the past, either my own past or the past that surrounds me as a way to become grounded in the here and now. over the next few months i look forward to planning this trip that i see as more of a pilgrimage. i hope in a way it will give me more insight as to what it has meant throughout history to "go west" and how i fit into that picture.
and of course i am looking forward to taking this trip with someone i love and know i can stand to be on the road with for a couple of weeks!
