So I had this fun idea that I was going to feature books involving Mayday- meaning ones that start with a tragedy, a la the Mayday that a vessel in distress calls. I have it on good authority from my French expert, Anne Pace, that Mayday comes from “venez m’aider” meaning “come help me.”

I thought I would have time on my road trip to put together this blog. I am 3000+ miles, 19 states, 5 audiobooks, and 10 days into the trip and it is 11:00pm Friday night. I have not had a single second to work on my blog. I need to call Mayday! I have no books for you- but perhaps you have some to recommend to me?

On this trip I picked up my 46-48th states- Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. For me a state counts if I drive through it. I took an extra hour to drive north across Lake Ponchartrain and then across the bridges over the swampy area at the south east corner of the lake. Gorgeous. I now need only Alaska and Hawai’i to complete my 50!

Today I experienced NYC rush hour and drove over the George Washington Bridge. I also learned that 630 miles up the east coast (I-95) takes about the same amount of driving time as 940 miles down the center of the US (I-35).

I have mostly stayed with friends and have had a couple of fun lunch breaks- including meeting one of my favorite authors (Kris Bryant) for the first time- over Kansas City BBQ. Awesome all around. Kris has a Mayday book: Falling.

I’ve listened to new audiobooks (Breaking Character) and revisited some old favorites (Dust). I’ve eaten more Dunkin’ Donuts than I should- and currently have the stomach ache to prove it. I’ve also eaten gorgeous meals including delicacies such as pea beignets and orange dark chocolate torte. Not to mention some sinful ice cream.

I kayaked to see the bats fly from the Congress Ave Bridge in Austin, and saw a Gutenberg Bible. I stayed up too late chatting with old friends, and spent hours by myself, listening to books and music and the hum of the road. I have several more people to see and about 1500 more miles to drive over the next 9 days, before I have to get serious again.

Despite my current state of exhaustion, I highly recommend hopping into your car and driving across a few states if you get the opportunity.