Oregon Trail - Part 1 - Begins With a Single Step

The short version. I put everything I owned into a beat-up 2002 Toyota Camry and started driving across the country with no itinerary, determined to be a road warrior and make the country my office. There were places I wanted to go, but no schedule to keep beyond handling work as it came in and getting to a reasonable stopping place before it got too late. For reference, I've been working 3-5 hours a day, driving 3-5 hours a day, sleeping 6-8 hours a day, and the rest of the time... who even knows.

My second day on the road cross-country, and I haven't even made it out of Charlottesville, VA. It was a late start, and I ended up working at a service station during a tire rotation and an oil change, then at a private-sector student union/gym/tanning salon, and then the next day while kneeling on a tatami mat at a friend's house, and then at a different friend's house. Full of variety if not efficiency.

I stopped on the road at Edelweiss, a German restaurant where I ordered a salad and potato dumplings and felt bad for keeping them open late. The decor was interesting, but the high prices made me wonder if gratuity was included (as it is in most actual German restaurants).