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Reimagining… road trips

Photo of mountain range with a dotted line cutting through it, indicating a path.

Nirmal Sherchan, Visual Designer

Q: Tell us about your dream trip?

A: My ancestors were traders and they traveled a lot on foot and horse in the Himalayas, trading between Tibet in the north and India in the south. My dream trip would be to cover a section of one of the many routes they took, camping along the way as they did.

Q: What route would you take?

A: I would cover the mid western region of Nepal from Lake Phoksundo to Tukche, where I was born. The trail I would take crosses west to east, over 5 passes 5,000 meters high.

Q: That sounds amazing.

A: Yes, there are some villages on the route but I would like to make the trip as they did in the old days, carrying supplies on a horse or mule.

Q: How long would a trip like that take?

A: Including the hike with a few rest days and getting acclimated to the altitude, it would be around two weeks.

Q: Complete this sentence, “To travel is to _______________”

A: To travel is to take a deep breath of life, expand oneself, and rejuvenate.

Natalia de Rubira, Project Manager

Q: Tell us about your dream trip?

A: My dream road trip would be to cross Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. My twin brother is an archaeologist and has spent a number of his digs in the Middle East finding amazing relics that can be viewed in the museums there.

Q: What would your itinerary look like?

A: We’d start off in Egypt. See the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Grand Egyptian Museum. Then we’d cross the desert and the Suez Canal before taking a ferry into Jordan. There, we’ll stop at the End of the World coffee shop in Petra.

Q: And is the End of the World the end?

A: No. We’d go to Israel next, see the Ruins of Masada and the Dead Sea. Finally we’d end our trip in Bethlehem to see Rachel’s Tomb.

Q: That’s a lot to look forward to.

A: Yea, my brother and I have always had an affinity for travel, history, and languages, though my brother is limited to the use of ancient hieroglyphics and I am limited to taxicab Hebrew for this trip.

Q: Complete this sentence, “Travel far enough, you __________”

A: Travel far enough, you become a storyteller.

Eric Mikkelsen, UX Engineer

Q: What inspired your dream trip?

A: I did one of those New York Times 10 questions, and one of the questions was, “Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time?” It took me a few minutes but I’ve always wanted to go on a trip where I biked to my destination.

Q: What would your itinerary look like?

A: I would make the trip from Albany to Sacramento traveling south along the bay, cut east at the bottom, and then head north. This would keep me off some rough routes for cyclists, and at the same time, take me through some great places east of the bay.

Q: Complete this sentence, “We travel because __________”

A: We travel because going somewhere is more important than getting somewhere. And I wanna go all over.

What is your dream road trip? We’d love to hear about it.