If you live in the UK, there's a show on TV at the moment called Kevin McCloud's Escape to the Wild. I don't watch a fraction as much TV as I used to but I was idly channel surfing a couple of days ago and stumbled upon it (though a part of me suspects The Gods half heartedly shoved it in my direction) and was captivated.
On tonight's show, he visits a family who have thrown their all into living in the shadow of an active volcano in the Andes. Excitement and wonder aside that regular (debatable in hindsight) people have actually committed to discarding the rat race and backed out of Ladder Climbing altogether, the one thing the show does better than anything is to shine a very bright light at the spot where you're standing right now.
There's something about any kind of wilderness that fascinates me. Being disconnected from the world is unbelievably appealing because it means you have a chance to find yourself and figure out how the world revolves with you in it. It's certainly not about bank balances, working for the man or any other form of legalised doping you care to think of. The wild does not care what sex or colour you are - all it cares about is whether or not you are able to tread lightly enough to be a part of The Big Machine.
That said, you'll forgive me if on this very day in history, I decided that I need to have this in my life:
For the uninitiated, it's a Triumph GT6. I don't need to tell you why I must have it or describe any reasons behind my thinking either - all you have to do is look at it and if you have even a small portion of your soul left, any questions you have are immediately answered.
Being as I have no intention (yet) of disappearing into the hills never to be seen again, I figure this looks very much like a Road Trip Car. A European Road Trip Car at that - probably with international breakdown cover but that's OK. A European Road Trip Car which is an adventure waiting to happen even before you've got the keys in your hand.
I think the book detailing these adventures will pretty much write itself, don't you?
Sigh... now I just need to figure out whether to go for the Mk II or Mk III.