Opinion & Commentary:
On the Road…Alone

By Chaye Kohl

For nine days I traveled north on I-95, with only a vague idea of where I would be the next day. Sometimes scary but mostly exhilarating -- it was my own version of On the Road. Jack Kerouac was never my idol. And all the fuss being made this year about the anniversary of his celebrated tome was not what motivated me. My trip all started on a whim, with a long mournful look at an old wrinkled piece of paper. This trip provided the most exercise my spontaneity has gotten in a long time.

For the first time in my adult life I am really on my own. My children are grown, married and gainfully employed. I am not contributing to their graduate school tuition or living expenses, nor am I saving towards one of their weddings. I was ruminating over how to celebrate.

When the end date for a contract of employment approached I notified my employer that I was going to return north to be near family and friends. Two years before I had made a logical career move, climbing another rung in educational administration, and I had gone south to become a high school principal in the second largest Jewish community day school in the United States. I was successful at work, but I missed being near family and long time friends. Now I chose again -- I was going "home."

Making the move from Florida included getting my car back to New Jersey. One evening, as I sorted and tossed papers and made lists of what needed to be done to close the apartment, I came across a page I had filled two years prior. It was a list of places to see in Florida. My busy work schedule and the job-related social demands precluded my having been a tourist. I wistfully scanned the list, mentally checking off where I had been, wondering if I would ever….then the proverbial light bulb flashed. I gleefully chucked the information brochure about the auto-train.

That evening, when I spoke to my children I told them: "Ema (mother) is going on a road trip!" Son number one: "Sounds like fun. Are you sure you want to do that much driving?" Son number two: "What places do you want to see? How long will it take?" Daughter: "Go for it Ema!!!"

The next day, as I stood in the office of the local Mayflower Movers, waiting for a representative to fetch the boxes I was purchasing, I intently studied the United States map on his wall, mapping my itinerary. The movers came on their appointed morning, and I sat down at my laptop that afternoon, and with my google-eyed friend began to plan the trip.

Using Route I-95 as my guidepost, I determined which cities I had always wanted to see, and put them on my list. My concern was where I would spend Shabbat -- I wanted to be in a Jewish community and preferred not to be holed up in a motel room for twenty-five hours. My eldest e-mailed me: "Check out the kosher bed and breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina." I hadn’t an inkling it existed.

My nine-day trip included Historic St. Augustine, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Historic Williamsburg, Virginia, and Mount Vernon, Virginia. St. Augustine was the only place I completely researched online. Shabbat at the Charleston Kosher Bed and Breakfast was the only reservation I prepaid. As I drove, I stopped at Tourist Information spots as I entered each state. I would review brochures, chat with friendly representatives and then determine what I would do the next day.

I thought I would be lonely, but the experience proved to be a revelation. I visited places I wanted to visit. I ate when I was hungry and slept when I was tired. I got to see historic America up close -- smiles and warts!

As an educator for 34 years, I have been on many school trips. The trips have taken me to half a dozen states (on graduation trips), as well as two countries. There were always 30 or more travel companions on my bus. My day began with knocking on doors -- often multiple times -- to rouse sleepy teens who, having watched TV, talked and noshed well into the wee morning hours were all too ready to tell me what they thought of my wake-up calls. My day consisted of shepherding young people, treating minor medical mishaps, dealing with itinerary glitches and the occasional irate motel manager. I was historian, psychologist and parent for a busload of teens, 24/7.

There had also been overnight ski trips with my own children, which included the joys of sibling rivalry. To cut costs there were picnic hampers or suitcases full of microwavable and canned food. The dinner menu usually got a poor review from my cranky kids.

Professional conferences have taken me to Boston, California, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and even Israel. Rarely is there opportunity to spend time outside of sessions. The camaraderie and professional development are always exciting. But when I attend education conferences the inside of the hotel, and the route to and from the airport, are all I see.

I always traveled with responsibility in tow. Not this time!

On this road trip I began the day when I chose to; I lingered over my Cheerios and milk in the motel breakfast room, reading the newspaper. I got into my car, consulted the map and brochures procured at Tourist Information and drove to my next destination. When I was done with one site, I could move on to another. More than once I lunched on ice cream or some frothy drink from Starbucks (they really are all over the U.S.!).

Three of the eight nights were spent at quaintly furnished bed and breakfast inns -- where I met the locals, as well as tourists from "exotic" places like Austin, Texas; Durham, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama, and Englewood, New Jersey.

Once evening, as I scanned billboards, trying to determine where I would get off the road to find lodging, I thought about the teenage chatter and good-natured ribbing that was strangely missing from this trip. And then I smiled. On the Road. Alone. Not lonely. Not a bad thing.

Chaye Kohl, an educator for 34 years, has taught Judaic and General Studies and been an administrator at Yeshivah of Flatbush High School in Brooklyn N.Y.; Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School in South River, N.J.; and The Frisch School in Paramus, N.J. Her last stint, as principal of the high school at the Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School in North Miami Beach, Fl. ended in June 2007. Kohl, on sabbatical from administration, is an adjunct professor of writing at Adelphi University. Current road trips now take her to visit her grandchildren. She can be reached at chayekohl@aol.com.