The Trip of a Lifetime

John and His Corvette In June of 2013, I got notice that I was to be laid off my job at IBM in 30 days. Although I had some opportunities there and elsewhere, I decided to take the money and run instead. On the advice of long-time former Sun Microsystems buddy Ray Voight and the blessing of my financial advisor, I decided to take the summer off to see America. It was without question one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I figured I would wander three to four weeks and made a list of the sights I would see. Although I had some eastern and southeastern spots on my early lists, I had visited many of them during my travels before and I soon realized that most of the places I wanted to see were out west, particularly if I wanted to spend about a month travelling. Not that I had anything better to do at home, but I know I get homesick after a while. I wound up putting 10,239 miles on the car in almost six weeks and I did not regret for a single moment staying longer on the road.

I really wanted to take my gorgeous crystal red 2010 Corvette, but I was worried that the sports car suspension would not be suitable for long periods of driving. I was very pleasantly surprised when my sweet baby's smooth ride allowed me to drive comfortably, sometimes up to eleven hours a day. The 'vette was the hands-down star of the trip, not giving me a single lick of trouble, and engendering oohs and aahs from friends, family, and even total strangers along the way.

Here is a map showing the route I wound up taking:

Trip Photos

In all, I took almost 2,500 pictures with my new Nikon D600 DSLR camera, the best of which you can see here.

Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Zion National Park
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Bryce Canyon
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of the Grand Canyon
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Sedona
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Big Sur
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Yosemite National Park
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Redwood National Forest
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of Yellowstone National Park
Launch Photo Gallery
Photos of the Tetons