Welcome to DrivingInertia.com!

Hello! Welcome to our collected musings on travel, food, wine, and whisky (aka: some of the most important things in life)!

We’re a mid-thirties couple trying to figure out how we can free ourselves from desk slavery and achieve a balance between adventure and work. In October, 2011 we left Chicago, our home for the previous eight years, and spent the next 11 months traveling around the U.S. by minivan. September, 2012 saw us house-sitting in London, after which we lugged our stuff from Chicago to the Finger Lakes region of New York State and set up a new home base. We’ve only settled down physically, though. Our hearts are still on the road. There are more trips ahead.

So, what can we do for you? Are you…

Looking for information about a specific place? Check the Places page to see if we’ve been there!
Looking to start your own adventure? Check out the Tips page for things we learned as we went through this process.
Want to be entertained by some of our mishaps and episodes of road crazies? Well, we’ll try our best.
Want to know more about us and why we did what we did? That’s easy.

We hope our blog inspires you to start your own unique journey.

So stay in touch. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or via email.

Want more travel inspiration?

Many books, TV shows, movies, and blogs were responsible for infecting us with the travel bug — and keeping the bug alive and well. Here are some of our favorite sources of travel inspiration:

Books

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey — a story about the beauty of the desert and the beauty of solitude.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac – because no travel inspiration list is complete without this book.
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates — a warning against taking the easy route.
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck — Steinbeck made me want to get out there and do it better.
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts — even though we weren’t planning to embark on a round-the-world trip (yet), this guide helped us think through some of our logistics … and kept us excited while we were slogging away in the preparation phase.
The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson — whenever I’m in a funk, the mental image of Bryson shoving candy bars into his face “like logs into a sawmill” is sure to cheer me up.

Movies/TV

180° South – watch out — this movie is going to make you want to do something crazy, like quit your job and travel the world.
Globe Trekker – still the best show on TV.
Zane Lamprey’s Three Sheets on Hulu.com — envious of the experiences, not so envious of the hangovers.
Motion by Greg Aiello — “Exploring the outdoors on the road less traveled.”