It’s been almost a year since I have driven a car. I haven’t even thought about it, or missed it. That is until I started listening to our road trip playlist and dejavus started flooding my memory. Isn’t it funny how music can pull you into its time machine and land you in a familiar moment?

Last summer we rode Route 66 all the way to California, as long and slowly as possible. The journey on this vast open road, reciprocated what was happening inside. All of a sudden we were facing the exact opposite of everything we were accustomed to. We rode until it was dark with no perception of time except for “light or dark”, veered off tracks to feed our curiosity and the only deadline we had to meet was our one way flight out of the country a month away. Gonzo stayed on my lap as the open air became his lullaby.

Once we hit the west, we realized we not have only traveled in miles but also back in time. Deserted old motels, faded neon signs and abandoned diners still stands like a ghost town out of a movie. We were in awe of the time warp that we found ourselves in. What we were most impressed with was the design aesthetic of the vintage neon signs. The colors, and the retro typefaces had us stopping every half a mile. From a designers perspective, there was a lot of inspiration to be found here. From a travelers perspective, this was my first encounter of the beauty in traveling slow and smelling the roses (or adoring the neon signs).