The First Half of the Story

Many people consider travelling an unavoidable means to an end, the drudgery required to get from start point A to destination point B. Like removing a band-aid or watching a Keanu Reeves film, they want to get it over as quickly as possible and jump straight to the margaritas and senoritas waiting to nurse their mental constitutions back to health.
I do not fall into this category of traveler. For me, to travel is to journey, and destinations are stops along the way. Why gleam over the amazing splendor of the rainbow to chase an ever elusive pot of gold?
Also, my favorite film of all time happens to star Keanu. Don't judge.

Don't hold me to this as a specific and unwavering itinerary. This is a loose guide at best. I could have been as accurate simply pointing an arrow south and then a second arrow west. In fact, since I'm playing catch-up with this journal, I'm actually writing this from the front porch of a new friend's house on Topsail (pronounced "Top sol") Island, and I can tell you that the actual route I took from Baltimore to here followed more closely the coast and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel systems. What I want you to understand is that, like my good friend the Captain, I don't really know what I'm doing until I'm doing it, and even then it's best to wait until it's done to know what really happened. That said, there are, on this first half of the trip, 5 intended destinations.

  Baltimore Area (for friends and family)
  Topsail Island (for beach and surf)
  The Blue Ridge Parkway (southern half)
  Tail of the Dragon
  The Apache Trail (by recommendation)
  Mormon Lake, AZ (event host for Overland Expo West)

What happens after AZ? I have my ideas, and I'll share them a little later. Right now, it's back to the journey.