In the Middle of Somewhere

by Patrick Egan

They started as simple trails and used by the Native Americans as trading and migration routes. The paths were the lifelines of a people who traveled long distances on their feet. Later, rough roads followed along these traces. Horses, wagons and supplies helped carry the settlers westward toward the open lands of the mid-west and onto California. Today, with the abundance of cars, the interstates, highways and byways are still the tracks over which millions of travellers continue to roam.
Every farm road, mountain pass, and motel-lined state roadway, like the classic American highway, Route 66, has an abundance of countless legends and storied journeys.
This volume is a modern road saga. The author and his wife buy a small RV trailer and set out to cross the country to visit their grandson. Along the way, blogs substitute for postcards and letters to friends.
As the journey unfolds, the couple finds new friends and old family. They see the nation was it should be seen, from behind a steering wheel, with one eye on the road and the other on the lookout for the next gas station.

Genres: Travel

169 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2014

About the author

Patrick Egan is the author of numerous articles on history, education and science that have been published both regionally and nationally. His first novel, "Standing Stone" was published in March, 2012. His second book is a memoir: "An American in Dorset." It chronicles his year in England (1984-84) as an exchange teacher. It was published in February, 2013.
He is a native of Owego, New York and has lived in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Louisiana and New York City. Patrick has traveled widely in the U.S., Canada, China, Russia and Europe. He was an exchange teacher to England for a year in the 1980s.
A retired science teacher, Patrick lives in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State with his wife, Mariam. His leisure interests include traveling, hiking, kayaking, needlepoint, astronomy, watercolor painting and photography.

Reviews

[Bonnie Staughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. The story was taken from blog posts about traveling with an r-Pod to the west coast where the author and his wife went to visit their daughter and grandson. The author added history of the area as they reached certain points which added to our "feel" for the area. I felt that some of his posts could have been enlarged to contain more about the areas he visited but that wasn't his style. It was an enjoyable read.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review here on Goodreads.

Essentially this is a collection of blog posts about a journey Patrick and his wife took around America. Anytime someone tells me about their travels, I'm always interested. Travel stories and people's observations about their encounters are usually fascinating. My wife and I have traveled quite a lot too and I've even created a travel blog myself, so I know the drill. However, Patrick’s blog was not just a day-to-day diary of what they did, what they saw, and what they thought about it. Patrick seems to have a knack for not giving us just the mundane details. Instead he muses about his thoughts as he goes. He has an idealistic view of what he hopes to see and experience, but as he travels he realizes that those idealistic views sometimes clash with the actual reality of life on the road.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in armchair travelling. To enhance the experience I'd also recommend keeping your laptop/tablet/smartphone at hand while reading. The author refers to a lot of places, songs, and books in his writing and it is fun to look up a photo of something, or play a song he mentions, or add a book he mentions to your to-read list.

Thanks a lot for sharing your story Patrick. You've inspired me to start planning my next trip!

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from the author as a GoodReads/First Reads in hopes of a favorable review. This in no way influenced my opinions, which are 100% my own.

One of my top ten books of all time is William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways. This book is going right up there next to it!

A NY native, Eagan and his wife take a trip across the US to visit their daughter and her family, towing a rPod, with attempts to steer clear of the interstates. Having traveled that way while working in the Dakotas and Eastern Oregon, I could completely understand the feeling crossing the Divide, going to Rushmore and Devil's Tower, applying for work at Eagle Butte Reservation, and seeing that same lost look he saw at Rosebud. As a fairly new long distance driver in those days, I marveled at so much snow on Homestake Pass on Memorial Day that I was the last car crossed before they closed it...and some 30 years later still empathise with anyone traveling that route (fyi: that summer the return trip included the Yellowstone Fire).

I can hardly wait to read the rest of Egan's work. I want to sit down with this author and trade stories, have his wife meet mine, and have him tell me about living up north.

Bravo! Run, don't walk and find this book!

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. It was a humorous read about a couple's journey across the US and back. It was originally written as blog posts so I had to get used to that style of writing but it flowed nicely. The author is witty, funny, insightful. I certainly enjoyed reading about their adventures and the people they met along the way.

[Khadija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the Goodreads giveaways I was able to read this book for free.

It was neither great nor awful. As a series of brief thoughts and experiences related in a blog, it must have been good, but I was expecting more from it because it's a book (whatever that means). The description led me to expect more out of it.

[Polly Krize · Rating 4 out of 5]

RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

I enjoyed Mr. Egan's travel memoir of a trip across the US with his wife to visit his family in Washington state. The experience of traveling in an RV is well presented, and his descriptions of memorable characters is well done.