"Nowhere is actually where everything is. Your mind is here. Unlike a spring break in Barcelona with friends, drinking and dancing your consciousness away (trust me, I’ve been there), this is where your perspective dwells. Nowhereness reminds me how insignificant my life is and how important the questions about toenails and trees really are in the grand scheme of things. I think of Brianna in the first grade, how she vomited after accidentally swallowing her Lee Press-On Nail in gym class and how I told her not to be embarrassed as I helped her to the office. I’m really glad I did that."

— Courtney E. Martin on road trips, Utne Reader