If one thinks about the nature of the journey, its purpose and the dynamics of the journey itself, one will come to a definitive conclusion. The nature or purpose of travel has not changed in America, but the traveler has. There are many reasons why people travel. People long for connection. How one achieves such a connection is as varied as the wind. Connection itself is an individualized means of expression. The various idiosyncratic idiosyncrasies are completely unique to each person; therefore, no individual can choose a path for another. You have to discover it for yourself. It can be argued that individuals undertake journeys to experience, learn and understand other cultures. Individualized goals may include tasting new cuisines or exploring new lands, but these too are just superficial excuses. These close details are not so much reasons in the literal sense, but rather serve as an impetus for the journey. People travel to get lost and embrace their fears. Accepting your fear results in strengthening your resolve in accordance with the search for understanding. It is through this understanding that we rediscover ourselves. Thus, by finding ourselves, we discover the truth. The journey itself is forged in research; in the search for “IT”. This “search,” so to speak, has been a persistent and restless constant in America, long before the founding of the United States of America; when De Soto first stood on the banks of the Mississippi. This underlying constant is found in the essential figures of American history. Beatniks and baby boomers are no exception. “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac defines the spirit of the beatniks and by extension the baby boomers. It is this spirit that drives us... middle of paper ...implicates the beatnik-boomers as the culprits, the reasoned motive behind the existence of such a vessel. The ship offers an altered state corresponding to the desire for instant gratification of the self-centered and spoiled American tourist. “...the ultimate [American] fantasy vacation” (Wallace, 264). Perhaps we could expect an “apologia pro vita sua” from the baby boomers. A reasonable explanation of where, when, why, how or what changed the direction of baby boomers' lives is reasonably in order; no, required! Yet none came to fruition. We can't help but wonder if the beatnik/boomer generation didn't get lost along the way. The past of the beatniks and baby boomers has been forgotten and pushed aside, their lives could be compared to those of the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years. Maybe baby boomers are waiting for their children to show them the way.