Through the desert on a horse with no name.

Driving through Connecticut over the weekend, my road trip buddy asked, "So, which states make up New England? Or is it just a few cities? Or a geographical region?"

I looked out the window at the car we were passing, and there I had my answer.

"Look out there," I said. "Wherever you find a middle-aged man with glasses, smoking a pipe while driving a Yaris... that's where you'll find New England."

I think I learned how to love America on this trip.