Travels with Carley Day 1

Today I started to read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.  The basic plot for today was saying that a writer, a little after middle aged, gets the feeling he doesn't know his subject.  His subject being America.  To remedy this, he decides to plan a road trip to travel around the country.  He plans to do so in a modified pick-up truck he calls Rocinante.  He plans to bring his large poodle with him (Charley).  I get the feeling that this man has reached a point in his life where he has become bored and is searching for excitement and adventure.  He is from New England (Sag Harbor) and is equipping himself for quite the journey.  He says he brought three times as much stuff as he needed.  He will be setting out on his trek after labor day.