While it is great that we have access to fast and cheap transport that allows us to travel to places that our great great grandparents could only dream of, it also makes me feel a little sad that I will never undertake a journey of such truly epic proportion. I would love to go back 200 years and travel across the states without the speed, safety, comfort and convenience of modern travel (assuming I was wealthy with a lot of time on my hands).
You should read Montaigne's travel journal from the 1600's - he did a 17 month loop of Europe and wrote about it. It's probably in your library, it has a famous translation by Frame and was a big seller in the 80's. -XC PS - If you want an epic journey, hike the App trail.
Same here, I would love to backpack across Europe at some point in my life, using only my feet and occasionally public transportation.