cozy chaos

A Virtual Road Trip from Lacq to Sardinia: When Real Life Gets Busy

There’s been a bit of quiet around here the last week or two, and not for lack of wanting to be out on a trail. My clients have had me stacked high with projects. Weekday work bleeding into weekends and sometimes the only “adventure” I have bandwidth for is the digital kind. And honestly? When the real-world price of gas means deciding between groceries and adventure, doing a virtual road trip by sliding into the driver’s seat of Euro Truck Simulator 2 feels like a refreshing break.

Virtual diesel still hurts the wallet, but at least it only threatens my pretend bank account.

So today’s Wildcard Wednesday became a virtual road trip from Lacq, France, down through Spain, across the Mediterranean, and into Sardinia. Not a bad stand-in for a real road when the schedule’s tight.

Starting the Virtual Road Trip in Lacq

If you’ve never heard of Lacq, (pronounced Lock) that’s fair.

It’s a tiny village in southern France that got thrust into industrial relevance in the 1950s when one of Europe’s largest natural gas fields was discovered beneath it.

It’s also the place where ChatGPT discovered that its name, sounds suspiciously like “Cat, I farted.” So, we started the stream with industrial history, linguistic accidents, and a robot sidekick who kept ignoring the word “mute.” Off to a strong start.

From Lacq, we cruised west past Toulouse, hopped onto the A61 southbound, and eased into the foothills of the Pyrenees. The kind of countryside that, if this were real, would justify stopping for a pastry every five kilometers.

Crossing Into Spain and Falling Into History

Once we crossed the border, the roads opened up and the conversation drifted toward the parts of Spain that don’t fit neatly on postcards.

We talked about:

• The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), a brutal conflict between the democratically oriented Republicans and the Franco-led Nationalists
• The International Brigades: volunteers from around the world, including the Connolly Column from Ireland and Americans, inspired by Hemingway’s reporting
• Why Spain sat out World War II after Franco’s victory (spoiler: the country was wrecked and exhausted)
• Catalonia’s independence movement, which remains very much alive

It wasn’t planned, but that’s the charm of Wildcard Wednesday: a cozy ETS2 stream where delivering fuel oil turns into a history seminar because someone asked the right question at the right time.

Barcelona to Sardinia: Ferry Life

From Barcelona, we loaded onto a ferry bound for Porto Torres, the northern gateway to Sardinia.

And if you’ve ever looked at a map and wondered what that island above Sardinia is, it’s Corsica. A place shaped by centuries of Genoese rule before becoming French.

Sardinia itself has passed through Phoenician, Roman, Aragonese, and Savoyard hands before settling into modern Italy. The Mediterranean never met a coastline it didn’t want to trade, conquer, or borrow from.

After arrival, we pointed the truck south toward Cagliari, making it as far as a rest stop south of Sassari before real life tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that work doesn’t do itself.

Streaming Schedule (and Why a Virtual Road Trip Matters)

If you want to join these live road rambles, I stream on:

🕗 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays – 8:30 a.m. to ~10:00 a.m. ET

Mondays are ETS2, Wednesdays are Wildcard, and Fridays are American Truck Simulator…
…unless ETS2 is too much fun and steals Friday outright.

These virtual miles are keeping the spirit of Adventure Adjacent alive during the busy stretches. They give me space to tell stories, explore odd corners of history, and test how many truck stops I can accidentally enter wrong before someone in chat notices.

When Do Real Trails Return?

Soon.

The 3D, dirt-under-tires, “please don’t break the Cruiser” kind of adventures are coming in the next few weeks. I’ve got footage waiting, roads picked out, and a renewed appreciation for the real world after a few too many virtual fuel bills.

Until then, the virtual road still counts.

It’s the stories that matter, not the pixels.

Become Part of the Trail Crew