unnecessary traveling

Some of the traveling they do on the road is totally unnecessary. An example of this is that they have t go to the tip of Florida to get to New Orleans, instead of directly driving from New York to New Orleans. Once at New Orleans, thy decide to settle down, even though it interferes with their travels. This shows that the characters have no direct goal or path in life and they just go to wherever life leads them to. This unplanned idea leads to consequences, such as the speeding ticket Dunkel got for them, and the people that continually reappear in the novel. An example of these reappearing people if Carlo Marx. Carlo always has to talk to Dean about some business matters, even though it does not seem that they have any business together; if they have one, it is one sided with Carlo's work. Overall, the insecurity and unplanned goals lead the characters to wander in life, live in the present, and meet old friends that reappear.