From childhood drives to the Rockies with his family to long hauls on the college comedy circuit, road trips having shaped Key's life.
从童年时和家人开车前往落基山脉，到大学喜剧巡演中的长途奔波，公路旅行塑造了凯的人生。
Here is his love letter to this iconic American mode of travel.
以下是他写给这种标志性美国旅行方式的一封情书。
Comedian, singer and actor Keegan-Michael Key is often lauded for his myriad talents, from translating former US President Obama's anger to voicing video games characters.
喜剧演员、歌手兼演员基根-迈克尔·凯常因多才多艺而受到赞誉，从演绎美国前总统奥巴马的怒气，到为电子游戏角色配音，他都游刃有余。
But his stealth superpower may just isn't his ability to read a map.
但他不为人注意的超能力，可能正是他看地图的本事。
"It's becoming a bit of a lost art, isn't it?"
“这有点快成了一门失传的技艺，不是吗？”
mused Key, best known as half of the comedy sketch duo Key & Peele.
Key 若有所思地说；他最为人熟知的身份是喜剧小品二人组 Key & Peele 的成员之一。
"And being able to fold a map back up the way that you opened it.
“还有就是能把地图按原来展开的方式再折回去。
[With] Google Maps, you go, 'How did we doing this before?'"
有了 Google Maps，你会想：“以前我们到底是怎么做到的？”
He fondly remembers the era of slow, experiential travel – where trips unfolded on the open road and were guided solely by paper, instinct and whimsy.
他深情地怀念那个缓慢而重在体验的旅行年代——旅程在开阔的公路上徐徐展开，只靠纸质地图、直觉和一时兴起指引方向。
"Back in the older days, you'd getting out your map and your dad was, like, 'Hold on, I gotta figure this out'," said Key.
Key 说：“过去的时候，你会拿出地图，你爸爸会说，‘等一下，我得把这个弄明白。’”
"The excitement started to build when you'd undo [the map] on the bed and everyone [decided where to go next].
“当你在床上摊开[地图]，大家一起[决定接下来去哪里]时，那种兴奋感就开始慢慢积聚起来。”
You could change your mind on a road trip."
在公路旅行中，你可以随时改变主意。”
Once the dominant form of leisure travel in the United States, whose massive highway system sprawls through endless prairies, deserts and national parks, road trips have played a crucial part in shaping national identity.
公路旅行曾是美国休闲旅行的主要形式；美国庞大的公路系统延伸穿过无边的草原、沙漠和国家公园，而公路旅行在塑造国家认同方面发挥了关键作用。
Here are Key's thoughts on why this iconic American pastime will never go out of style.
以下是 Key 对这种标志性的美国休闲方式为何永远不会过时的看法。
I think we're craving a certain type of connection that we've been losing in the past couple of decades.
我觉得我们渴望的是某种连接感，而这种连接感在过去几十年里一直在流失。
[And] we've got a bunch of things happening this year; 100 years of Route 66, the 250th anniversary of the country.
而且今年有很多大事发生：66号公路迎来100周年，美国也迎来建国250周年。
Also, the World Cup is happening this year all over North America, which would be a really great road trip.
另外，今年世界杯将在北美各地举行，那会是一趟非常棒的公路旅行。
I grew up in Michigan, but my father was from Salt Lake City, Utah so my favourite memories are travelling west.
我在密歇根长大，但我父亲来自犹他州盐湖城，所以我最喜欢的回忆就是一路向西旅行。
When we were kids, We'd go to national parks in [our] pop-up camper; the Grand Canyon, the Tetons, Yellowstone and Yosemite.
我们小时候，会开着我们的折叠露营车去国家公园，比如大峡谷、提顿山、黄石和优胜美地。
Once you get to the outskirts of the Midwest, it's flat and then the hills start to roll.
一到中西部的边缘地带，地势先是一片平坦，随后丘陵便开始起伏起来。
I remember being able to seeing miles in the distance.
我记得那时能望见几英里外的远方。
There's an excitement because you can literally see your destination.
那种兴奋感来自于你真的能看见自己的目的地。
Sometimes I've dreams about that times with my family; travelling west through the plains and then all of a sudden, just off in the distance, you see the Rockies.
有时候我会梦到和家人在一起的那段时光：一路向西穿过平原，然后突然间，就在远处，你看见了落基山脉。
It was breathtaking.
那真是令人叹为观止。
It still is breathtaking.
它现在依然令人叹为观止。
Now because of work, I travel by plane a lot because you got to get someplace quicker.
现在因为工作的关系，我经常坐飞机出行，因为你得更快赶到某个地方。
I don't really have the luxury to [travel by car].
我其实没有那种可以开车旅行的奢侈条件。
But I encourage anybody who has any kind of wanderlust to taking a road trip with your family.
但我鼓励任何有旅行渴望的人，都和家人来一场公路旅行。
There's a really special connection that happens between people when you've to problem solve.
当你们不得不一起解决问题时，人与人之间会产生一种非常特别的联系。
What's something that could only happen on a road trip?
有什么事是只有在公路旅行中才可能发生的？
That time that you spend singing together in the car.
还有你们一起在车里唱歌的那段时光。
Remember those road games – trying to spot road signs like falling rocks or deer crossing?
还记得那些路上的游戏吗——比如努力寻找“落石”或“鹿出没”之类的路标？
And remember getting up at 05:00 and seeing the Sun?
还记得凌晨 05:00 起床看到太阳吗？
We're busy people nowadays; we see sunsets all the time, but how often do you see a sunrise?
如今我们都很忙；日落倒是常常看到，但你多久才看一次日出呢？
That's something that almost exclusively happens on a road trip.
那几乎是只有在公路旅行中才会发生的事。
How else do road trips differ from plane travel?
公路旅行和乘飞机旅行还有哪些不同？
[On a plane], somebody else is taking care of the actual travelling, but [on a road trip], you're the one that has to figure it out.
[在飞机上]，实际的旅程由别人来处理；但[在公路旅行中]，你自己才是那个必须想办法安排一切的人。
They're both communal experiences, but one of them is way more prescribed than the other one.
它们都是群体性的体验，但其中一种比另一种受到更多既定安排的限制。
The only time you share something on a plane is if something untoward happens, and it's 200 of you collectively having that experience.
在飞机上，只有发生不妙的事情时，你们才会共同经历某件事，而且是两百个人一起经历。
But a road trip consists of four to eight people at the most, so you're having a much more individual experience.
但一次公路旅行最多也就四到八个人，所以你获得的是一种更为个人化的体验。
On the plane, we're all doing the same thing.
在飞机上，我们都在做同一件事。
But anything can unfold on a road trip.
但在公路旅行中，什么事都可能发生。
Have you ever been on a road trip with a fellow celebrity?
你曾经和另一位名人一起进行过公路旅行吗？
Jordan Peele and I used to perform the college circuit.
乔丹·皮尔和我过去常在大学巡演。
We'd fly into one town and [drive] to another.
我们会飞到一个城镇，然后开车去另一个地方。
He's a very calming influence.
他能让人感到非常平静。
I'm a very talkative person; only as I've gotten older have I realised that I can embrace silence.
我是个非常健谈的人；只是随着年龄增长，我才意识到自己也可以接纳沉默。
I learned that from Jordan.
这一点我是从乔丹那里学到的。
[One time] – I think we had left St Louis and we were driving to Columbia, Missouri – and we were driving on the road and I just felt a real sense of brotherhood with him, but there were no words spoken.
有一次，我记得我们离开了圣路易斯，正开车前往密苏里州哥伦比亚；我们在路上开着车，我真切地感到和他之间有一种兄弟般的情谊，但当时一句话也没有说。
It was an epiphany for me.
那对我来说是一次顿悟。
We had such a good time with each other.
我们彼此相处得非常愉快。
And sometimes those good times were times where we were just existing.
有时候，那些美好时光其实只是我们单纯待在一起、什么也不做的时刻。
Who would be your dream celebrity road trip crew?
你梦想中的名人公路旅行伙伴会是谁？
I'd love to travel with older actors, like Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jane Fonda and Christopher Walken.
我很想和年长一些的演员一起旅行，比如安东尼·霍普金斯爵士、简·方达和克里斯托弗·沃肯。
They'd go, 'I remember in 1968, I was here and we did this.'
他们会说：“我记得 1968 年，我在这里，我们做了这件事。”
I like hearing about people's history and their stories, especially travel stories.
我喜欢听人们讲他们的经历和故事，尤其是旅行故事。
But at the same time, I'd throw a wild card in there, like Jim Carrey.
但与此同时，我也会加入一个意想不到的人选，比如金·凯瑞。
That would be fun.
那会很有趣。
What's something you have to have with you when you travel, no matter what?
你旅行时无论如何都必须带在身边的东西是什么？
Gotta have books.
一定得带上书。
I'm a physical book person, I like to turn a page.
我是喜欢纸质书的人，我喜欢翻动书页。
Even if I don't crack it, I have to have a book just in case.
即使我不打开来看，我也得带一本书以防万一。
And I do keep snacks in my backpack.
而且我的背包里确实会放些零食。
I like to bring my own tea bags or my own chocolate mix so that I can mix my own drink for myself.
我喜欢带上自己的茶包或巧克力冲调粉，这样就能给自己调一杯自己的饮品。
I have a thing that has reishi mushrooms in it, for mental focus.
我有一种含有灵芝的东西，用来帮助集中注意力。
You're known for your endless kaleidoscope of characters.
你以塑造层出不穷、丰富多变的角色而闻名。
What interesting characters have you encountered on road trips?
你在公路旅行中遇到过哪些有趣的人物？
There was a guy who used to give ghost tours in New Orleans.
以前有个家伙在新奥尔良带灵异游览团。
He was very elegant and he had this very dashing Van Dyke [facial hair] and he kind of dressed like a pirate.
他非常优雅，留着那种很潇洒的范戴克式[胡须]，穿衣风格还有点像海盗。
He does these ghost tours at nighttime, but when I saw him during the day, he was dressed the same as he was at night.
他晚上带那种鬼怪主题游览，但我白天见到他时，他的穿着和晚上完全一样。
So I was like, 'Oh, this is him.
所以我当时就想，‘哦，这就是他。
This is his lifestyle.'
这就是他的生活方式。”
Midnight Run; it's Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, you can't really lose.
《午夜狂奔》；有罗伯特·德尼罗和查尔斯·格罗丁出演，基本不可能不好看。
They're leaving a big city and they end up in the West.
他们离开一座大城市，最终来到西部。
They go into this little saloon and they're trying to get money and they pretend that they're FBI agents.
他们走进这家小酒馆，想弄到钱，还假装自己是联邦调查局探员。
Charles Grodin just looks at this one guy and says, 'Have you seen anybody suspicious around here?'
查尔斯·格罗丁只是看着其中一个人说：“你在这附近见过什么可疑的人吗？”
and the guy he's talking to is the most suspicious looking person you've ever seen.
而他正在交谈的那个人，是你见过的最可疑的人。
Most of the people in that scene were locals, not actors, and it's just sublime.
那个场景里的大多数人都是当地人，不是演员，而这简直妙不可言。
Midnight Run's a great caper, but it's also a good road movie.
《午夜狂奔》是一部很棒的犯罪喜剧片，但它也是一部不错的公路电影。
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
*本次采访为控制篇幅并提高清晰度经过编辑。
BBC Travel's The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.
BBC Travel 的《The SpeciaList》是一系列全球热门及新兴目的地指南，通过当地专家和潮流引领者的视角来呈现这些地方。
For more travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
想阅读更多 BBC 的旅行故事，请在 Facebook 和 Instagram 上关注我们。