The Big Road Trip – Epilogue Part I

Twenty-two days on the road and 6,300+ miles from start to finish of the adventure. This is not a unique experience. A lot of people have made similar journeys. But, it is a unique experience to me since it’s the first time I’ve done it. As I said in the Day 22 post, this is not an earth-shattering event. There are no accolades expected and certainly no special recognition is due. The people who made that trip in covered wagons and on foot, that was worth all the accolades and recognition. I was mainly using a very convenient, high-speed interstate highway system during most of the trip. So, what are the impressions this trip made on my life and how has my life changed because of the trip. I could write a book.

People like Charles Kuralt in his “on the road” books, Studs Terkel in his books and oral histories about America and people and John Steinbeck with his Travels with Charley: In Search of America have already written so much about traveling and the people in America. They are my idols although all three are deceased. But, most of their books are pretty dated now.

Wikipedia says about Steinbeck’s book, “It documents the road trip he took with his French standard poodle Charley around the United States, in 1960. He wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he made his living writing about it. He had many questions going into his journey, the main one being, "What are Americans like today?" However, he found that the "new America" did not live up to his expectations.” I don’t have (or choose to have) a “Charley” travel with me. But, Steinbeck’s, Kuralt’s and Terkel’s motivations are my motivations. Our world has changed monumentally since 1960. I want to see what’s left of the America I grew up in and get to know the people. Our times are challenging, perhaps, more challenging today then ever in our country’s history. I want to see it, touch it, taste it, feel it and hear it and in some manner chronicle it as my idols did. My big questions are “What are Americans like today?” and “What is America like today?”

I don’t think I can compete with these masters of their crafts. And, to be honest, it wasn’t my intent to write a book or even blog about this trip. That was serendipity. There were actually two motivations for the trip. The first motivation was to visit my former mother-in-law, who is one of my best friends and also worked and traveled with me for several years when I was on the road recording conferences, symposiums and conventions around the country back in the 80’s and early 90’s. BJ is 84 and I do enjoy her company and our discussions/debates, but we live a continent apart. Also, when I visit BJ, I get to visit my former wife (her eldest offspring) who is still my good friend and I like knowing that she is doing well in her pursuits. And, my brother-in-law, Forrest and his wife Courtney and my nephews and nieces Jared, Zack and Kaylee, who I don’t get to see very often, also live there. There is Fresno and Clovis, California in the San Joaquin Valley.

Secondarily, I had a project come up for Tremendous Life Books, a publishing company started by my late, very dear friend, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. TLB is now operated by his very capable family. TLB has an author, Cameron Taylor, a very sharp, successful and competent young entrepreneur who is currently living, temporarily, in his hometown of Ontario, Oregon, a small agricultural town on the Oregon side of the Snake River in eastern Oregon, about 60 miles from Boise, Idaho. Cameron has penned two books that TLB is publishing and they wanted to do audio book versions of the books. Well, that, of course, is my forte. I have a pretty good understanding of the book publishing industry as a retired, reformed, recovering publisher (I credit my good friend, publicist, Maryglenn McCombs of Nashville, TN, with that fitting description). I’m also currently doing publishing consulting with authors. However, with over 46 years of professional experience in the recording industry, I’ve produced a fair number of audio books and feel uniquely qualified to handle projects like these. So, this project dovetailed nicely into the trip.

I was going to use some frequent flyer rewards I had available and then just buy a single hop to complete the trip. Unfortunately, with the current state of the airline industry, I have to plan about three months out to get seats with my frequent flyer rewards. So, that didn’t materialize. I then considered just purchasing a three-legged ticket to accomplish the necessary objectives and rent cars in the various locations. Well, those “economical” airline deals were nowhere to be found and the routings/schedules were really inconvenient. The rental car deals were not so hot either, even using all the “special deal” Web sites. I guess I could get a motorized pair of roller skates for a reasonable price, but anything that was a little more then a “death-trap” econo-box was pricey. That was when I started seriously considering making this a road trip and cross-country adventure. At first, it was a joke that grew from my increasing frustration. But, the harder and more frustrating it became trying to book air and rental car transportation, the more serious I began thinking about it.

So, finally, I had to make a decision – it was one of those “just do it” moments. I made the decision. I would have loved to have had my, yet to be acquired, motor home for this trip, but that was not going to happen. I devised a plan to set up the Platinum Shadow, my 1996 Cadillac Seville STS with 243,000+ miles on it, as a road machine that had as many comforts and conveniences (including a cooler in the front seat) that I’d need to travel by myself on this adventure. My friends began to question my judgment at this point. They had big questions about the Platinum Shadow making such a trip. Actually, so did I. But, I had my mechanic, Marty, look it over and he couldn’t see any reason it shouldn’t make it to California and back. The plan took shape and I set a schedule, charted a rough course, but planned to have Fiona Magellan, my GPS navigator, guide the way.

Again, this entire adventure was mostly serendipity. I packed everything in, selected food for the cooler, filled every nook and cranny left in the car with bottled water – after I had packed the car full of acoustical foam to create a temporary studio in Ontario, OR. I also had two computers, my regular laptop and my netbook, three digital recorders, cables, microphones, a couple choices of microphone stands, a music stand for the author’s script, a pair of my trusty Sony studio headphones, a pair of inexpensive speakers to monitor from and my ever present adapter box (a 24 year old fishing tackle box full of just about every kind of audio adapter in existence). I brought reading materials, all necessary clothes and enough changes so I didn’t have to be concerned about laundry until I reached California after I did the recording project in Oregon. There were numerous other little things I did and things I brought, but not important for this account. I had equipment checklists and personal checklists. I was ready for an adventure.

I decided to fuel the car in Winchester where I could get reasonably priced gas, but I decided to actually depart from my friend, Carolyn’s, home in Keyser, WV. I thought this would give me a little leg up on my first day’s travel and objective. I also decided to keep a written log of the trip including major expenses, like gas, any repairs, motel/hotel charges and mileage and notes as to where I started from and stopped each day. So, I kept a lined notepad between the driver’s seat and the center console in the car so it was easy to find and access.

At Carolyn’s house, I noticed her very small, digital, hard drive camcorder sitting in its charging stand. An idea struck me. Why don’t I document the trip on video, too. So, I asked, she consented and she also has a flexible, small tripod that I taped on my dashboard with gaffer/duct tape. So, now I had a written log and a video log of this trip. The departure day from Keyser, WV was on Wednesday, May 25th. I took care of a number of things that I needed to do before I hit the road including some emails. I then went to the 7-11, bought ice for the cooler, divided the ice into 4 one gallon freezer bags, sealed them and packed my “provisions” with the bagged ice. I was ready to hit the road on my longest single road trip (both in mileage and in time on the road) in my 65-year life. I was living my dream – “Living and Working Free” – and I was about to prove to myself that this was either a viable lifestyle for me – or I’d come back hating it and start looking for a new “cave” to settle down in and return to my previous lifestyle, which, by the way, has never been bad. I’ve lived well. But, THIS has always been THE dream that has driven me and now I’m about to find out if it’s just that, a dream and nothing more – or for me – my REALITY.

More in The Big Road Trip – Epilogue Part II