Well, the Crazy Train story is written and I'm off the road, and people are wondering... what next?
In retrospect, this past year (began October 31st, 2006, when the lease on Flowerfield ended) has been bittersweet. What was it about? This has always been a tough question to pinpoint an answer in a few words. Simply put, it has been about following a dream. Yet, what is that dream? That dream is to change the world through my talents and love for God and people, one person at a time, while honing them to their greatest of quality.
In all actuality, I am a decent tennis pro, bagpiper and... storyteller I guess, with much un-tapped talent, ability, and creativity. So, have my talents reached that peak yet? Absolutely not. I would be lying if I said otherwise. Next question: Have I given it my all? Sadly, I don't believe so. Yes, there have been many external weights (money being the culprit, of course) that have kept me loaded down, but still, have I put in my all? I don't believe so. So, what is it that has been my main downfall?... Discipline It is such a tough thing for me to admit to you all, but I've made it a point to keep my life and it's journeys an open book on this blog, and this means admitting my faults. I have had the joy of being able to see what discipline is, through friends:
Lance Vodicka - a great example of a very disciplined, God-fearing peer who is giving the tennis tour his all. Cary Daves - an ex Marine who has selflessly let me stay in his spare bedroom and shown me what self-discipline is when it comes to cleanliness, organization, timeliness, etc. Peter, my brother - a Mann who has, through extreme self drive, pushed himself against difficult odds into a successful complete career change from an Audio/Visual and I/T career to becoming a great young Stock Broker for Merryl Lynch.
and Mentors:
Tim Wilkison - a native Charlottean former touring tennis pro who rose to #17 in the world through his unbelievable self-discipline and work ethic. Tim would wake up at 4am every morning to train and start his day. He also went three years straight without missing one day of practice. He kept a tally of it. My Mother - the absolute strongest woman I know. Has worked out of the depths of having nothing more times than one should have to do in a lifetime, all through an iron will to see all four of her sons off to be successful in life with college degrees and the wind at our backs. She instilled in me to have the will to plod... every day and every day and every day.
These are just a few of the people who have shown me what discipline really is. I don't describe them to you so much to raise them up on a podium, but instead to explain those alive today that are close to me that have shown me, through their actions, what discipline is and where it can take a man(n) in life. These people have, by their actions, exploited inside of me my own shortcomings and pulled me out of my comfort zone, and continue to exploit my weakness as to stretch my limits, simply by their actions.
So what am I going to do? I am still in the midst of planning Journey America 2008. I have many ideas, but nothing set in stone. I hate to say my ideas before I really know what the plan will be... I don't want feedback on these ideas yet...
Yet, over the next few months I am going to work on my biggest weakness - discipline. I will work to make new, great disciplined habits that will, through diligence, tear down the wall between me and my own success in life.
How am I going to do this? I have made a plan to completely drop most lines of communication (Internet mainly, and most cell phone calls) for a month and go into a place of solitude, where no voices can distract me from creating these refined lines of discipline within my heart and mind. I plan to spend my entire day focused on practicing my two biggest talents to their fullest - tennis and bagpipes. I am currently laying out an entire month's plan of how I am to spend my day, every minute of it, and I plan to follow this to the T.
I will chime back to you in a month with a blog update on how I have progressed in these areas.
Imagine, if I can spend one month in complete focus and discipline, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things, in order to shape my entire life ahead, what would be the limit to my success? Is there such a thing as a limit?
I will cut casual communications from October 20th to November 20th.
"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." —Matthew 19:26
Rising high above the level of mediocrity...
~ Nate
P.S. If any of you are wondering what you can do to support, I've got an answer! I have made a large order of the incredible 'FeedtheVan.com' T-shirts in order to make them available at a much lower cost - $12 bucks each. Buy one, wear it, tell your friends about it! Click on pics below to see what you're in for and e-mail me if you would like to purchase one. I thank you for your support.
Okay, so I messed the story up a bit for Day 4. We were in Illinois or Indiana actually, when the whole thing happened with Kim in the back. You see, we made it through Kansas and Missouri in Day 4. Yeah, and we actually even stopped in Saint Louis to see my tour buddy Lance and his older brother Bob and catch dinner with Lance (Bob had to go teach a lesson) at the Saint Louis Bread Co (known as Panera Bread all other places.) So Lance and I got to relax and have some dinner and catch up on each other's crazy adventures. Lance had just gotten back from traveling around the world on the tour for 12 weeks straight. He had been everywhere from India to Finland, to Italy, among other places, while collecting some good points and bringing his ranking down to 900 or so in the World, a career high for Lance.
So anyway, after catching up with Lance while the crew went elsewhere to eat, it was time to hit the road again. (They weren't into the trendy atmosphere here, so they all went to A&W to eat, except for Neil. Neil hung out with us.) So it was somewhere between St. Louis and Indianapolis that Kim got sick, where the story left off at the gas station in Part II. ____________
So here I am, coming out of the gas station only to see Tony standing outside the passenger side of the van a couple inches from Neil, who was half-way out the window staring intently into Tony's eyes, Tony's finger in Neil's face. I had to break it up. "Wo, guys come on, not now. Come on Tony!" Tony looked over at me, understanding immediately where I was coming from and walked away. That is when I asked Neil what happened - bad move. I don't even remember all the junk he told me, but it was junk. This is when I turned and apologized to Cody & Kim for such a ridiculous argument to occur at such a time when Kim was in this condition. Cody basically had his head down in a sort of sick, disgusted manner. He walked past me and on to Neil while he mumbled in a soft voice, head down, "I haven't said anything to Neil this entire trip." Oh boy, what was he gonna do to him, I thought. He walked right up to Neil and repeated the same thing he just said to me, still in a soft voice, along with "if any of you say anything else I'm gonna cut your heart out." Oh gosh - I chimed in with, "Sounds good to me, whatta ya say Neil? Sound good?" Cody said nothing else, just walked away back to Kim, who had just went inside to purchase a gallon of water for Neil, who didn't even want to take it. "Take it Neil!" I said. He did and didn't know what to say by that time.
I comforted Kim & Cody by telling them we were only a couple of hours away from Indy. So, we all packed it in one last time before Indy and, well, drove to Indy. We met Kim's cousin there in Indy, helped them get all there stuff out and into her car, played a few farewell bagpipe tunes for them, had them sign my van guestbook (yeah, I have a guestbook,) got some gas, and we (Tony, Neil, & I) were on our way.
It is about midnight now. Columbus, Ohio is about three hours away. Tony, Neil, and I all agreed that we should go the distance to Columbus. That is exactly what we did. I drove about an hour, then passed the keys on to Tony. Yes, Neil was still in the front seat. While Tony was driving Neil decided he wanted to get up and brew some tea for himself. Tony didn't like this at all, as Tony figured if Neil was so attimate about not doing anything illegal, then he was playing games. "Sit down Neil," Tony said in a demanding voice. Neil refused. Tony snapped at Neil... again. There happened to be a rest stop up the road and Tony agressively pulled off into a spot and really laid into Neil again for the last time, explaining to me that Neil refuses to give up his seat, but stands up to cook. "You see Nate, I'm tired of these (blank) games." At this point I just wanted to sleep. "I see. Neil, just sit down so he can drive." "It's not fair Nathan." "Just do it. Do it." Tony chimed in, "If you don't sit the (blank) down I'm gonna leave you here at this (blank) rest stop Neil!" Neil finally sat down. "Was that so (blank) hard?!" Tony finished... and we were on the road again. One big ugly family Columbus bound!
Tony handed me back the keys after about an hour of driving and I took us the rest of the way in. We got in around 3am (midnight San Diego time) and stayed the night at Milo.
Day 5: Big Day
Today we are to take the van to my hometown of Groveport, Ohio, about 20 minutes from Columbus, and switch vehicles with my '87 Bimmer Convertible. We first got some brunch with my Dad at the Linden Cafe.
It was a time filled with good conversation and good food - thanks Dad. My Dad went back to work and we headed on to Groveport, to the place of my begets, to switch vehicles. My Mom was home - I didn't even realize it was Saturday! I thought she would be at work. So I got to surprise my Mom for the (???) time and see her before we left, and she got to meet the last of the crew. After a lot of packing everybody's stuff into the Bimmer, we then used the roof bag from the van and Tony strapped it over the trunk in the back of my car, in such a way that we had to keep the top down the entire time. Keep in mind it is the hottest day I ever remember in October in Ohio (low 90's!) so it wouldn't be such a bad thing. By now it was about 3pm and we were on our way. Tony was in the back right with his dog on his lap and Neil was in front, as usual. It was supposed to be about a 7 1/2 hour drive to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where I was to drop off Tony. Yet you know how we like to make stops. It was actually a pretty fun ride - we all got along good, singing to the music, acting like the crazies we were to the Homecoming night high schoolers at the Maryland gas station we stopped at, and just having a good time.
The circumstances may seem rough from an outsider's perspective, but this was actually the smoothest ride we'd all had in what seemed like forever. Not only this, but we were all feeling the excitement of being almost there. The air seemed fresher than ever, the greens looked greener than ever, and life was just sweet. To make a long story short (something I need to get better at!) we arrived in Fredericksburg around 1:30am. The original plan was for me to drop Tony off at this big hall (can't remember the name) where his sister likes to hang out and surprise them with my bagpipes. We had a great elaborate scheme planned, yet when we got to this hall, well, only about three cars were in the entire lot and... it was closed. It was a bit late. The number Tony had for his sister was not working, and I guess Tony had never been able to get a hold of anybody in his family the entire way. At this point I should have been sad for Tony, but instead I couldn't stop laughing. The whole thing just looked hilarious at this point in time at this time of night. Picture it - Tony is trying to knock on the door of this huge meeting hall at nearly 2am, it's freaking cold outside, I've got my top down, loads of crap, Tony's dog... and Neil. So anyway, we went back to the gas station and looked in the local phone book for Tony's sister. We found her, tried calling, "This number is no longer in service..." explained the nice operator recording. Oh boy, well, the last option was to go to the house listed in the phone book and have Tony knock on the door... it's pushing 2:30am by the time we found it (an older fellow at another gas station lead us the way to the street she lived off of... very nice.) So there we were, at this house in the countryside of northeast Virginia in the middle of the night (yes, there were cars in the driveway.) Tony got out with his dog and knocked... and knocked... and knocked some more. No luck. Time to get a hotel room. We got a room by about 3:30am and Neil elected to sleep in the car. Neil was at this point trying to convince me that Tony was a bum and was just using me. I refused to believe him. "Goodnight Neil." It was a great sleep. Day 6: Final Destination approaching...
We got up, took showers, and went back to the house from the night before to knock again. Tony knocked again... the door cracked open, Tony stuck his head in and said, "What are you doing? Let me in woman!" "Oh my God!" she said, "Tony!" Yes, it was his sister. I think my heart jumped higher than Tony's. His Mom was there. I got to meet them both and they brewed me some coffee while Tony told them a bit of our adventures. I really wanted to play my pipes for Tony, but Neil was whining like a baby at that point for us to get out of there, so I told Tony. He understood, though he thought it was crap... and it was, but it was what it was. Tony gave me his part and told me he would pay me for the hotel bill as soon as he got his first paycheck. 'How about that Neil?!' I thought. 'Not such a bum and a thief after all. I never thought he was. Glad I didn't listen to ya.'
And so it was time to take Neil home. I thought aloud as I saw a church, "Boy, it would be nice to get to go to church today. Oh well." "You want to go to church? You can go to church if you want!" Neil said. At this point the clarity of Tony's frustration toward Neil peaked in my mind. "Wait, you want me to go to church, but you wouldn't let me play my pipes for Tony's family for five minutes?! What's wrong with this picture? No, I'm not going to church Neil!" I exclaimed, explaining how messed up that was. Keep in mind, Neil may be small, but he is 42 years old.
So, I took Neil home to Durham, North Carolina, him being his rude self as usual. We finally arrived at his new home, an apartment in an older part of Durham. I took his bags in, shook his hand, and said a very thankful goodbye and I was on my way.
Aaaaahhhhh, freedom. Thank you Lord! Charlotte, here I come.
It was about 8pm when I arrived at my buddy Cary's, where I am currently staying. Amazing grace how sweet the sound, I am home!
The Crazy Train:
4000 miles $800 in gas $700 of which was paid for by other passengers 700 pounds of luggage 100's of details I'm missing 14 states 6 Passengers 6 days 4 nights of couchsurfing 3 Dogs 3 friends made (Kumara, Tony, & Kim the Couchsurfer) 2 acquaintances made (Cody & Kim) 1 manipulative midget 1 automobile exchange 1 wheel fell off 1 night in a hotel 0 items stolen 0 deaths 0 times a dog pooped or peed in the van 0 times a dog attacked Neil 0 times Tony's dog barked... the entire journey (I wouldn't mind having a dog like this) 0 alcoholic drinks consumed by passengers other than me 0 more details I'm gonna write
All made it safely to our destinations.
And that concludes the story of the Crazy Train Trek Across America.
All that you can't leave behind, plus much much more!
Day 1: Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
So here we all are, in the busiest alley I've ever been in my life, blocking traffic with my big Crazy Train of carnies, trying to get Neil's stuff packed in, on, and around the van, anywhere it will fit. People in cars are honking their horns, store-owners are swearing at us for blocking their two parking spaces, saying they have a customer coming in five minutes, and Tony and Cody (riders 2 and 5) are telling everybody to chill out, while I'm on top of the van trying to get Neil's dollar store mini ratchets to work. Finally #3, Kumara the hippy, gets my keys and moves the van in to a semi better space, while I'm still up there on top trying to figure out these ratchets. Anyway, Tony and Cody help me get the ratchets working and we've finally got everything strapped in, all-the-while people continue honking and swearing at us - at this point a few foul words slipped out of my mouth directed toward the impatient drivers. With the help of Tony and Cody we finally got everything strapped in and we were on our way. It's about 3pm now and our goal is to get to Flagstaff, Arizona by the end of Day 1 (as per my trip itinerary I made the night before.) This is supposedly seven hours in a nice car in good traffic. All I know is we are on the road - first stop, a grocery store where we can grab some snacks for the road and Neil can get some cash back to pay me his first half. (pic below of Tony, aka Al Capone, outside the van in L.A.)By the time we actually get on the freeway toward our destination it is around 3:45. Rush hour starts around this time in L.A. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to actually get out of the whole L.A. vicinity, as every freeway/road/street was wall to wall with cars - no shortcuts here!
Out of L.A. and up the grapevine (a nickname for where the freeways hit the steep slope of the mountain range surrounding L.A.) This is always a fun adventure in my van, as you all well know from June. Keep in mind this time we have six total passengers weighing in at over 1000 pounds, plus about 500-600 pounds in luggage, plus 110 pounds in dogs, for a total of around 1700 pounds, excluding all of my stuff. Most of this weight was in the back of the van, which wasn't a bad thing, since it is a rear wheel drive vehicle, but it was very bad for bumps. We only had to stop one time before we went up the grapevine to let it cool. It was okay the rest of the way. By this time, I'm beginning to relax, believing that this van full of passengers would really make it.
So how is the crew getting along? Kumara is loving it, sitting up front and singing along to all my music CD's, the dog owners are chilling in the back with their dogs, who have begun to quiet down now (the two small ones liked to yap a lot, while Tony's dog was totally relaxed and laid back, just what we needed.) Then there was Neil, aka Genie in a bottle, who seemed to have an endless supply of facts and jokes that he loved to spurt out inadvertently, in a non-stop sort of manner. Neil stood up front between Kumara and me if he wasn't cooking, cleaning, organizing, or sleeping on the ground between us (see pic.)
We had to take several stops along the way to let the dogs/people out to stretch their legs and what not. By a few hours in I was noticing a bit of tension building between Neil and Tony. Neil seemed to like to play manipulative games and Tony did not like it. More on that to come.
Below is a pic of the back of the van (nice and snug ;)
So anyway, we arrived at Rob's in Flagstaff by about 2:30am that evening. All were invited to come sleep inside, but Neil and Tony preferred the van. So Rob and I sat outside for a bit to drink a beer and catch up on life when his roommate's friend came outside and coldly said, "What the hell is all this?" as he was pointing inside the door at the couple and Kumara who were sleeping inside in the living room. This guy was obviously drunk and I could see right away this was going to be a problem. Rob explained who the people were and why they were there, explaining that he had already spoken to the roommates about it, but this drunk was not going to leave us alone. He then proceeded to accuse Rob of being a mooch and not pulling his end as a roommate. Keep in mind it is about 3am right now. Who accuses someone of these things at this time of night, especially when this person doesn't even live or pay rent at this place??? This guy thought it was the perfect time, and after a bit of listening to him talk in circles and just picking up on his ridiculous demeaner while watching Rob defend himself over and over, answering with logical answers, knowing what I already do about Rob, it was time to chime in. I told the guy basically that he was full of it and had no right doing what he was doing at this time of night in a place in which he did't even pay rent, and I explained how good of a guy Rob was to me as a 'roommate' in June, always doing more than his share. This didn't shut the idiot up either. He now just wanted to argue for the sake of arguing. This is when the couple came out and said they would just sleep in the van. 'Oh great,' I thought, 'there is barely anywhere in the van for these people to sleep.' Rob and I both pleaded with them not to go to the van, but they politely insisted. Now I was really upset at this idiot. I don't like to fight people, but sometimes that threat needs to be put out there, just to let them know that you are for real. Well, this seemed to work. The drunk took us seriously, felt like an idiot, and proceeded to leave, or did he go to bed? I don't remember, I do remember that we didn't see him again while in Flagstaff. Day 2: Onward to Colorado Springs (pic below of the motley crew in front of the Crazy Train in Flagstaff)
Alright, I cooked up some egg & cheese tortillas for the crew, then played some motivational tunes on the pipes for all to hear, and we were on our way. It's about 11:30am now, as we all slept in and a few took showers in the am. Destination: Colorado Springs, Colorado, where I set us up with a Couchsurfer, Kim Flory, who was kind and crazy enough to be willing to put up six strangers in her house right in a beautiful old neighborhood in Colorado Springs. So one would think we would have no problem getting there at a decent hour. Right. This group loves stops. Each stop seemed to be a minimum of twenty minutes and went on all the way up to an hour sometimes. Whether it was a five cigarette smoke break or an atm, or the van needing propane (yeah, it was finally empty, so we had to fill it up to keep the fridge cool and the stovetop usable - see pic.)
Getting a brief workout in at a rest stop
All was well traffic-wise, until we were about twenty miles outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we hit a dead stop traffic jam, no movement whatsoever, around 7:30pm. Kumara asked a truck driver next to us what the deal was and he said it was down to one lane five miles ahead. (left: pic of Tony & Kim, aka Bonnie & Clyde, at a rest stop in New Mexico) About fifteen minutes of this and I'd had enough. I took a look at the road atlas and saw that about six miles the other way was a back road that would take us to I-25, the north-southbound freeway we were to catch in Albuquerque, yet it would put us about 25 miles south of the city as well. At this point it sounded pretty good, because we were going nowhere anytime soon staying on I-40 east. This is when I took the big van through the dirt median for a big fat U-turn. She handled okay and we were on our way... somewhere. It was nice to get to see the sunset, something you don't get to see heading eastbound, and Kumara got several pictures of it setting over mountains and craters that made up the horizon in New Mexico. It was really beautiful, something to see, all sorts of colors and shapes. Or was that my delusion from driving so long? Ah, who cares, it was beautiful at the time. In a short time we made it to the back road that would take us to I-25. Let me tell you all about this road. Not a soul was to be found, only land for miles and miles, craters in the earth at times, mountains at others, but all the while, the terrain I drove on was curvy and completely flat, and it was awesome. I wish I had a picture to show you, maybe in the next blog. We were truly in the middle of nowhere, my U2-Zooropa album playing, and just enjoying the funky, cool feeling of it all.
So we finally made it to I-25 after about forty minutes of driving on this old two-lane and we were now northbound toward our destination. Yet, this set us back quite a bit. We got gas again after we passed Albuquerque and I passed the keys on to Tony again to try and rest in the back. Of course I had been calling Kim (the Couchsurfer) to give her the updates and to keep setting our ETA back more and more. Finally, at around 3am, three drivers later (Tony, me, then Kumara) we were in Colorado Springs. Would you believe it if I told you that Kim stayed up for us?! Yeah, she did (well, she slept a little and woke back up when we arrived, but just the same - if this isn't a great sales pitch for Couchsurfing I don't know what is.) We all were immediately welcomed upon arrival and all but Cody and Tony slept inside. It was a good and much needed rest.
Day 3: Kansas City Bound
The morning came awefully early. Yet we were woken by Kim telling us that coffee was brewing upstairs in the kitchen for us. Awesome. When I came upstairs six cups, cream, and a large pot of coffee were sitting there waiting for us all. 'Thank you Lord for Kim Flory!' I thought. Showers were going, the motley crew was stirring, and Kim offered to take us to the store, as we were out of eggs and other breakfast items. I gladly took her up on that. Tony wasn't happy about this, as it would set us back and we were already off to a late start again. Oh well, you can't make everybody happy all the time... or even some of the time... lol.
While we (Kumara, Neil, Kim & I) were out Kim insisted that she take us to the Garden of the Gods. In fact she said she was kidnapping us and we had to go, as to take the pressure off of me for getting started so late... fair enough... I like that. We went to the Garden first, then got groceries. See, the goal was to be in and out in five minutes. All was well and good, but where was Neil? You see it is very hard to find Neil in a big public place and he honestly can't get around too quickly, which I feel for him for, but we were running really late. I had Kumara go searching for him and help him while Kim and I pulled the car up. So I will stop talking about these sorts of delays now that you all get the point... they just made it, say, a slower adventure, but I was determined to stay on schedule for more reasons than one.
So, after a short but sweet time eating breakfast with Kim, getting some work done on the computer, and Neil doing Kim's name for her in caligraphy, we were off...
Kumara was scheduled to drive us to Denver, only an hour drive, where we were to drop her off with her friend, then we would be on our way. That went as planned (final pic with Kumara in Denver below - Neil refused to come out of the van for this one.)
Welp, time for me to take the wheel again! Nearly instantaneously after we dropped off Kumara, Neil began to become more annoying, as he now had nobody to compete with for my attention. "How far do you think we'll make it today, Nathan?" "Can we stop somewhere and get some water?" "Are you lost?" "You know I really don't like the way Tony is treating me." "How many miles to Kansas City?" "Tony is a really bad person, Nathan. I tell him to close the door of the van the other night because it was cold and I wanted to sleep and he tells me to shut the hell up! What is that?! Why do you let him disrespect me like this Nathan." and on and on and on. Tony later told me that he had the door open for a minute to let his dog out (this was all while we were in Flagstaff) and Neil instantly began complaining that he couldn't sleep and that was when Tony told him. He told me that he felt bad and apologized for it in the morning. So anyway, from now on, anything I asked Neil to do that had to do with Tony, he wouldn't do it. You see it is very hard to communicate with the people in the back of the van when you're driving because of engine/road noise, yet Neil refused to help me with communication. When Tony was driving he didn't want Neil sitting up front with him because he said that Neil didn't talk to him. I could see that. So he asked if he could have Cody sit up front with him, as they got along well. "No problem," I said. Well, Neil had a problem with that. He refused to give up his front seat because as I said in the previous blog he hated dogs. He wouldn't stand/sit where he did when Kumara was with us, as he said that it is illegal and it is discrimination. 'Great!' I thought. Well, as I was thinking this Tony decided to tell Neil that he had no choice if he didn't want to sit in the back and to sit down and shut up. Sounded good to me at this point. Neil continued to try to pit me against Tony... and now Cody and Kim as well.
Every stop we made Neil seemed angrier and angrier, vains popping out of his forehead while he rubbed his face over and over again in stress and disgust. Every time he had the chance he would turn to me and try to explain how wrong this is, that everyone was treating him so bad. Now let me tell you all, nobody was treating Neil badly. Cody and Kim tried to be nice to him without success several times. Tony just didn't care to talk to him, as he kept hearing Neil talking about him to me. Anyway, we are somewhere in Kansas now. We've been driving all day through Colorado and it was now the middle of the night... somewhere in middle Kansas. This is when Cody came up to me from the back to let me know that he saw sparks in the rear of the van. I asked him if it was when I hit a bump and he said it was. I explained that is was probably just the chains from the trailer hitting the ground. "Oh," he said, "I didn't think of that," and went back to sit down. Shortly thereafter Neil rolled down his window to get some air. I didn't feel anything out of the norm, but when we passed a guard rail I heard a really rough, grinding sound reflecting back to me. I then saw a sign for a rest stop two miles away. I stopped there and went back to behind the van to check it out when... oh my gosh! The trailer had lost an entire wheel and was riding on its axle on the driver's side for maybe, oh 20-25 miles now. Lord have mercy! That was when I turned to the group in the back and told them what it was. The agreed-upon plan was to stay there for the night (it was about 2am at the time) and get up early the next morning to find a wheel while some stayed at the rest stop with the trailer. I kinda felt like Clark on National Lampoon's Vacation when I saw that wheel, clapping my hands and exclaiming, "Well, we're here!"
I camped in my tent, which Cody helped me to pitch, while Cody elected to sleep outside under the stars and the rest were happy sleeping inside the van.
Day 4: Bound to find a trailer wheel & tire somewhere close by
After being woken up by Kim at around 9am I tore down my tent, rolled my sleeping bag and pad, and helped Cody to drag the trailer to a grassy area. Cody told me he talked with the cleaning lady at the rest stop and she said there was a Wal-Mart about 20 minutes back the way we came from. Awesome. So Tony, Neil, and I took the van to find a wheel, tire, and some bolts while Cody, Kim, and their two dogs stayed at the rest stop with the trailer. It was the third place I went, a Tractor Supply type of store that had the exact wheel and tire combo we needed - $42 bucks. Then Neil needed some cooking oil from the grocery store and I insisted on running in to get it. We then fueled up and headed back to the rest stop. At this time Neil is really getting to annoy me. I won't go into the details, just trust me here. So we get back the rest stop. Cody and Tony held up the trailer while I put the wheel on and started each bolt. I cranked down each bolt, everything seemed snug, Cody and I re-attached the trailer, and we were on the road again!
Let me tell you, Kansas is one windy state. At any moment in time a gust of wind could (and would) blow the van half-way into another lane. This made it really fun. Rule #1: Be fully engaged, have both hands on the wheel, and tell Neil, whatever it was about, "not now."
Tony and I traded driving all through Kansas, while Neil never gave up the front seat, that is until Tony told him to again.
So here we are, it's dark and I'm driving when all of a sudden I hear a loud yell from the back of the van. Apparently they had been trying to get my attention for a while but I couldn't hear them. "Pull the (blank) over." yelled Tony. "Kim is getting sick." I immediately pulled over on the side of the freeway to let Kim outside. It was on the next stop at a gas station where Tony was explaining to me that Kim has lupus and that she is not doing well, but does not want anybody to feel bad for her, and that is why she has kept it quiet until now. It was just then that Neil decided to accuse Tony of stealing his water jug from him to use for his dog. This infuriated me, bad time little buddy. I gave him a piece of my mind right then and there, explaining to him how miniscule his problem was right now. This didn't seem to phase him. He then proceeded to tell me that the whole reason why Kim was getting sick and the wheel fell off the van was because God was punishing us for acting so badly toward him. Oh man, I can't believe what I'm hearing. I went inside to go to the restroom and take a break from Neil. When I came back out, I'll be damned if half of Neil's body wasn't out the window as he stared intently into the furious eyes of Tony, who's head was about two inches from Neil as he pointed at him and threatened him in various ways with his life if he didn't shut up right then....
The Crazy Train - Part III - It's amazing Neil is still alive to come soon.
Crazy, but that's how it goes on the Journey America Tour.
(Just so you all know, the Journey America Tour indeed continues in 2008... yet the plan is being revised sufficiently... updates to come.)
Here goes the story...
I was sitting down in my sister-in-law's apartment (brother's wife's sister) in San Diego, California with a significant amount of free time... as I was stuck there. This was two weeks ago today. I had a friend I met in Huntington Beach get me down there for the weekend. I had missed my ride back that morning, so I had no transportation back. Well, this is when I remembered how Amy, my couchsurfing friend in Pomona had told me about Craigslist Rideshare... soon to be a new Journey America phenomenon. After two failures, one ride cancelled who was scheduled to take me at midnight that night, another at 3am who couldn't find Lacy's apartment and didn't want to be late for work (nothing like getting up at 3am, packing your bags and sitting out at the curb for a 1/2 hour, then returning to bed.) Well, then the 3rd came along, a beautiful and warm-hearted musician named Dawn Mitschele, who also has a blog on Myspace by the way which is very good reading. She came by at 3pm on the dot, picked me up in her '87 VW Rabbit stick shift and took me all the way back to my van in Huntington Beach. On the road we engaged in great conversation about life, the essentials, God, and music. At the end she gave me her CD, which is full of witty, mellow tunes that are a joy to listen to.
So anyway, what I didn't tell you is that on that Monday two weeks ago I was sitting there in my sister-in-law's (Lacy's) apartment just looking at my road atlas of the United States trying to figure out how in the hell (excuse my french) I would ever get home on the finances that I had... in the van that I have. The total cost would be about $550. Well, that was when I put the following listing on Craigslist Rideshare in San Diego and L.A.:
CROSS COUNTRY Trip of a lifetime
Alright, here's my story: I'm traveling in my van (FeedtheVan.com) across the great United States of America; planned departure between October 1st & 3rd. I have stopovers lined up the entire way, so we will not need to pay for a place to stay once. Not to mention that this van comes equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, stovetop (dual burners), sink with running water, toilet, power outlets and sleeping quarters in the back that also converts into two benches.
I can legally seat 10 people in this van (2 in the front and 8 in the back) but my maximum I will take is 6 total people including myself, as comfort is worth something. I will be stopping in:
Prescott, Arizona (where my brother, his wife and daughter live) St. Louis, Missouri (where a friend of mine on the tour lives) Columbus, Ohio (where my father and mother live) Charlotte, North Carolina (where I live and my final destination)
If you need to be dropped off anywhere reasonably along this route, I would be more than happy to do so. The cost to take this van cross country is about $450. You will only pay for your share of the gas used for the time you're in the van.
About me: I travel on the pro tennis satellite circuit (why I am in California) and I play my bagpipes on the side to make a few extra bucks. I have 3 older brothers, I am a lefty, and I live in a van down by the Pacific Ocean. You can find out more about me online at the website above and you can always call/e-mail me.
Pics of me and my van below.
Looking forward to having an incredible journey with you!
So here goes the story of the Crazy Train (By the way, I'm changing the name of my van to this.)
Rider #1: I found one person already listed needing a ride with his dog from San Diego to Fredericksburg, Virginia. I gave him a call, his name is Tony, his dog was mellow, and he was up for the trip. He seemed to be the 'I don't care how I get there, just get me there' type of guy who isn't afraid of anybody... Awesome. (BTW - I was pretty much right on about that.)
#2: What I thought was an indian lady which I thought was named Weil Armstrong (heavy accent) needed a ride to Raleigh, North Carolina. Weil hated dogs. I told her about Tony's dog and she said no problem as long as they can sit in opposite locations in the van and the dog doesn't touch her. Hmm, okay, this should be interesting, but it can work. Weil seemed a bit high strung over the phone, but she seemed willing and it might work. At this point I didn't care, because I needed to cut costs.
#3: A self-described hippy named Kumara who seemed fun and full of energy, something that would be much needed for this trip. She only needed to go to Denver, Colorado. I made it work so that we went there, then took I-70 the entire way from there to Columbus. I always wanted to see Colorado anyway.
#4 & 5: A couple in their late 30's with two small dogs in kennels were the last to call, the Sunday two days before we left. They needed to get to Chicago. I told them I could take them as far as Indianapolis and drop them off there. Good enough.
Okay, so here I am one week from the posting back in San Diego lying on Lacy's couch again trying to sleep, just thinking about how crazy this whole thing is gonna be. I've now laid out the entire plan, with each day planned and each stop planned along the way. We were now not stopping in Prescott, as it was out of the way and my brother Luke and his wife Marnie clearly weren't willing or able to put up five strangers and me for a night. So instead, I called up my old tour buddy, Rob, who was now going to school in Flagstaff, Arizona. He got permission from his roommates for us to stay. The next night we were to stay with a sweet Couchsurfer I found who, amazingly enough, would be willing to put up 6 strangers... and strangers of each other... in her house for a night. The next night we had unplanned sleeping quarters but were planning to stop in Saint Louis to see my tour buddy Lance Vodicka and his brother for a meal along the way. The next stop would be Columbus, Ohio after dropping off the couple with the dogs in Indianapolis. We would sleep in Columbus and then go to my hometown of Groveport, Ohio to switch vehicles. Finally we would drop off the riders #1 & 2 and get back to Charlotte hopefully that night. So I had already given each rider a price up front that they could pay half of up front and the other half upon arrival.
Then the morning came at Lacy's and it was time to implement the plans. First stop, just a mile away to pick up riders 5 & 6 and their dogs. Let me explain something, the van has a luggage trailor that was pretty much empty and a roof bag for luggage. This couple had a ton of luggage. After nearly completely filling the trailor with four huge bags that all weighed about 75 pounds each, I was wondering how much more stuff they had. I had to cut them off... no more stuff. So I did. Keep in mind they had two dogs in kennels as well. Alright, so after mixing and mingling everything into the van we were all in and on to pick up rider #1, Tony, and his dog in north San Diego after picking up a gas cap and some more bungy cords at the AutoZone (yeah, either somebody stole my gas cap the night before or I forgot to put it back on at the gas station.) Tony lived in a trailor park near the beach, so he had to come out on his bike to meet us and lead us to where he lived. He was trying to get he and his dog across the country to his son and see his mother and sister.
Next stop, rider #3, Kumara the hippy. She lived right on the beach a couple of miles from Tony. Tony knew the area well and wisely told me not to take the van down the street because it was a very steep hill and the van might not be able to make it back up. So Tony and I got out and walked down the hill while I called her to tell her where we were. Before I knew it I saw a girl about my age running up the hill as fast as she could right toward us. She didn't stop until she hit me with a big hug. 'Wow,' I thought, 'she really is friendly... and full of energy.' That she was.
Final stop, rider #2, Weil Armstrong in, of all places, Santa Monica, in a back alley off Santa Monica Boulevard. By that time everybody was kidding about how we had hoped Weil wasn't 300 pounds, because we'd be screwed if so. When we had arrived there, around 2:30pm, we saw that the alley was very narrow and full of cars, so we decided to park at the grocery store across from the alley and walk to where Weil was. I was talking with Weil on the phone to let her know that we were there and walking down the alley when I saw... Weil???!!!
Weil was not a woman. Weil was not Weil. Weil was Neil and Neil was a midget... Now if that is not a curveball sent by God I don't know what is! Neil wanted us to bring the van into the alley as his stuff was very heavy... and he had a lot of stuff. So we did. By this time, both the trailor and the roof rack were completely full of stuff. We had to literally strap his luggage to the roof on the rack part in front of the roof bag. Neil seemed to already know this and had his own bungies and ratchets for us. Neil also brought tons of food items, a computer tower, and some other small bags full of interesting items like a teapot, a portable coffee brewer, paper plates, styrofoam cups, cologne, etc. Neil was not planning on eating out... at all.
Everybody noticed right off that Neil was a bit edgy and a controlling character. This made things interesting for the entire trip... especially since he didn't like dogs. ___________________________
Riders 1 & 2 with my Dad and I at Linden Cafe in Columbus, Ohio.
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Story to be continued in Part II - All that you can't leave behind, plus much much more!
Signing off from Charlotte, NC after 6 crazy days on the road...
