The Crazy Train - Part I

PUSH PLAY
All aboard... ha ha ha!

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.


______________________________________

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...

~ Nate