MAO in America - Day 1

I have been planning on taking this cross country road trip for over two years and each time it got derailed for some reason or another.  Thus, to finally be at the day of reckoning is almost surreal.  I have both a feeling of excitement and anxiousness because as most of my family, friends and colleagues will testify to, I’m not really very good at being alone as I get bored quickly.  In fact, I’m not very interesting, I don’t really tell good stories and I have a short attention span – thus, as I understand it, there is an over/under bet going on at Formula regarding how long this adventure might last…I’m betting six weeks.  What’s your bet?

The idea for this road trip is actually not an original one.  As a professional idea thief, I stole this idea from two of my closest friends who did a similar trip sometime over the last 10-15 years.  My closest friend and fraternity brother Bill Boyer took this same trip, with a relatively similar itinerary about 15 years ago, though his was a bit more rustic.  He bought a van, pulled the seats out of the back and camped along the way.  I actually came out to meet him on the road.  I flew into Chicago, we stayed at my sister Deanne’s house for a couple of days then hit the road, visiting Notre Dame University, Detroit, Toronto and ultimately ending up in Montreal, where I flew back home and he continued on his journey through to Nova Scotia and then back to SD.  We had a blast.  In fact, we still re-tell the stories of that trip so many years ago. 

A few years later my friend Chuck Renfroe did a similar trip though his was done in a bit more comfort.  Rather than travelling in a van, Chuck made the smart decision to buy a motorhome and actually sleep in comfort.  I met Chuck over thirty years ago, when we both travelled in Up With People.  Chuck is one of best guys you will ever come across and after just a few minutes of meeting him, you will feel like you’ve known him your whole life.  All of the “scum crew” which all of our friends from UWP were affectionately known by, visited with Chuck either when he came through our town, or in the case of me, flew to Vegas for a few days of debauchery…and golf.

Though my decision to do this road trip was not an original one, it was one that I have looked forward to for many years.  More to come later, as I have actually yet to leave my SD home, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout out to my brother Gary who drove all the way to SD from Barstow to “remind” me how everything works in my VW Eurovan because he is a camping veteran.  Though he only spent a few hours with me in SD, it meant a lot that he would  make the trip.