I recently had the pleasure of catching up with a friend from my performing days. He is a spectacular bass player, and he and I made for a tight rhythm section for a while in college We began playing jazz along with his cousin Jake and anyone else we could find in the halls of the music school. We had a blast, and learned a ton about improvisation, music and life. His name is Ron. Besides being a fantastic musician, Ron is a solid human. So solid that he and I spent 5 days together driving from one end of the United States to the other.
A year after college graduation, Ron and I were still hanging out but had started our careers and began to drift apart as many college friends do. He had just accepted an offer from a music software and electronics company located in Los Angeles. It was July, 1996.
A few weeks before he left, a bunch of us threw Ron a going away barbecue and party. He told us that the company was renting him a 25 foot U-Haul to load up his entire apartment as well as a trailer so he could tow his car across the country via Interstate highway. He had 5 or 6 days to get there and was looking forward to the road trip but wasn’t too excited about making the trip alone. He casually asked anyone at the party if they wanted to road trip…
At the time, I was running a summer lesson program and was teaching with 2 other friends. I was getting around without a wheelchair at this point and had a good amount of independence. About 5 days to drive across the country and take a one-way flight back. Hmmmm. Ron’s company paying for lodging and meals, as well as the truck and the gas……Double hmmmm. I could have my 2 colleagues cover my lessons……3 times hmmm. hmm. hmm.
What the hell? I was 23 years old. Wasn’t this what a road trip was supposed to be?
I found a red-eye flight from LA to Boston for $179 one way. (Pre 9/11 prices as well as security…no one questioned a one way ticket back then.) I was pretty broke, but I could swing that no problem. I had 2 weeks to prepare and pack. I told Ron that I was in, and that I would be able to help with the driving. I had never driven anything that big before, but how hard could it be on the highway?
Ron was leaving from his summer house on Cape Cod. On the eve of departure, my buddy Jim crashed at my apartment. Early the next morning he drove 90 minutes to the Cape to meet up with Ron. The journey had begun!
I had a suitcase and a CD player boombox that I purchased when Ron informed me that the U-Haul only had A.M. radio. There was no way that 2 musicians were about to drive 3,000 miles without tunes. Between us we must have brought about 50 CD’s. Sweet.
In July of 1996, the average price of diesel fuel was $1.14. There were no cell phones, no GPS, and no reliable internet. I had called AAA and requested a “triptik” As a member, you called the local office and told them your plans. You could include sight seeing points, or request the most direct route. Think of it as analog GPS input. You needed to give AAA at least a week’s notice so that they could assemble maps, and draw your route on a flippable atlas with a highlighter. They also pointed out major construction projects to avoid, where the tolls were, and possible road closures across the route. They put all this in a big manilla envelope for you to pick up at the local AAA office. The triptik weighed about 6 lbs. and was in order, by state, from Massachusetts to California. Imagine that drive on your GPS but on paper…..with maps. That’s what we used.
There was also no way to “search for hotels and restaurants” nearby. We drove 10-12 hours a day and then looked for a hotel. Neither one of us could accurately back up a 25 foot box truck towing a car, so we found hotels that had parking lots big and open enough so we could pull in, park, and drive straight out the next morning.
We had a steady diet of coffee, donuts, McDonalds and SubWay. We learned that there is a Walmart in almost every town in America and that 95% of the towns and cities near the interstates look much the same: gas stations, chain stores, chain restaurants, one or two churches, a few schools, and then sprawling residential. It was a wild way to see the country and it was a time that has vanished by today’s measure….
We were able to drive a large boxy U-Haul directly over Hoover Dam, as the road WAS the top of the dam. No security. Nothing. Today there is a bridge that carries traffic over the river, but you can’t go near the dam. Another unfortunate ripple effect of 9/11…
We were able to spend $40-75 a night per hotel and a meal for both of us was around 12 bucks. As we laughed and reminisced recently, Ron also reminded me that this was how the internet worked in 1996: When we got to the hotel each night, Ron carried in his desktop tower computer, and a huge heavy monitor. This was if the hotel had a plug in dial up internet port in the room. We plugged the computer in via phone jack and then dialed a 1-800 number to get online. It took between 5 and 10 minutes so we could send an email to our family members letting them know where we were and how we were doing. It wasn’t free, but it was cheaper than making a long distance call from the hotel room. The 1-800 internet numbers were not available everywhere and so we couldn’t get online every night, nor did Ron want to lug the computer in and out of the truck, roll and hook up a bunch of cables, and hope for a smooth “dial up” connection. At that point, America Online was almost a thing….but not so much.
Before reminiscing recently, I had not spoken with Ron in 15 years and we vowed to keep in better touch. He also shared with me that before the move west, his company simply asked him to estimate what it would cost for him to move to L.A. Ron, being and engineer, did some math and came up with a figure: $5,000.
THE COMPANY CUT HIM A PERSONAL CHECK. Ron cashed it and was told to keep receipts. Any money that was left would go back to the company. Here, almost 30 years later, we cracked up thinking about how we went all frugal to save the company some dough. We didn’t have one high end meal. We didn’t stay in any fancy hotels, and the only. real sights we stopped to see were Hoover Dam, The Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. We were dumb and Ron estimates that he gave the company at least $2,000 back. No booking ahead, no third party keeping track of us….just two kids in a U-Haul driving west. We never thought about safety, weather, or reliability of the vehicle. Again, we had no cell phones and no GPS. At any given time, the only people on the planet who knew our location were…..us.
As we drove west, and then south, and then west again, we learned that Oklahoma is one giant field, the top of Texas is barren, Albuquerque is a pretty city, and there is a small town called Winslow, Arizona that has (had?) a giant billboard with music notes reading “Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona!” It took us about 30 miles and a bunch of head searching to remember that those words are the lyrics to The Eagles classic song “Take It Easy.” Remember kids….there was no Google. That area of the country is parallel to the famous Rte. 66, and so we took a little detour to get our kicks on Route 66. Pretty cool stuff.
We learned that west of Illinois, there are almost no toll booths in the United States, and that the speed limit can go as high as 75 MPH on the highway. When you could go off the road and not hit anything but scrub brush for 20 miles in all directions, I guess it’s ok to go 80….
We learned that Arizona looks like the Road Runner cartoon and that the Grand Canyon should be viewed by everyone at least once in this life IN PERSON. Photos do not do it justice.
We learned that there was (is) a great Hooters in Oklahoma City, and Ohio has more corn that you would think it does.
We learned that the Mississippi River is shallow and muddy and that the St. Louis arch is called the “gateway to the west” even though it is not even close.
We learned that the California desert west of Barstow can be 114 degrees at 9:30 at night. I put my hand on the window glass of the U-Haul in the dark and almost burned myself. Crazy.
I learned that scratch tickets in different state have the same shitty odds. Even at cool highway gas/convenience stops called “Starvin’ Marvin.” Brilliant Indiana.
I learned that people are the same everywhere. Polite, friendly and simply going about their days.
I learned that people in the middle of the country move more calmly and slower than people on the coasts. The northeast is the worst, while Kansas and Utah, time is more of a suggestion than something to follow rigidly.
In 1996, the worst roads in the country were in Pennsylvania…hands down. They used concrete over there and it was terrible. I don’t remember where the best ones were since the U-Haul was a lumbering wreck and started leaking antifreeze in…..yes…..Pennsylvania. It never stopped and we had to add more every other day. We never thought about going for service since Ron had his whole life in the back, we were not prepared to move all the stuff, so we just drove on and hoped for the best. We had no breakdowns as God was guiding two moronic kids west on the first (but not last) great adventure.
During the drive, Ron and I shared some deep conversations about the meaning of life and our place in the universe. Well, as deep as is possible for two guys that were 23.
That trip gave me a first taste of life beyond my home, and it changed me. I came back with an altered worldview and a realization that our country is beautiful, vast, and full of history, culture and is truly a melting pot of many beliefs. That’s what makes it awesome.
I loved the trip so much that one summer later I expanded the journey to 3 weeks, by car, with the woman I was dating at the time. We drove west AND back and visited friends and relatives throughout the middle of the country. I still want to take the northern road route and go across the top of the states. I told Ron that I would go tomorrow if we didn’t have jobs….and kids….and wives….and obligations.
Just maybe not in a U-Haul this time. And maybe with GPS….but where’s the fun in that? If you go west, you will hit the Pacific eventually.
Everyone should do it at least once.
Stay awesome, stay safe, and stay tuned. Ron….great to see you my friend. That trip changed my life. Where’s that Mike Stern CD that you borrowed?
Patrick moeschen 