A three month trip across the USA

[Deleted]

Some years back, when I was a rebellious young woman, I left England, came to Canada and somehow ended up on a road trip that took me and my then boy friend all the way across the USA. These are some snippets and memories from that trip:

It was a journey that would take nearly 3 months. This is the kind of car we drove across the country in:



The seats in the back went down flat made quite a comfortable bed, we even put up curtains on the windows with velcro. We bought the car for $300 Canadian in British Columbia and drive thousands of miles in it. And so we set off with our 'new' car and $50 in our pocket.

To be continued...

[Deleted]

Like I said earlier, we didn't have much money to begin with, truth is we had only $50 between us and an older, (but reliable), car. So we had to take on odd jobs along the way. There were so many different ones, cleaning cars, cleaning warehouses, carports, working in a kitchen, I even did a stint as a cocktail waitress at a wedding! We worked to earn enough for food and to put gas in our car. The only two things we seemed to need at the time.



California dreamers.

We met a family along the way, must have first spotted them in Northern California. Their home was actually in Bakersfield, but they spent a great part of the year just driving back and forth North to South California. No idea why.

What was unusual about this couple was that they had 4 young kids with them, (four boys), ages 2, 3, 4, and five. They had a very small, older, car, they all slept and lived in that car, the roof rack was packed high with their belongings. The four little boys would all sleep upright on the back seat, it wasn't nice to see, I felt very sorry for them.

They would stop at different camp sites, mostly the same as ours, and we would get together to talk. They had a little portable gas stove, that they made their and their kids dinner on in the evenings. I remember the two year old, walking around with diarrhea coming down his leg, where it has escaped from the very dirty diaper that hadn't been changed in hours.

Driving down the highway, we ran out of gas, they saw us and told us they would go to the next station and bring us some gas back to get us on our way again. They told us to trust in them. They did come back, and gave us that gas. Hard as their life was, they still found it in themselves to help others.

The husband gave us their address in Bakersfield and told us to drop in if we were ever that way. As it so happened we were passing through there some time later, and thought we'd check out exactly where these people lived. No surprise, that the area was infested with druggies. Their home was a small apartment, on the first floor, no one was home. No surprise again.

I often wonder if they managed to keep ahold of their kids, or if the authorities took them. Those kids had an awful existence.

[Deleted]

LOS ANGELES

The California Coast is beautiful, peaceful and breathtaking at the same time. We were on our way to Los Angeles and decided to stop in Carmel, the home of Clint Eastwood. It was a quaint little town and we wondered exactly whereabouts his home was. The art galleries looked expensive, the cobbled streets reminded me of certain places in Europe. Sadly we didn't manage to bump into Mr. Eastwood himself.

We drove further down the California coast, and eventually came to Los Angeles. A big busy city, easy to get lost in. Ofcourse we just had to go to the usual tourist places, Disneyland, Universal studios, Hollywood, (just to take a photo of that famous sign), and Beverley Hills, to see exactly how posh it was for ourselves. We saw some nice places up in the hills, but nothing spectacular, I guess the real 'big' stars live in the more secluded areas.

We were only there for a couple of days, I'm not too fond of Los Angeles, for me it holds little charm. We parked on a large busy road, my bf had to look of something, or ask for directions, I can't remember which now. So he left to go down the road and there I was sitting in the car waiting. And there comes the traffic police. Before the officer could get to our car, I got into the drivers seat, started the car and drove off. I had no idea where I was going and was surprised that I could even manoeuvre that big old car at all. It was one of the busiest roads in town, and I had to concentrate like crazy just not to crash the car. Eventually I managed to drive it around the block and park again in about the same place. The bf appeared later on non the wiser.

We used to sleep in our car, and finding the perfect parking spot for the night was always a dilemma. It couldn't be on a busy road, it couldn't be in a deserted park (too dangerous), and in Los Angeles this was more of a problem than usual. We drove around for a while and eventually came to a nice area, with beautiful houses on either side, it was late, it was quiet, so we decided to just park there for the night. So there we were all snuggled up and we hear all this commotion outside. Upon having a peak we were shocked to see around 7 or 8 police officers surrounding us, rifles in hand. They told us to get out, we did. Eventually after explaining our situation to them, they let us go and told us not to park in these kind of areas again. We found somewhere else for the night. and then left the next morning... I was not unhappy to be leaving….

The California Coast:

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ROUTE 66

It's important to remember that there's not that much of Route 66, (or the Mother road as it's sometimes called), left to travel on now.

So after leaving Los Angeles, we were supposed to head back to Oregon and then British Columbia. But we had time, we had a car and thought why not? Everyone's heard of Route 66, the mystery and legend of it, the place to get your kicks.

We didn't travel the whole way, I think some of it was already not accessible, and it's not an easy route to take. Somewhere along the route, not far from California, we saw a sign pointing us towards where an old 'Cowboy' town still stood, perfectly preserved, this we had to see. I've always been interested in the early pioneers and their lives.

When we got there, I was amazed just how well it was preserved, the little town was there as a tourist attraction, but no one was around, but we explored it anyway. The buildings were very old obviously, I think it had been some kind of a mining town at one time, I went into a restricted area (shouldn't have done really), and nearly fell into a deep pit trying to climb some old steps that cracked under foot. There were lots of little buildings and even a little jail house.

Further down Route 66, it started to rain, and it kept on raining, everything got wet and uncomfortable. We had a station wagon, normally it would make a comfortable bed in the back, we even had little curtains on the windows. But now it was just damp and miserable. We drove miles and the road seemed to go on forever. We had heard that in certain parts of the US, you simply didn't venture, one was Native Indian territory, (they may not like strangers on their land), and the other was weird little towns, because the KKK might the ones welcoming you. We had managed to bypass or stay clear of anything that looked suspicious, and so far had been lucky not to bump into any weirdos. That's why when we finally came to a small town, the safest people to ask for directions were the Police. Now the Police in these small way out towns also have a reputation, so we weren't sure what their reaction would be to us approaching them.

Thankfully, they were a good bunch, friendly even, one thing about the States is they are a nation of travelers and used to people passing through, even in forsaken little towns like the one we happened to find ourselves. Also, luckily, they didn't do a back ground check on my bf, who was not supposed to be in the States in the first place, due to his record. We asked them for directions and also if they knew of any inexpensive place to stay for the night. they told us of a Pentecostal camp that we could try and told us the way to go, it was just a little out of town.

After a bit of a search and nearly giving up, we found it. It was a collection of cabins on a few acres of land surrounded by dense woodland. It was definitely creepy looking, and I had a strange feeling about it, not a place I wanted to stay in for too long. They gave us an empty cabin to use, no idea what they expected from us, they didn't ask for any money, maybe they just hoped we would join in their commune and be converted. Something that was no likely to happen.

The large house had a huge dinning area with a big kitchen attached to it. Everyone had a job to do, they all helped out in one way or another, I volunteered to help in the kitchen, and got talking to some of the people there. Most were young, some were teenagers, my guess was that at least some where runaways, they all had a story to tell. There was a certain tension in that place, too many people with too much history and pain and too much baggage, all in one place. A certain desperation seemed to be in the air.

I'm sure if we had stayed longer, I would have discovered other things about this place, things that I really didn't want to know, it had an atmosphere that was simply not right somehow. My bf befriended a French woman, I guess she must have been in her 30's. She was a teacher from France, I never did find out exactly what she was doing there, other than that she was a Christian and wanted to participate in this community. She was a nice lady, very proper, and seemed quite normal and obviously fluent in French. And maybe that was the attraction, maybe that was why he spent so much time with her, he missed having someone to talk to in his native French. Later on I would see another side to her.

After a day or two, I started getting itchy feet and wanted to leave and be on our way, but they wanted us to at least stay for the Church service on Sunday, so we stayed. The Pentecostal churches in the States are as wild as they get. It was loud, there was a lot of clapping and swaying and talking in tongues. People were just into the spirit of it like I have never seen. Then a group of people stood in line, including the French teacher, and the Pastor came down to them, still talking in tongues and touched each one on he shoulders, as he did this they 'fell into arms' and then quivered about on the floor like they were possessed. It was the strangest thing to see. Then it came to the turn of the French woman, she did the same, I couldn't believe it. How could this woman who seemed so normal, in control and intelligent be doing this? I guess it takes all sorts...

The next day we left, I often wonder if that place is still there, and what became of all the people who had found themselves living there at the time. It was a relief to finally get in the car and drive further down Route 66...

[Deleted]

Las Vegas:



I was the one driving, I shouldn't have been, as I didn't have a drivers license, but there was little choice as bf was too tired out from the driving constantly for hundreds of miles at a time.

I liked Vegas straight away, to me it was magical, everything aimed to be fun and for the fun loving. As usual, we had little money, but it didn't matter because we found out that nearly every casino gave us free tokens to play on their machines, (a kind of enticement I think, to get you hooked on them). Little chance of us getting hooked on any of it, in order to do that you need money, which we simply didn't have. So we accepted all the freebies that someone or other seemed to be throwing in our direction, unasked for may I say.

We were even given tickets to see an Elvis show (not the real Elvis btw), he was already long gone. I remember everyone sitting down waiting for the show to start, and I had to use the washroom. Somehow or other I managed to bump into 'Elvis', he was waiting in the wings just before coming on stage. He put his finger to his lips, and asked me not to give him away. I had a giggle about that later on.

Vegas was fun, but like anywhere, it also had it's seedy side. If you drove in a certain direction, on the outskirts you can see the people of broken dreams. They were usually young, down and out, some were selling their bodies for drugs. I guess they came here to see the city, maybe to try and make it as a showgirl/boy, but it never came true. It was a sad sight that real tourists, who stay in nice hotels will never see.

We were only there for a couple of days, and just before leaving bf decides he wants to buy some booze. Forget which kind it was now. So there I was waiting in the parking of the liqueur store place. And suddenly I see him running out, seemed like he was running for his life. He got in the car (passenger side) and tried to hide below the seat.

'Drive' he said, I still didn't know exactly what was going on, that is until I saw the owner of the liqueur store shoot out of his shop, rifle in hand pointing at anything and anyone in the dark. I slowly drove out of that parking, I passed him by, missing the owner just by inches, he was still looking for the bf. He explained to me later that he didn't have enough money to pay for the bottle of booze he wanted to he had thrown whatever he had on the counter and ran off with it.

I was so shaken up that I almost ran over someone on the cross walk, I shouldn't have been driving in the first place, because I could hardly drive anyway. After that I wasn't too unhappy about leaving.

[Deleted]

The Nevada heat



So, after leaving Las Vegas, we were almost broke. We had gas in the car, so decided to drive out, going East. We seemed to be driving forever, and thought we would be stranded at any time.


We saw some buildings in the distance, a welcome sight to the endless hot Nevada desert. The place was owned by a cantankerous woman whose name I now forget. It was a motel, with a restaurant and bar. We asked her if she had any odd jobs that we could do, in order to earn enough to buy some gas and be on our way. She said she had a wedding party booked in two days time and if we wanted to hang around we could help out with that. She offered us an empty motel room. We had little choice, so accepted.

In the two days, waiting for the Wedding to take place, I helped out in the restaurant, and kitchen. My bf did some odd jobs outside. I'd never worked in such a place before, and couldn't believe how quickly everything had to be done, in order to get those orders out. And the cleaning up afterwards was just miserable!

The wedding day came, and the job I was assigned to was cocktail waitressing. Something else I'd never done before. She taught me how it was done. It turned out to be quite fun, amazingly enough I didn't get any of the drinks mixed up, and made around $25 in tips. My bf was helping behind the bar, and unfortunately got pissed up and knocked himself out. I accidentally gave away my tips with the takings. Eventually the party was over, and after haggling with the owner over how many bottles they had been conned out of by her, the newly weds left. Quite the wedding!

I was not in the mood to share a room with my bf. So as he went off to sleep it off, I headed for the bar, there I saw two men having a drink, they were obviously passing though just like us. I went up to them, (foolish girl that I was), and asked there where they were heading, we got talking and I asked them if I could go with them!

Fortunately, I saw sense at the last minute and headed for the car. Still too angry to join my bf in the motel room, I fixed up the bed in the car and went to sleep.

The next day, the owner of the place was mad as hell at us. She refused to pay us. But she did give us some gas. And off we went...

[Deleted]

New Mexico

We called her Mexie, because we found her in New Mexico. Or rather an older couple had found her and wanted to find a home for her. She was the cutest little puppy you ever saw. They told she was a black lab mix. We later discovered she was more Pit-bull than anything else, complete with the typical Pit-bull personality.


A puppy is the last thing we needed, but whoever said we were sensible? Mexie hated me, and I didn't take to her either. She was my bf's dog, and she wasn't going to share him with anyone else. A few times I swear she wanted to take a chunk out of me, I kept away from her as much possible.

I fell in love with New Mexico, the laid back atmosphere, the interesting and unusual (for me anyway), buildings. The friendly people.

We wanted to go over to Mexico itself, so we went to the border, but changed our minds at the last minute. Reason being bf's record wouldn't allow him in. In fact he wasn't even supposed to be in the States, but that's another story.

We found an old camp ground, on a beach. It was October, so I guess the season must have been over or there were no guests that week. So, we simply used it for ourselves. The water in the showers was cold, but it was at least a shower. Mexie had fun playing around in the lake. It soon became evident that she was no Mexie, she was always in the dirt, so in the end her name became 'Dusty'. She stayed with us for the rest of the trip. We took her back to Montreal where we found a new home for her, as we were leaving the country. I had never been so glad to get rid of a dog before.

The type of houses in New Mexico are designed for the heat, very open plan:

[Deleted]

Seedy side of sunny Florida

Florida was hot, too hot. My bf managed to get a job working for the American Legion, as a cook helper. The old soldiers must have realized that we were basically living in our car, what they didn't know was that we loved doing this, the freedom of it was amazing. So they offered to rent a motel for us for a week. (the cost of which would be taken out of bf's first wages). After that they said we would be able to rent the place ourselves.

So we were given an address, we drove down and found it, knocked at the office door. It was answered by a chubby woman, whose legs stood out because they were covered in bites. These weren't any ordinary mosquito bites, these were big bug bites. She was the owner of this run down flea bag motel, she gave us the key and told us if we stayed long enough, our accommodation would be improved.

The motel room was dingy, but the worst thing about it was the cockroaches, they were everywhere. The kitchen counter was full of them. It grossed me out enough to say I wanted leave right there and then, but the bf said to at least give it one day. So I tried killing them, they just ran away and then came back. I went to the office and told her about the 'problem'. She gave me some spray, I tired it, it killed some of them, but later on more appeared.

We noticed that most of the residents seemed to prefer hanging around outside, so we went out to meet them. They were welcoming enough, although I thought more welcoming towards the bf than me. Couldn't fathom why. I guess maybe I just wasn't their type, too quiet and perhaps I came across too snobbish, not to mention too innocent. The bf fitted in fine, he was one them after all, with same kind of history.

We sat around and the guy smoking the dope introduced me to his girlfriend, a very pretty girl of around 20 or so, he thought we would get on well together. She was a nice girl, but either just a little dim or too doped up, not sure, but I found her boring, although I tried not to show it. I tired to keep my eyes focused, as she rambled on about I don't know what. Her drug lord bf gave me a funny look, (was I that obvious)?

Ofcourse they were fascinated by our British Columbia license plates. How and why did we drive so far from 'home'. Little did they know that the car was our 'home', at least for as long as we wanted it to be. Just two crazy kids on a wild ride.

The tall, skinny black girl was a hooker, she talked for a bit and then went about her business elsewhere. They told us that if we stayed long enough, we could too have the same kind of rooms as they had, and they showed them to us. Admittedly they were a lot better than ours, looked like they had had some kind of renovations done to them.

Later in the evening more 'friends' arrived, an assortment of the type that your daddy tells you to stay away from. Most notably was the good looking ex-Vietnam soldier. They said he was a psycho, and maybe he was, but he was one of the few that actually made any sense or seemed to have any kind of intelligence about him. As more and more people arrived, I began to feel more and more uneasy about being there.

Eventually most of them drifted away to the other rooms, where even more get togethers/parties were taking place. I locked the room well and good that night. There was a loud party going on next door, and in the middle of the night we heard loud banging on our door, which we decided to ignore.

We got up very early the next morning, and drove out of town...

[Deleted]

I should really add to this journey, will do at some point..

[mich64]

You sure had an interesting journey Deyana. I am sure it helped give you a baseline for your life on how you wanted to live and how you did not want to live. You also experienced how people that are addicted to drugs have to live their lives to survive their addictions and I am sure it enforced your decision not to choose that life.

I am sad for the children you write about, you cannot choose who your parents are. I can understand how children become a product of their enviornment, there chances at a happy life are surely limited by this type of parenting when their parents are drug dependant. Their priorities are not children first.

You were a brave young woman to take this trip, but I would think it helped to form the person you are today and from some of your recent trip reports I can now interpret that sense of freemdon you enjoy on your vacations.
Cheers,
Mich

[bixaorellana]

Really cool story, Deyana. When I posted that little blurb about the old guy with the gift shop on Route 66, I remembered your road story from when you posted it on ttr.

In the early 80s my son & I drove from the middle of Kansas down to Louisiana in a car very similar to the one in your OP. God, did it drink gas! Approximately when did your trip take place?

I used to live in Pacific Grove and worked in Carmel Valley, so went to Carmel fairly often. I did see Clint Eastwood once. He was doing his Christmas shopping.

[Deleted]

Yes, Deyana, I have been waiting for this magnificent story to return as well. It is so similar to what has been depicted in so many movies, but in the movies it often ends in an unexpected massacre, so I am happy that you are still around with a nice family and a nice life.

Life can have so many unexpected moments.

[Deleted]

Mich, yes those kids had a really bad life. I often wonder what they are doing now, and how their life turned out. The trip certainly opened my eyes to many things. I don't think I was all that brave really, I relied on my boyfriend a great deal. He protected me and taught me many things along the way, so really for me it was pretty easy. We had our moments when things could have turned very dangerous for me or us, but thankfully it never came to that. We were lucky. Sadly, my then boyfriend died a few years later.

Bixa, how nice to meet Clint Eastwood, one of Hollywood's greats. I think my boyfriend was more in awe of him then I was, I was just sad that he didn't get to meet him. This was all back in 1988, once the trip was over the car fell apart, literally. It was strange how it worked so well until we no longer needed it.

Thanks, Kerouac, yes life has turned out okay after all. It's a funny old world, and things can change so much as the years go on. It was maybe a silly thing to do to go off on a trip like this, I think if my kids told me they were planning such a journey, I would discourage them all I could, unless I was going with them. At the time I told no one where I was, and then one day I went to a phone booth and phoned my mother to tell her I was okay.

I will add more about this journey later on....

[fumobici]

Nicely told. I think experiences like this ground one in the world and teach valuable lessons in a way that more mundane travel cannot.

I did a somewhat similar adventure as a runaway at 14 years old, me, my best friend who was 17 and had a car and our girlfriends. We drove from Michigan to Arizona and back, stayed with some Navajo in Flagstaff for a couple of weeks and then hung out with hippies in Jerome. To adequately and faithfully describe it would take a short book and many of the most memorable parts are probably not suited to telling here- or anywhere else publicly- and a cleaned up version would be a lie. I never regretted doing it for a second except for what it must have put my parents through.

[Deleted]

fumobici, you were very young too when you did that road trip. I'd love to hear more. But I know what you mean about wondering how much to tell, especially on an a public forum. I think the only place to put down everything would be in a book, this (but much more detailed version), will all go in my second book. I did leave out many things in the telling of the events, but I tried to be as honest as I could be.

I never regretted any of it either, I do think that not everyone could handle it though, or even want to. It's a personal choice.

[Deleted]

As long as the prosecution deadline has passed, I'm sure you can tell us quite a bit more, deyana.

[Deleted]

Yeah sure okay.

...............


I guess I’ve missed out all the touristy bits we saw too. We tried to locate the more well known landmarks and places to see along the way, but to me they didn’t hold my interest in the same way as watching and observing everyday American people going about their daily lives. I’m a great observer and people fascinate me. I know we would look out for all the 'famous' landmarks in each city, but I can't recall many of them now. I guess they couldn't have made much of an impression on me.


We did get to see the Grand Cannons. Huge and awesome. In Dallas we went looking for South Fork Ranch, where the T.V. series ‘Dallas’ was shot. The show was no longer being filmed by that time, Once there, from what I could see, I wasn’t very impressed, it was so much smaller than I had imagined, just a very ordinary place. This bought home to me just how Hollywood can make something out of very little, but that’s what it’s always been about - illusion.

Before leaving Florida we went to NASA, and were lucky enough to be able to go into a real Space Rocket, one that had been used previously. Inside we could learn about what an astronaut has to go through and the training they need before being sent off into space. I couldn’t believe just how strenuous and hard the training is. These men and women have to be tough, very tough.. Physically, intellectually, mentally, and any way you can think of.

The beaches in Florida are hard to compare to. Very beautiful indeed. While on one of these beaches we got talking to a few people, and they told us that Florida was the last State in the US to stop the segregation of blacks and whites on their beaches. Back then I had never really thought much about segregation and how it must have impacted the people, both black and white. Did it in some way still have an influence on how people thought even back in the 80’s? Was it my imagination, or did Florida ( and other parts of the ‘Deep South’), have a slightly different atmosphere to other areas of the US? I thought so, but I couldn’t quite put into words what it was, just a feeling.

The other thing that struck me about Florida was just how money conscious some people were. I guess being a tourist mecca plays into that greatly. We found that the better dressed and more touristy you were, the better you were treated. Many places are all set and geared towards serving people who come there to make their holidays and so spend money. Needless to say, we didn't fare too well in that department!

[Deleted]

Skipping backwards now.

When we first arrived in the State of Florida, we decided that this was the place we would spend more time, and so tried to find a ways and means of staying put for a while. Looking for work was always a priority for us. Applying for a 'green card' was out the question, they'd be no point, we'd be refused. So the only other alternative was to just simply ask around to see if anyone knew of any work going 'under the table. This we did quite a bit, mostly we were told no, and of course we had to be careful who we asked. I never did this by myself, as I was always worried about the kind of answer I might get. More times than I care to remember, I was asked if I would be willing to pay by 'other means'. and this was with my bf in view! This too was out of the question - selling my body for sex, no matter how much they offered, was something I could never do.

We drove into a motel complex, and went to the office. We asked the woman if she had any odd jobs we could do or if she knew of any cheap accommodation that we could stay for a while. She was a lady in her late 20's I'd say, her and her husband had moved from California to come and work at this motel complex. She said not at the moment, but she was kind enough to give us a free motel room for a few nights, to give us a chance to try and find work and I guess to give us a break. She said that she couldn't rent that particular room out anyway, as someone had smashed their car into it and it had damage to the outside wall.

We accepted her offer and moved a few of our meager belongings into the room. It always felt strange not to sleep in our car, I had gotten so used it. But it did make a change and it was nice to have a hot shower, instead of having to find a public washroom to scrub down. Sometimes in view of other customers.

That evening her and her husband invited us to join them in their own room. They had their little girl with them too and a couple of other friends. The marijuana was handed around, we all relaxed and talked about our lives. Where we came from, where we were going etc. When the woman asked me if it was hard for me to live in a car, I had to tell her, honestly, that it wasn't and that I enjoyed it. I wanted to add, that I actually preferred it to living in a motel, but didn't want to sound rude or ungrateful. Truth is after being on the road for so long, I found staying put in one place for more than a day, stifling. I now knew how gypsies feel, and why they have to keep moving on....

We stayed there for a few days, and did get a couple of leads for temporary work, but they came to nothing. After a while we felt that we had outstayed our welcome and got in the car and drove further into Florida.

[Deleted]

Backtracking again....


Louisiana especially interested my boyfriend, because of his French roots. Indeed there were quite a few people in the directory with his last name. There was a connection, albeit a long shot and probably lost in history somewhere now.

As we drove into Louisiana, we could hear the radio station playing Cajun music, just to give you an idea of how it sounds:



My bf tried to make out what they were saying, but his French was very different to the one on the radio. It was a Sunday, we wondered if we might find some work for a few hours, or even a day or two with one of the churches around. They usually have connections and may tell us of where temporary work might be available, at least enough to get us going again. But in order to do this we would have to attend church, and so we did.

This one was a Baptist church, we went in before the service and asked the pastor if he may have any work for us or at least know of anyone who might be hiring. He said he didn't, but he appreciated that we made the effort to attend his sermon and invited us to stay. What could we say? We sat down with everyone else.

They were a friendly bunch, but not as loud and outspoken as the Pentecostal crowd we had stayed with back on route 66, which to me was a relief. After the service the pastor introduced us to a lady and her young son, who must have been about eleven or twelve at the time. A very sweet woman who ended up inviting us to her farm for dinner. I couldn't really understand how this was going to help us in any way, but we couldn't refuse, they were all being so kind.

The woman seemed almost grateful to us for accepting. She came across as very lonely and I felt sorry for her. It's funny how life is, there she was living on this lovely ranch, in a great big house, and you would think she had it all, but really she was a very sad person, maybe even more displaced then us, but in a completely different way. I found myself pitying her and then I thought I bet she is doing the same to me.

It's strange how looks can be so deceptive, I was actually very happy at the time, I was in love, I was free and I was experiencing things that I never thought I would. I know it's an old cliche, but it's true; 'money really doesn't buy happiness'. And unfortunately, this was so obvious in this lady's case. I saw many things and many people during this trip, but this woman stood out for me in my mind, simply because of all the very sad vibes that came from her.

We arrived at her ranch and the first thing I noticed was her six large Rottweiler dogs lazily sitting around in front of the house. Oh no, I thought, what will they do? Will they attack? We walked past them and they didn't even raise their heads in our direction. *phew*.

The house was big and airy, perfect for the hot weather that they were no doubt used to having around here, although it was somewhat isolated. Her son was very sweet, but hardly spoke a word. They seemed lost in their own little world in so many ways. She made us a nice dinner, but seemed slightly uncomfortable in our company. Later on she showed us around her home and also showed us the many photos of her late husband, who had passed away not so long ago. After dinner we made our excuses and left as soon as we could.

I began to wonder more and more about other people's lives. We met so many different kinds of folk along the way, but each one taught me something. In fact I was like a sponge during all this journey, just soaking in everything that was happening. I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world, just being where I was at that time was all I needed.


Should I continue?...

[fumobici]

Please do!

[Deleted]

Absolutely, Deyana, it just keeps getting more and more fascinating! Particularly, your views of the Southeast United States are really interesting, because you saw it as an outsider. I was just a semi-outsider but since I was born and raised there, I do have certain insights into the backwoods life and the simultaneous hospitality and wariness of the people there.

[mich64]

Yes, more please!
Cheers,
Mich

[Deleted]

Okay then, I will carry on.

Kerouac, I found that there was a certain tension between many of the blacks and whites in the area, even as late as the 80's. Not surprising maybe, as it wasn't that long after segregation was abolished, not long enough for some to forget what it was like to have lived through it. I was in an unusual situation, I wasn't black, but I wasn't white either. However because my bf was white, I was accepted by all the white people that we met, regardless that they may have had some very negatives views about race. I heard what they had to say and some of it was very racist. I listened and took in what they said. But as it wasn't personally directed at me, I could look at it as a bystander, however distasteful if was. It certainly opened my eyes to how certain other (non-white) people thought about us people of color! It was a strange situation to be in though. But to counteract that, we came across many, many very decent, nice people of all races and colors, and it was heartwarming just be around them. I found that Americans on the whole are a very cool bunch.

Anyway, to carry on...

TEXAS





It wasn't always plain sailing between myself and my boyfriend. As much as I adored him and looked up to him, there were times when I wished he would just disappear. There were times when he would wind me up or annoy me just for fun. Being together constantly could take it's toll. I'm sure at times I bugged him just as much, so all was fair

One time we had an argument and I told him I was leaving, I put all my worldly belongings into my one suitcase, left the car and slammed the door behind me. I stalked off, but had not a clue as to where I was going, I can't even remember where we were, somewhere in Texas, Austin I believe. I walked on and then I realized that I was in the red-light district! I carried on walking and then stood in front of a building wondering what to do next.

It was already dark and I started to feel more and more vulnerable and knew I was in big trouble. Cars with shady looking men started to circle around me. How was I going to get myself out of this one I thought? Thankfully my boyfriend had not abandoned me, he came to find me and stood there and told to get back in the car, which I did. From then on I tried not to lose my senses again, even when I lost my temper!

When we had asked, people back in California had told us not to attempt driving across Texas, it was too vast and too much of nothingness in between each place and city. But we decided to cross it anyway, they were right though, it was hot, dusty and a very difficult State to cross. It was just sheer luck that we didn't get stranded along the way.

I'm not sure how, but we found a place that welcomed travelers who had little resources. This was a big relief for me, because I could see no end to the driving and the dust. I needed to see other humans again and know I was still with the living. Trouble was we couldn't pay them anything at all, but the kind manager let us stay the night for free. We has a tremendous amount of good luck along this whole journey and met some really awesome people that were good to us for no reason at all, apart from the fact that they had a heart.

The manager treated us like family, we ate with him and watched T.V. and petted his dog, who was one with long floppy ears and really red-shot eyes. He was old but well cared for. The manger told us that he'd had all sorts of people passing through the area. One time he had a couple who stayed here with their little girl or about five or six years old, He said he was disgusted with them, because she had no shoes on her feet and inadequate clothing, and it was winter time. It seemed to me that many people traveled with their kids, with little regards to what they needed.

He also gave us some valuable advice, told us the best routes to take, and the ones to avoid. He was a very interesting man, admirable in many ways. Later on we went upstairs to a real bed and in the morning said our goodbyes and went our way again...

[Deleted]

Considering the hundreds of thousands of people who have driven across the country looking for their personal Eldorado, I can imagine what the residents of the towns along the main highways have seen over the years and the drama of desperate people who never make it.

[Deleted]

Yes, I can see that would be the case, K. Some very sad cases to see along the way, especially when children are involved and being dragged around place to place for the convenience of their parents. I'm sure many are never allowed the privilege of settling in one place for long, and then we wonder why the youth of today are so messed up.

I will add more to this later on...

[Deleted]

GEORGIA.

I guess most places have areas that could be considered dangerous in some way or another. We tried our best to stay clear of anything that looked like it could lead to trouble. By this time we had driven a few thousand miles and felt it was time to start heading back to Canada. It was now December, still warm in the Deep South, but getting cooler by the day.

So we started to head North, and in doing so passed through the State of Georgia. It had an oppressive atmosphere, I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, but it was most definitely there. More and more I yearned to have a proper bed to sleep in, maybe it was something to do with 'Dusty' the dog. I hated having her in the car and worst having her sleeping on our blankets and sometimes in between my boyfriend and myself!

In Georgia I wanted a place to sleep that was not the car for once. And the closest thing we could find at a short notice was a men's shelter. We asked if they had anywhere where we wouldn't have to be put in different rooms and they did have one room just for families and they gave that to us. (minus the dammed dog).

That was a creepy night, because we heard drums in the night, faint, but there all the same. 'What are those drums'? I asked my bf, he didn't know for sure but thought they may be the coming from a local KKK meet-up. This freaked me out, we really were in dangerous territory here. I had a rather sleepless night and couldn't wait to get in the car the next morning and get the heck out of Georgia.

[mich64]

My brother decided to do a year at a University in Georgia in the middle of the 1980's. Probably the worst decision he has ever made. Came home after less that a month. He called me one night and was really upset over some difficulties he was having there and was wanting me to tell him to come home, I did. He lost his tuition and a semester, but was happy to be home. He said it was really a place that you had to be born and raised to understand how to get by.
Mich

[Deleted]

That's interesting, mich. Looks like I wasn't the only one who felt that way about Georgia then. Did he say more about why he didn't really like it? I wonder if the atmosphere over there has changed any since the 1980's?

I don't know too much about American history, but wasn't Georgia at the forefront of slavery back in the day? I wonder if some of the ancestors of those people - both black and white, still look back on those days? What impressions has it left on them?

[Deleted]

I found Atlanta to be a completely normal city, but it's true to that the backroads of Georgia did not appeal to me at all.

[Deleted]

It's strange how we never hear much about Atlanta or Georgia in general. Kerouac, what would you say it was that was unappealing about certain parts of Georgia? I'm curious now.