DigitalVagabonding » Blog Archive » The Road Trip Begins

The Road Trip Begins

My first cross country road trip was many years ago in a VW camper bus. Since that magic trip I’ve considered road tripping to be a sacred pilgrimage. Twenty years plus after my first great road trip, I’m still a devout believer in the religion and magic of the open road (see Birth of a Vagabond).

I kept my old 1974 VW Camper for many years until it died a glorious death in Yellowstone Park. The old parking brake gave way and it rolled down a mountain road and dove a few hundred feet into the rushing rapids of the Yellowstone River. Like a warrior dying in the heat of battle, it was a glorious ending.

	[Show picture list]
The old “Chuck Wagon” after many hard miles.	It’s my “Destiny”

After a suitable amount of grieving, I decided to buy a motor home that would be small enough to camp on city streets, yet large enough to live and work from while road tripping America. After extensive research online, I found the perfect fit – a 24 foot motor home called “Destiny“.

I took a leap of faith and flew into Texas to buy her. My friend Panama Jimmy flew with me to join me for the maiden voyage back to Fort Lauderdale.

[MEDIA=25]

My first moments with “Destiny”.

Within a few hours of landing in Houston and buying her on the spot, Jimmy and I rolled serendipitously into Austin, Texas. As luck would have it, Austin was hosting its annual South by South West three day music festival. Austin Texas, with its warm, open and down to earth people was an ideal place to begin a road trip. I’d always heard that Austin was an oasis of sanity and open mindedness within Texas – hip yet real and unpretentious. I’m now a believer.

Note – Austin hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world and the battiest girl – “Bat Girl”. Learn about the “Bat Girl of Austin”.

[View as slideshow]

We tailgated, camped and partied on the streets for the rest of the weekend and then rolled on to New Orleans. Thus began the Great American Road Trip. Since then every turn in the road, every stop and person along the way has been pure destiny.

Climb aboard and share this Great American Road Trip and loop the glorious North American continent.

Next stop – New Orleans – My kind of Hell

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 17th, 2007 at 4:05 am and is filed under Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

4 Responses to “The Road Trip Begins”

Michael McDermott Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hey Brother,
The whole flow of synchronicity that led you to destiny in such a fluent way is inspiring.
There is a bus out in Ocean City, New Jersey which i am planning to go see this weekend. There is also an “Annual Creativity Weekend” occurring simultaneously which makes it filled with even more serendipity.
I plan to document it and share ones all comes into being.
The parallels between you and destiny, and was i am experiencing currently are deep.
Blessings Be.
-Michael McD
Michael McDermott Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
* what i am experiencing

(Man i need to be more efficient at editing before i submit these!)
Pat Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Michael,

Fantastic to hear that you are preparing to make the leap of faith of hitting the road and diving into life. I’ve always found that often, despite conventional reasons to the contrary, such leaps have always been rewarding.

Please keep me posted on your journey. You might also want to join a supportive community of fellow writers, seekers and travelers. My favorite is Matador Travel.

Be well brother and live large,

Pat the DV
Michael McDermott Says:
May 13th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Hey Brother,
I actually came to learn about the scholarship you are offering via Matador. I am not yet a member of the community, but do intend to become one once my travels take further form.
Thanks for your support and encouragement!
I will for sure keep you posted on my journey.
Blessings Be
Michael McD