Since returning to Houston in October 1998, I've wanted to rush out and hit the road again. But with no money, I'd have to get a job and save a little before admiring America. Well, time does past quickly, and the days became years, and finally, 2 and a half years later I was able to return to that road.
But now as I sit here and write this, it's a little difficult to imagine I'm back at my mundane life. Life is what we make of it.
Originally, the main objective was to visit Gilly's memorial in Dorchester, Massachusettes near Boston. I was unable to attend Gilly's funeral back in 1998, and wanted to visit his resting place and tell him thanks for the things he did for me. Gilly and I worked for H.E.B. in San Antonio back in 1996, and he passed away in his 30's because of a gun accident. I fondly remember the time before the 1998 roadtrip when we went out to lunch in downtown San Antonio after I had left the grocery store chain: He asked me if I was going to bring anthing along to protect myself, that is, a gun possibly. I told him no because I don't like guns, and if anyone really wants to kill you in our soceity, there's not much to stop them. After returning home, I found Gilly may be resting in Winchester instead Dorchester, and now I could knock myself in the head for not stopping in Winchester when I had the chance.
During the 2 1/2 weeks, I could also make it into Canada and visit my friend Eileen, tour the casinos, and doing whatever else came up.
This time instead of taking my 1995.5 Isuzu Rodeo S, I took the family's 1986 Totoya Cresseida. It's an old, reliable car with 140000 miles, but I knew from our maintainence record that it would hold up. My dad didn't think twice about letting me take it- he had the same confidence. The only problem which it has developed recently is a minor transmission oil leak. The round trip was approximately 7 thousand miles with no oil changes along the way. The Cresseida also got about 29-30 mpg, which is pretty good for it's age, but then I didn't use the air conditioner and drove no faster than 63 mph.
Gas prices fluctuated greatly around the country. In these economic times, the gas prices are some of the highest in history of this country, but that's still a far cry from the prices in other countries, especially in Europe. (Back in 1996, it cost about $4 a gallon in France.) The cheapest gasoline could be found West Virginia, Virginia, and Lousiana, while the most expensive gasoline were in Conneticut, New York, and Canada. In fact most of the North East was quite expensive except for the southern part of New Jersey. Definitely, this was a bad time for a road trip as far as gasoline prices are concerned, but we can't wait forever to take hold of our dreams.
Most of the trips was fine, with some difficulties along the way. Most of the time I was happy to be on the road, but did angry plenty of time by the way people drove in the big cities. It's ever a wonder how we survive as a species with so many common senseless people. I suppose that's why there are doctors to save lives, polititians to create laws to protect them, and lawyers to think for them.
Finding places to sleep wasn't difficult since there was generally 2 choices: sleep in the car or sleep at a campsite (or possibly a cheap motel, and there are a few along the way). I'd always preferred to sleep at a campsite if the cost was reasonable, but it seems too many of America's campsites are not relatively expensive- sometimes about $10 less than a cheap motel room. They cater very much to RV enthusiasts, not the minimalists. Too bad they cannot be affordable to both most of the time.
As for the casinos, I mostly played blackjack and was up and down, but mostly down. In fact, down and completely out. I knew my mistakes and will have to avoid them in the future. My amateur card-counting is not the problem if I'm awake enough to count; however, it's my bet spread, which was not adequate. It was interesting to see how the states differ in their laws. When I was able to win, it was a great high, but after losing, it was morale disaster- especially, when I was ahead and then lost everthing. But I will be back again, and next time, with a vengeance; however, for now, I have made a promise not to play again until next year (6 months). It wasn't my intension to stop at that many casinos, but they just happened to be along the way.
This time, I took along as little as possible. Just the items which I had intended to use, and it worked out well. When the trip was coming to an end, I figured I had brought along 2 extra shirts I didn't need. Most of the camping equipment was used. I definitely did not to bring the laptop since it was brought along to retrieve the pictures off the digital camera. (I said I would not be involved with taking too many pictures on this road trip. It just seems like I had to stop and think about what I was doing when I thought about stopping to take pictures.) The one thing which I didn't need on this trip, but forgot to carry along, was my wilderness survival book- it's just something I always like to bring along whenever I am away from home.
The border patrol between Canada and US gave me a bit of difficulty at Buffalo, New York, but didn't hold me too long. I highly suspected they would stop me because I drove an old car and looked unshaven. If anyone is foolish or crazy enough to cross the border with drugs, I'd recommend carrying the drugs on their person instead of in the vehicle. I also learned not to follow an RV across the border.
As all other road trips in the past, I wanted to stay off the main interstates and highways as much as possible. A road trip on the roads where drivers are in a hurry to get from place to place is just not the ideal road trip for me. The back country roads is where America and Canada's beauty really shines. Some people like to take vacations in crowded areas where other tourists visit, such as New York City, while others like the serenity of being far from civilization, far from other tourists. I'm the latter.
Finally, all entries have been documented after the trip was over. I save many thoughts on a Panasonic hand-held recorder which was purchased for the 1998 roadtrip. Very useful to store 90 minutes of talk. Each day there was a stop at a Casino will have a casino sub entry.
