Sean Blanda

I remember the first day I got my license.  I was 17, it was my senior year in high school, and I had just dropped my mom off after passing the driving test to embark on my first solo car ride.

I sat in my Chrysler Caravelle and stared down my street.  The possibilities seemed endless.  Technically, I had the capability to go where ever I wanted, the freedom was intoxicating.  Of course, being 17, the best first trip I could muster up was the local Wal-Mart (In my defense, I needed socks damnit).

Last week, I was able to realize my most ambitious adolescent intentions as three friends and I drove a Dodge Nitro from Philadelphia to Seattle and back.  It’s been a few days since returning from the trip. After returning to my everyday life, I hope I can offer tips to those who want to do something similar, as well as offer highlights of our wonderful country.

The Plan

The original intention was to tag along with the Penny Arcade cross country super trippers.  To prepare for the trip we went shopping and ended up stocking the car with the following items:

• 24 cans of Red Bull
• 8 Muffins
• 4 boxes of granola bars
• 1 atlas
• 1 Microsoft Zune with a hookup to be charged in the car.  I asked everyone driving what their “must-have” songs were, as well as my Twitter followers.
• 1 laptop with several movies that were themed with the trip (Rookie of the Year and Ferris Bueller ruled the trip to Chicago).
• Tons of Blankets and Pillows

After packing the entire truck up we woke up 5:30 am on August 26th to leave.  What does 24 cans of Red Bull look like?  Glad you asked.

The Trip Out

As we hit the road in morning, our sleepiness was replaced with excitement as we began driving for 200-mile shifts.  However, in our excitement we forgot one very important fact: cops kind of get upset when you do 80.  Thus we were nailed for our first speeding ticket without even leaving Pennsylvania.

Every stop you see in the first graphic above, we picked another group of people to join our long line of cars.  Our first was in Ohio.  As our caravan grew, each car had a radio, so discussions such as “Is Gary Busey they king of Gary Indiana?” had more and more participants.  One of the people in caravan, Captain Cactus, posted this video so you can see the ridiculousness (note, turn down your sound a little bit, the video is loud).

Previously, I had never driven west of Ohio.  However the way out, we never ventured off of the highway so all I could gather about a state was what I could see out of my window.   When we passed Chicago I was amazed at the size and beauty of the nighttime skyline.  Chicago was previously the largeat city I had never been to, and on the way back we were set to spend some time there.  On the way out I could only quote Ferris Bueller and keep driving.

We did not see much in Indiana with the exception of a truck stop and Wal Mart where I finally discovered the Sean Blanda police department.

Wisconsin was a fun place to drive as it is not every state where you can stop at a cheese castle.  Minnesota passed a law banning billboards from their highway.  This made the natural features of the landscape stand out, but didn’t offer much reading material.  The next evening we drove through North Dakota and it was here I first felt I was in a “different” part of America than the Northeast I have spent all of my life.

Growing up in New Jersey I would hear a common refrain: New Jersey is just a big smelly wasteland full of obnoxious wanna be mobsters with blow out hairdos.  Obviously, I would disagree with this characterization, but what bothered me most was that I could never really put a finger on the source of this criticism until I saw the jaw dropping natural landscape of this country.  Being caught between New York and Philadelphia, most of New Jersey (with the exception of the most Southern region and the Pine Barrens) is suburbanized.  With the exception of the occasional trip into Pennsylvania dutch country, I have never been in a truly rural area.  That is, a place where your neighbors are not immediately visible from your home.  For the first time I saw the sun set over untouched landscapes, and I could see why someone would choose to live in North Dakota or Montana.

Where some would see the “middle of nowhere” others see tranquility and purity. I could then see how the Northeast, and especially New Jersey, would look dirty to some people.  I suppose it was just a matter of what you consider to be your “normal” environment.

I wanted to interview the people that lived out here to see if my thoughts were correct, but we had a schedule to keep.  The reason for the rush? Everyone in the caravan wanted make it to Seattle for the Penny Arcade Expo.  Our car was more concerned with dinner reservations we made in Seattle for the day were set to arrive. However, when we got to Idaho we realized we were cutting it close with the amount of stops that the caravan had planned, and we decided to speed ahead on our own.

This ended badly.

In Washington we received another speeding ticket. The whole time we were pulled over we just kept our eyes on the horizon hoping the caravan wouldn’t turn the corner.  After all, we stated their speed as a reason for going ahead. For them to pass us would mean we didn’t know what we were doing.

And then then they passed us, and it was hilarious.

But it was all made better after arriving, where quickly showered at a friend’s house and headed out to eat on top of the Space Needle.

Later this week I’ll cover the ride back where I got the greatest burger ever and slept on a car roof in the middle of Iowa.  Also, I’ll try to give some tips on how our car managed to drive for two and half days straight while maintaining 200 mile shifts.