Road trip report

[Quebec Gen]

Hi everyone!:-)
I'm presently at a Kinko's in Denver Colorado. I left Montreal (Quebec) on Saturday, I passed through Ontario, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, it s been a real delightful experience and I still have more than 2 weeks left for the rest. I'm heading to Salt Lake City tommorow. I have to admit that my fears were caused by ignorance because everybody is so nice out here, I feel safe, even travelling alone. I slept in a Truck Stop Parking lot for my first night in Ontario but I wouldn't do it again here because as a young woman, slim and tall, blonde (not that I am a beauty queen)I m getting a lot of attention (sometimes unwanted).

The sceneries are simply beautiful, especially in Nebraska (Highway 26, Chimney Rock, Scottsbluff), the cities that I visited (rapido presto) were great (except for Detroit, what a dirty mess!! Fortunately, I went to the Detroit Institute of Art to see Diego Riviera s Artwork, it saved the day!:-) I drove in deserted dirt roads today, it was amazing. My camera just couldn t capture the beauty of it all!

Have a nice evening!
Gen:-))

ps-I got arrested for speeding but I made my poor little puppy look and I didn t have any ticket:-)) One of the rare advantage of being a woman travelling alone! The guy even tried to pronounce my french name correctly!

[PNW Judy]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you're having fun. But not all cops are so generous so watch out, drive careful, and enjoy!

[Robert Schaller]

I agree with Judy -- my business keeps me very close to law enforcement officers, and most of them just laugh when folks suggest a young woman can avoid a ticket by flirting, (or crying). In many cases, an officer has already decided whether you are getting a citation before he gets out of his vehicle. In those cases where you have a chance to influence the decision, keep a positive attitude, treat the officer with respect, but NEVER admit you know why he or she stopped you. If the officer thinks you will slow down by just getting a lecture, he might let you go with a "warning." Also, if you are a speeder, keep it reasonable. The more you are over a limit, the less likely you'll get a warning.

Anyway, sounds like you are having a good trip so far! Sounds like you're headed for red rock country -- you are going to LIKE that. Bob

[Quebec Gen]

Hi everyone,
I m presently at Kinko s in El Paso, TX. The past week has probably been one of the greatest of my entire life! I saw the Continental Divide, the Rockies, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, many other canyons, the VLA (very long aray)site near Magdalena NM, many kinds of desert, Paiute, Navajos and Apache Reserves, all kinds of wild animals : elks, hawks, eagles, road mice, a rabbit with very big ears, lizards and...I got the chance to meet Bob in Phoenix who showed me some of the Apache Trail, Roosevelt Dam, Superstition Mountains and what real BBQ tasted like!:-) Like I thought he s a really nice guy with a great knowledge of his region and of a lot of other interesting things:-))

At first, my plan was to visit Salt Lake, Santa Fe but I just felt like avoiding all tourist traps so I just kept on driving in the desert to go someplace else. Today, I went to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico just to take a look. It was kind of creepy because there were no Americans there at all (well, I didn t see any) and there I was a white young chick with blonde hair with a very very small knowledge of spanish walking around. I got followed a few times by guys, but I stayed away from deserted streets so it was ok. At last, I had a nice little chat with a Mexican who used to live in the US, we shook hands and I got back to downtown El Paso. Everybody here is mex and speaks spanish, it s kind of strange but I like it, feels different:-). After all, that s what I was looking for when I started this roadtrip : different places, different people:-) Today I m heading east to the Gulf of Mexico, I d like to dip my toes in something else than the motel s pools.:-)

Have a nice evening!
Gen:-)

[Quebec Gen]

Hi everyone,
I m presently in Pensacola, FLA:-) I know I was supposed to visit Kentucky and Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville) and then head north to Ohio and NY State, but after I went to South Padre Island, TX, I was just dying to see some other beaches and swim in hot water. So here I am, and tomorrow I m going through all the west coast towards Key West and then I ll head north (only 1 week left:-(( ) I went to San Antonio a few days ago to visit the Alamo and a nice little japanese garden in Brackenridge Park. Today, I went to New Orleans to take a peek at the "French quarter" (where they are absolutely no french people left:-), it was really nice. People were smiling and friendly, but not as much as in the west though:-)) I listened to a jazz band playing When the Saints go Marchin In, it was great!:-)

Have a great evening!
See ya!
Gen:-)

[Mark Sedenquist]

Gen,

We are enjoying your field reports. Keep them coming!

Mark

Hi everyone!
I'm presently at home in Quebec, I returned home safely, no problem, no stress, everything was just perfect. I drove from Pensacola to Tampa (Florida (West Coast)) and then I crossed the Everglades and I spent 3 days in Miami : enjoying the beaches, the ocean, I visited South Beach and Key West (and ate a lot of pizza-by-the-slice and pieces of key lime pie:o)) Then, I headed north and drove 20 hours in a day, I slept in Elkton, MD.

The next day, instead of going directly back to my region, I decided to prepare a little surprise for my boyfriend who was on a hiking-camping trip in the White Mountains (NH). So I just showed up at dinnertime at the campground where he was with his sister, it was just great and funny!:-) The next day, I just had a 2-3 hours drive to get to my place, so I took it easy ans smoked some cherry cigars along the way.:-)) I don't usually smoke but it's just a roadtrippin' kinda thing:-)) Just like eating beef jerky for breakfast but fortunately i'm not into that:-)

Like the John Denver song, I thought : "Ain't it good to be back home again" but I just can't wait for my next roadtrip, maybe I'll bring some company along, but I'm not sure. I had a great time roadtripping solo, it's like a therapy, you're slowly freeing yourself and getting some bad road habits like eating truck stops hot-dogs for dinner and a convenience store's burritos for supper and you also begin to act strange (wearing a Stetson, putting bumper stickers on your car, talking to strangers, you get rid of your watch, you like your tan even though the only tanned part of your body is your left arm, etc.) But you have to be in the mood to do so and, of course, you have to like to drive for hours!

Oh, and a last thing, don't listen to the ones who are trying to discourage you from doing your trip saying it's dangerous, suicidal, frivolous (...) Just say, yeah you're absolutely right, get in your car and just go away! As a young and skinny woman, everyone tried to convince me to forget it, very few people believed in me. At one point, I was beginning to get scared and almost "chiken out", but I just followed my instinct and I did it. Of course, I used common sense (stayed clear of dark alleys and macho bars) and caution along the way not to get in trouble, especially with guys and I didn't encountered any major problem. I carried a knife and a pepper spray (it's made for dogs but works well with anything or anyone) underneath my clothes sometimes just to prevent potential human or even animal attacks. I never used them, but I recommend them anyway, they're small, usually legal and practical for cooking:-))Just kidding:-)

Have a nice day!
Gen:o)

[PNW Judy]

Glad you had a great time! Sounds like fun.