RoadTrip America

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March 24, 1999
Roads from the Ashes Hits the Highway

An Unusual Rendezvous
A 2-Revcon Rendezvous: Sheldon and Barbara Gebb & HMS Tank, left, pause with Mark, Marvin & Megan and the Phoenix One in Long Beach, California

I could say it's a whole new phase for RoadTrip America®, but that wouldn't be quite accurate. It's really business as usual for the continuing journey, and a whole new adventure for the human component.

It's a Book Tour, which means we're following in the footsteps of people we were following already: Mark Twain, Charles Kuralt, Jack Kerouac. Thay had grand and glorious adventures, and they went on book tours. We're following a well-worn path.

Or are we? Is a place really the same on another day, experienced through the eyes of another traveler? Journeys may be reminiscent of each other, but that's as far as the similarity goes. Set wheel to pavement, and you're in trail-blazing mode, even if you take the interstate.

Our new odyssey, a "Six-Month, 50-City Tour," began at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, where a crowd of friends and family gathered on May 8 to help us celebrate the publication of Roads from the Ashes. After a talk and book signing, we continued the festivities at El Portal, a nearby restaurant.

Since our kick-off event at Vroman's, we've traveled to Borders Books & Music in Northridge, a pancake breakfast hosted by the Volunteer Fire Department in Sierra Madre, and Barnes & Noble in Long Beach. Our next stop will be Much Ado About Books in Redlands. (For a complete list of events scheduled to date, click here, and please come & see us when we're in your area!)

One of the delightful side effects of a scheduled itinerary is the opportunity it provides for meeting friends along the way. In Long Beach, for example, we met several e-mail acquaintances for the first time in real life. Edna Reid joined us at Barnes & Noble, and Sheldom & Barbara Gebb met us in their Revcon, the HMS Tank. It was the first time the Phoenix One has met her match since we drove her out of the factory, and naturally, we seized the rare photo opportunity the juxtapposition offered.

Our tour is still in its incipient stages, and we're eager for suggestions. We've planned a number of bookstore events, but we'd also like to visit schools, colleges, and residential communities. We're available to speak for service clubs, and fund-raisers for non-profit organizations can be arranged. Please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.

Yes, it's a whole new adventure! We'll keep you posted as the journey unfolds...

Megan
Los Angeles, California
March 24, 1999

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