I first met Whity at a second-hand car dealer (Topline automobile) one week after I entered US. That time, I decided to stay at an apartment not in USC area, so a car became necessary. I visited the dealer with my mother and Mr. Ho, my father's local friend. Back then I had to decide between two Toyota Corolla's, Whity and Blacky. The black one was older but had less mileage. However my father's friend told me white cars are cooler during hot summer days in South California, so I ended up with Whity.
Since then Whity has been a reliable performer. Corolla is not a car I would go with for a race, but it is (at least mine is) reliable. Within these years, I never had a mechanical problem with the car. I almost forgot that cars, like anything else, is subject to mal-function and breakdown. When I started to plan for the cross-country driving trip, I had little doubt that the car should be able to make it. I had more doubt on myself rather than on Whity.
Of course it was a hard work for Whity. In addition to the 3,000 total miles driven, the car was fully loaded with my belongings for these days (photos here). But it never failed me on the road - the worst incidance being a flat tire, not an internal mechanical problem. I really, really appreciated that. Whity had done his best to make the nice trip possible.
The scene in the car
I took several shots in the car to show you my system. Just like truck drivers who spend a lot of time on the road, I learned to build a system in the car - about where I put the things and how I access them. It started clueless, messy, and unorganized. But through time I improved. I had spent such a long time at the driver's seat during such a short time period that I gained enough experience to make myself a better in-car space organizer and driver.
By the beginning of the trip the space next to the driver was typically a mess. Sure I got everything I need but they were piled on top of each other. You won't like it. I didn't like it myself.
It became much better towards the end of the trip. I must say that I didn't try to make it cleaner for this picture. The camera bag was there for quick access. The bag next to it contained all the travel information I need - The maps, and my own notes for quick reference.
Those two bottles of water were my own timing system. On normal rate, I consumed one bottle of water per hour. When both bottles were empty I knew it was time to stop the car and take a break, visit the restroom. More water were stored down on the floor. The backpack down there contained my laptop computer in case I needed to look something up - it turned out to be the lifesaver on the flat tire incident.
My cellphone was on its holder fixed to the A/C outlet. It was my little communication center for half a month. I had to report to home base everyday so people didn't get over-worried. The picture of my families sit nicely against the windshield.How difficult was the drive?
When I told people about my driving trip, they worried more about my ability of driving savely to reach the destination than my ability to arrnage the trip so I can have fun. The atmosphere made me a bit upset. True, I am not a professional driver, but I considered myself capable and thoroughly trained in driving. It was partly due to my origin - If LA traffic is notoriously bad, then the traffic in my home town, Taipei City, is simply chaotic. I had been driving in these two places for 10 years combined, so I considered myself experienced in face of various situations on the road.
When I told people I drove from coast to coast, the typical response was like, "That must be tough. Good job." Well in fact it was not that hard. Besides in the major cities, the roads I traveled were not at all busy. I could even recommend this as a beginner's driving drill for most part of the trip - It was an open road, nothing was there for you to hit the break for a good part of the trip. The most dangerous factor was not the other cars on the road, but the sleepiness in my own brain when the driving became a monodic routine for hours. Driving across the country is, after all, very easy as compared to driving in the cities.
Of course there was difference. The most noticeable one was the traffic mix I faced. In cities typically there are more sedan cars on the road than anything else, but on the interstates more than 50% of the cars are big trucks. This sounds intimidating, but in fact trucks post much less danger than other cars to you for good reasons: (1) Most of the trucks are driven by professional drivers. This means they know how to drive, and they know the road and traffic conditions well. (2) The drivers make their living with driving, so they are unlikely to mis-behave on the road and get the license revoked. More than 99.9% of the trucks I met on the trip behave nicely on the road. and (3) Usually the trucks are checked for potential mechanical problems regularly. I saw a lot of cars broken down on the road side along the trip, but never saw one truck sitting there. Consider all these facts, what one should worry more about when driving is really not those huge trucks, but small vehicles with crazy or incapable drivers.
What is more challenging is finding the way. It was relatively easy between cities, and all I did was following the freeways. But in the major cities the freeways form complex interchange and that posted the most challenge to me. LA boasts the most complex freeway system in the country, and a friend once told me if you get along in LA you will be able to get along in any other city in terms of fighting the traffic. But in my personal experience, many other cities, especially when they are on the cross-road where freeways merge, have a fairly complex system at least to first time visitors. Among the cities I traveled, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, and Atlanta stand out in terms of highway system complexity. Luckily, I never got lost during these days, and that was certainly a major part of a happy travel experience.
It is interesting that although I like cool technologies which make life easier, I never considered using a GPS system for this trip. When it comes to the trip planning, I preferred the old-school way - maps. I developed the habit to review the route I would take tomorrow in details before going to bed each day, and put down some quick notes for reference on a small notepad. This, to me, is by far more interesting then relying on a small talking box to show me the way.
My nevigation system. AAA regional maps, AAA state series, and AAA city series. The notepad is the cache.
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