Four Wheels Spinning – Stories from the States #14: Just the Facts

Just the Facts
December 7, 2001

Route One, Big Sur, California

When Brian and I set out on this trip we were looking for more than a good time; we were hoping to find a new place to live. Throughout the three months we were on the road, we sized up cities and towns wondering, “Do you think we could live here?” There were many places that jumped out at us with potential but no place hit the bull’s eye.

We both fell in love with Los Angeles (believe me, no one was more surprised about that than us) but we didn’t want to move 3000 miles away from our families. The entire state of Colorado was perfect, except that it’s landlocked and neither one of us wanted to be that far away from the ocean. We actually considered taking jobs in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico and staying there for a few months but the rest of the trip was calling so we drove on.

Tour Thru Tree, Klamath, California

In New Orleans we went as far as looking up apartments we’d seen in the rental section of the newspaper but the idea of boiling hot summers with 100% humidity stopped us from signing a lease. Athens, Georgia looked the perfect artsy-college town but there was something missing there too. In retrospect I think that we knew where we wanted to go, but we were trying to keep our options open. With our fingers crossed we drove up the east coat, bypassing Philadelphia and New Jersey, and headed into southeastern New England.

The plain truth is that we had been considering moving to Providence, Rhode Island all along. It fit most of our criteria: a small, young, inexpensive city that is situated near the mountains and the ocean and has colleges close by. Deep down I’ve always wanted to live in New England but the harsh winters have kept me away. Rhode Island seemed like a good compromise; milder winters but still close to all the northern New England spots that I love. And what about Brian you may ask? Brian plans on enrolling in culinary school and as luck would have it there’s a pretty great culinary school right in town.

Bedrock Campground on the road to Las Vegas

We were relieved to find that the city we had kept at the top of our list all along was as appealing as we had imagined it to be. Having just spent twelve weeks driving through the country we could honestly say that Providence was what we wanted and not second-guess our choice. With our new home state picked out, Brian and I drove back to New Jersey. It was by far the longest three-hour drive of the trip.

It’s been almost two months since the trip ended and Brian and I have permanent goofy smiles etched onto our faces from the cross county drive. We’re still planning to move to Rhode Island but we’re heading to Thailand next week for one more trip before we rejoin the working world. But let me say this, no matter how exotic or exciting the upcoming trip to Southeast Asia may be, nothing will compare to cruising around this great, big, beautiful country with the radio blaring and the windows rolled down.

Number of miles driven: 27,472

Number of days on the road: 86

Number of states visited: 22

Number of National Parks visited: 13

Cheapest gas: Franklinville, North Carolina, 82 cents per gallon

Most expensive gas: Big Sur, California, $2.49 per gallon

Place we stayed the longest (not including friends or family): New Orleans, Louisiana, four nights

Gas Station, Amargosa, Nevada

Favorite town name: Between, Georgia

Favorite name for a body of water: Fried Liver Wash, Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Favorite hotel (expensive): Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

Favorite hostel: The Abominable Snowmansion, Arroyo Seco New Mexico

Favorite National Park: Arches National Park, Utah

Number of flat tires: 0

Number of times the Jeep was washed: 1