babyfood1217
Observer
This trip is a few things: a couple years old, not terribly off roady, still "ongoing" in a sense, and was probably the scariest and most amazing thing I've done in my life. Imagine: beginning a relationship (long distance to boot: 500 miles with only 6 in person visits) to moving cross country together in no more than 4 months. That's what Michelle and I did. EXPO has been a great inspiration for me the last few years, and with the onslaught of potentially getting a new truck, I've been on here so much, I felt I should contribute something. Since it's the stories that really get me going, I decided I'd share that (I'll spare you the mushy stuff.)
Day 1: Sun Prairie, WI - Worthington, MN
We decided we would leave on August 31, 2010. We were headed to Seattle, WA. That is literally all we knew. We had money in our bank acct's, but no jobs, friends or living accommodations to arrive to. The vehicle we packed up was my 1988 4runner. The 5sp 22-RE may not have been the most tow-capable vehicle, but it was mine and it ran. Done deal. The trailer was some hobbled piece I got from an old landlady's backyard. I cleaned it up and used it to transport my motorcycle project from shop to shop, as well as my life possessions during my many moves. This pic was from before we left, my last within-state move...
After spending the evening prior packing as much as possible on my shoddy trailer and into the back of the 4runner, Michelle and I were off. We departed from my parents house, and you could just see the look in their eyes that said "be safe, we love you, we want to go too!" It's hard leaving family, but as my mother said "a light will always be on, a door always open."
We directed our path to go through Abbotsford, WI. My grandmother is an amazing women, and I wanted to see her before leaving. A well chosen first stop. She had breakfast waiting for us, and my uncle was up from OH to help send us off.
After leaving grandmas place, we forgot to get gas and were running on fumes. Nothing like whipping across a 4 lane interstate to fly through the police/maintenance turnout to whip across 4 more lanes with a tiny overloaded trailer just to get some gas.
Back on the road, Michelle was driving. Crossing into Minnesota, she completely missed the Mississippi. Being an OH girl who spent the last 5 years in KY, she was anxious to see every single incredible thing during this trip. Only once we got past Minneapolis did she learn she had missed it. How do you not see a huge river like that?
I must also add that Michelle had never driven my truck before (she closed her lease on a 200x VW Jetta before she came to WI), nor had she driven with a trailer. Of course, with that, we hit Minneapolis about morning rush hour time.
And, while this was all happening, I was dismembering my phone. The slide-open/close mechanism had finally loosened and failed, and all I could scrounge in the cab to fix it with was a section of baling wire (which I filed into a flat screwdriver with a rock) and my pink Benchmade knife (which I have lost and dearly miss.)
I did eventually get it.
Day 1: Sun Prairie, WI - Worthington, MN
We decided we would leave on August 31, 2010. We were headed to Seattle, WA. That is literally all we knew. We had money in our bank acct's, but no jobs, friends or living accommodations to arrive to. The vehicle we packed up was my 1988 4runner. The 5sp 22-RE may not have been the most tow-capable vehicle, but it was mine and it ran. Done deal. The trailer was some hobbled piece I got from an old landlady's backyard. I cleaned it up and used it to transport my motorcycle project from shop to shop, as well as my life possessions during my many moves. This pic was from before we left, my last within-state move...
After spending the evening prior packing as much as possible on my shoddy trailer and into the back of the 4runner, Michelle and I were off. We departed from my parents house, and you could just see the look in their eyes that said "be safe, we love you, we want to go too!" It's hard leaving family, but as my mother said "a light will always be on, a door always open."
We directed our path to go through Abbotsford, WI. My grandmother is an amazing women, and I wanted to see her before leaving. A well chosen first stop. She had breakfast waiting for us, and my uncle was up from OH to help send us off.
After leaving grandmas place, we forgot to get gas and were running on fumes. Nothing like whipping across a 4 lane interstate to fly through the police/maintenance turnout to whip across 4 more lanes with a tiny overloaded trailer just to get some gas.
Back on the road, Michelle was driving. Crossing into Minnesota, she completely missed the Mississippi. Being an OH girl who spent the last 5 years in KY, she was anxious to see every single incredible thing during this trip. Only once we got past Minneapolis did she learn she had missed it. How do you not see a huge river like that?
I must also add that Michelle had never driven my truck before (she closed her lease on a 200x VW Jetta before she came to WI), nor had she driven with a trailer. Of course, with that, we hit Minneapolis about morning rush hour time.
And, while this was all happening, I was dismembering my phone. The slide-open/close mechanism had finally loosened and failed, and all I could scrounge in the cab to fix it with was a section of baling wire (which I filed into a flat screwdriver with a rock) and my pink Benchmade knife (which I have lost and dearly miss.)
I did eventually get it.
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