Have you ever lived "on the road"?

In My Humble Opinion
1

“Me and you and a dog named Boo, traveling and living off the land…”

My son today told me that after he graduates high school him and some friends would like to take a year off before going to college and just travel around the US.

I envy him. It was always something I wanted to do.

So I’d like to ask. Have you ever done this? Maybe traveled around the US, Europe, or some other area?

If so please share the details. Where, when, how (ex. car, train, bus).
Did you carry all your stuff in a backpack?
What are the biggest memories?

2

Motorcycle, stuff in the saddlebags and a pack across the luggage rack, some across the handlebars and on me, about 4 months. It was for the Bicentennial and I basically traveled from one history event to another. Some were big deals over several days like Yorktown and some were dinky little local parades on a Wednesday evening. I covered about 22 states and slept under a roof about four times.

Because of the event it was hinged on, I wasn’t the only person doing it. Like some kind of strange American History Deadheads I bumped into some people quite a bit and made a couple friends out of it all. And we’re talking people I still see and communicate with all these years later. And I guess that is the biggest memory; the people and the shared experience of it all.

3

4 years in China. I was a Chinese major and had lived in Taiwan for 1 year. When I finished University, I went to China in 1985. Lived out of a backpack for 6-10 months a year for 4 years. The not backpack time was either teaching English in Taiwan or publishing jobs in Hong Kong. Buses, boats, trains, yak and just my own two legs (altogether several months backpacking in Tibet).

It was incredibly great, life changing, a ton of memories, and I think I have less of the middle aged crisis than many of my peers because I did something freaking incredible that would not be possible today.

I have so many memories it’s hard to say with the biggest one is. Pretty much not a day goes by where a memory of that time in my life doesn’t come up. I still have some friends I made during that time. My journals, photos, letters to my father (he kept every letter). Here’s a silly example. My 16 year old daughter is quite the artist, and did an oil painting of the Dalai Lama (the head of a lama, the body of the Tibetan in monk robes). As she was preparing the painting, one thing I insisted on was to use the correct Tibetan monk maroon for the robes. I dug through an old box and pulled out a stack of photo’s of me in Tibet with monks, nomads and villagers. Also in the photos was an Australian girlfriend that I travelled with for half a year and we still keep in loose touch. And to see my daughter’s final oil painting pull off the robes correctly was an inordinately satisfying moment as a father and validation of the travel I did more than 30 years ago.

And, sometimes life on the road sucks big time. But overall it was great and I HIGHLY recommend it for your son. Going with friends is great. Going solo will give a completely different experience and could well be even greater. Solo on the road forces you to be self reliant, and it’s a completely different dynamic toward making friends on the road. I’d recommend maybe starting with friends, and then going solo with the plan to meet up a month later.

4

Listen to this

5

In 1974 I traveled around Australia and New Zealand for a couple of months, with a few days in Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti en route. I lived out of a backpack and slept in hostels or campgrounds, or pitched my tent by the side of the road. One night I slept in a Melbourne city park when an offer to crash at an apartment fell through.

I mostly hitchhiked, but to cross some of the big empty stretches in Australia I got a one month unlimited bus pass. I got lifts of all sorts, including Maoris and aboriginals. Once in New Zealand I got picked up by a grandmotherly type who said she never picked up hitchhikers but made an exception in my case and invited me to stay overnight with her husband and her. A grad student studying freshwater crustacea invited me to go with him on an expedition to the outback of New South Wales where we got our Land Rover bogged and spent a couple of days trying to extricate it.

The previous summer I had spent several months on the road in the US, hitchhiking from New York to Oregon and spending some time in California as well.

6

AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing.

7

I spent a year each in New Zealand and Australia, living out of a backpack, working at agricultural and utterly random short term jobs for a few days to a few months, then moving on.

Hitchhiked a fair bit, or busses for longer trips (especially in Australia, not so good for hitching), and bought a cheap banger of a car in New Zealand, so I could get to the remoter bits and sleep in that or a tent if I needed. Otherwise, stayed in backpackers or people’s houses, organised with couchsurfing.org or just people I met, or the odd backcountry hut in the parks.

I can’t say what was my best memory from either trip, they were both jam packed with weird, brilliant and intense moments. I met some amazing people, some of whom I’m still in touch with over 10 years later, and did things I would never even have thought of before.

I gradually got more and more independent over the trip, especially the first year; at the start of the trip I was all organised and booked my next night’s bed at a backpackers and busses every day, then gradually realised that leaving space for the unexpected and just winging it was far more fun and actually, for me, less stressful.

8

My first experience doing so was hitchhiking to Yukon with a Chinese foreign student, just after uni. It was a brilliant time and adventure, (this IS a big country!) And I was hooked.

Within a couple of years we were doing SE Asia, (Malaysia, S’pore, Thailand) By the end of that adventure I knew I’d never stop seeking such remarkable experiences. As the years passed, and now with a partner, we backpacked parts of S America, (including hiking the Inca trail to MP, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Columbia.), followed by a couple of trips to Nepal (can’t be done in one!), India (including Kashmir and Ladakh!), more of SE Asia, Indonesia several times (for business often), and many more wanders through Thailand.

Thirty years after that first adventure we’re still at it, 18 months ago we were just returning from two months in Cambodia. And, at the end of this year were hoping to do a couple of months in Myanmar.

We used to laugh when we were younger about the less perilous travel destinations in Europe and Australia, and how we’d save those for when we were older. I except now we are older, retirement age nearly, and still not ready to do so!

And I hope we can keep on like this for many years yet to come!

9

In 1976 I was 18, and Greyhound Busline offered a Bicentennial “see the country” deal that was too good to pass up. For $76 I bought a westbound ticket that was good for thirty days. As long as I went west, the ticket was good. I wound up in Sacramento where friends of my family let me crash for a while.

If I’d had more money, it would have been more enjoyable. Turns out bathing in bus-station sinks isn’t my cup of tea. And the “characters” you meet on a bus are mostly unpleasant people. I remember walking out of the Cheyenne, Wyoming bus station at 3:00 am to stretch my legs. Not much happening in Cheyenne at three in the morning.

In a restroom in Utah(?) a homeless guy was in the midst of vomiting all over the sink/floor. A cop walked in and began mercilessly beating the guy with his nightstick. When he noticed me watching he asked if I had a problem. I got on a bus, Gus.

10

Lots of times, abroad, but never in my own country (USA).

It’s basically the only way I travel, I don’t ordinarily pick a destination and go there, but rather just land on a continent and start to drift. About 7 months seems to be my limit, which I’ve done three times, in Europe, in Africa and in east Asia. After 7 months, I get burned out and want to settle somewhere.

In the US, I’ve done a few road trips of a couple of months, but always with a base somewhere.

11

I hitchhiked around Japan for a summer in the 80s. I went up and down Honshu and Kyushu several times, stopping off to visit friends in various places as well as making new friends. I traveled down to Okinawa by car ferry and stayed with a guy I had met in Kagoshima.

I just had a backpack and would wonder around. People were really nice and I stayed at many different people’s homes. I can’t count the times people would buy me dinner or lunch.

One family picked me up somewhere on a small island in the Inland Sea and when they found out that I didn’t have dinner yet, after they dropped me off then went back to their place, cooked dinner and brought it and a beer.

I got a ride up to Tokyo from a businessman who rented a small unfurnished [del]dive[/del] apartment for me for a month (for free!) while I got to run around. It was cheap, old, ratty and all, but the price was perfect.

I met my ex-wife as well. She was really cool but eventually got mixed up with a cult (and Nuskin, as I said in a recent thread).

Too many stories.

A Japanese Marine Self Defense unit on training invited me to stay with them on their tents, feed me from their BBQ and had a drinking contest. Two nice officers stayed with me as I puked my guts out.

You could get on the expressways and get taken to a rest stop (which are much larger and more elaborate then rest stops in the States) and then find a truck going in the same direction. Having a Japanese speaking foreigner was rare enough that it was pretty easy to get rides.

My mother came over at the end of the summer and I took her around Japan. I had visited all the places first so I was a pretty good guide. We traveled by trains, planes and cars and were taken around by the friends I had met. She did comment to someone about me having a girl in each port. All in good fun.

I loved meeting people in these little towns. Most people had never talked to a foreigner before. In and after the 90s there were more Westerners on tv, but this was back when people assumed that we couldn’t speak the language.

One guy let me stay with his family and gave me the use of his Monkey motorcycle.

It was a summer I can never forget.

12

:smack: I meant a Dalai *Llama *painting.

I understand that many universities allow one to defer starting for a year after getting the admission letter. My university had a planned educational leave program where you could take a year off on pretty much any flimsy excuse and restart. I recommend either option, and again would encourage your son to try life on the road.

13

As I have mentioned earlier, I took four years off between High School & college. I wandered around the Pacific Northwest, (PNW).

The night I walked to get my diploma, I drove my Hot Rod to my sisters place in Northern California, 600 miles. I worked for her husband for a month before “hitting the road”. I sold the car, loaded a back pack & hitched a ride north west. I ended up near Crescent
City California where I got a job in a sawmill. It was a temporary job while someone was on vacation. It was supposed to last two weeks. Six weeks later, I quit to get on the road again.

This became a pattern me. I would work at a job for a while Then quit to see someplace else. I always told whoever hired me that I was on a sojourn to see our country & that I would only be working for them for a short time. That served me in good stead. It allowed me to use these folks for references.

I almost never needed any references though. Often I would be in the right place at the right time, or I would do something to impress the boss simply by being me. For example, I was eating breakfast in a small cafe the waitress was very busy & I ran out of coffee. So I picked up the full pot & served other folks while on the way to my table. I poured the last of the coffee to the couple next to my table. I then restarted the coffee maker, & after it made the next pot, I restarted it again. With the first fresh pot, I filled the rest of the cups that were empty, including mine.

At this time I was living off of my motorcycle, so when I came out to ride on, a man in a suit, whom I had served coffee to, was waiting for me. He needed a steady hand to work his placer mine. I worked it for four weeks. That is all the longer he wanted to work it. This worked out fine for me, as I wanted to go see Seattle.

I bummed around the Sea-Tac area for a while on my saved money. I ended up down by the docks. I was offered a job loading ships, but I turned it down. I had talked to some of the dockworkers, there was way to much politics in that job for me.

Living on the road is not for everyone, although it does make one learn quite a bit about themselves. I did it alone. For me, this was the way to go, for most starting out with a friend is a good idea. It cuts back on the loneliness. Many times I wanted to point out a beautiful view to someone, & no one was there. It can get lonely. OTOH, I like the solitude.

I saw Oregon, Washington, north & central California, Idaho, Western Montana, Nevada, Northern Arizona, & parts of British Colombia. Most folks I met were/are friendly giving people. I still talk to many of them to this day.

I recommend a journey like this to anyone. It can change your outlook on life & give you some background to work with. I learned quite a bit about my fellow countrymen as well as about myself.

IHTH, 48.

PS. As you can tell, I could write a book about those four years.

14

Forgive me for asking but how did you do your taxes? How did you renew your drivers license and the license for your motorcycle?

15

I spent most of my 20s either traveling or trying to figure out how to get more money so I could travel again. I spent chunks of time in Europe, Asia and Africa.

I’d book my first night and my last night, and wing it in between, sometimes not even having a plan for which countries I was going to visit. I’d stay at inexpensive hostels, backpackers and guest houses, where I’d quickly get up to speed about where the best places to go where and how to get there. I’d almost always find people to travel with for a few days or a few weeks. I loved traveling solo- I could find companions when I wanted to, but had the freedom not to be bound by someone else’s agenda. I never scraped the bottom barrel, budget wise, but I took local transport, ate at local cafes and generally spent like a local, a practice that really puts you in the thick of things.

I have too many memories to count…dodging hippo after hippo canoeing down the Zambezi…brushing my teeth under more stars than I could ever imagine in the shadow of Mt. Everest…joining in the singing in the women’s compartment of an Indian night train…

Most of all I cherish the memories from families that shared bits of their life with me. A family in the Philippines took me to a high school talent show and invited me to share dinners of freshly caught squid on the beach. A family in India found me lost at a dusty crossroads after I took the wrong bus and brought me in for cookies and lemonade. A teacher in a tiny village in China took me to meet her best student and fed me bowls of quivering pig fat. As a woman traveling solo, you often get opportunities to be invited into people’s homes and lives, an a way that makes me feel humble and grateful for people’s trust and generosity.

It’s a big world, and it’s a small world. Travel won’t change who you are, but it’ll make you rely on yourself long enough that you’ll get an idea of what you are made of.

16

Also, yes, everything in a backpack- and a small one at that. You don’t need much more than a change of clothes, a passport, and something to read. Add some toiletries and a portable clothes line and that’s basically my bag.

I’m always conscious of safety, and packing light means you are safer-- you are more mobile, you can keep your stuff close to you when sleeping or riding public transport, and if anything goes wrong you have less to lose.

17

Urbanredneck please ask your son to not come hang out in Eugene, Oregon, as we are full up with “travelers,” bums, vagrants, panhandlers, wanderers, psychotics, alcoholics, drug addicts, waifs, street kids, petty thieves, and derelicts.
Aside from that, I hope he has a fine adventure.

18

First off, I do not mind sensible questions. Ask away.

Taxes, I figured out how much Uncle Sugar owed me with my 1040 form. Then, I never filed for it. I figured he needed the money more than I did. One year it was $13.02 that he owed me. To this day, I have not filed for those years. I also never filed with the different states. I never officially worked in B.C., so, no tax issues there.

Oregon drivers licenses were, and I believe still are, good for four years.

For the motorcycle, & later the VW Baja, I stayed in one place long enough to receive the titles in the mail. Since I did not have a permanent address, I did not change the addresses on these documents. The motorcycle I had titled & registered in Idaho. I do not recall how long the registration was good for, but a trip to any DMV in Idaho got me new stickers. For the Baja, in Oregon the registration was also good for four years. I may have used one of my aunts address for it. If so, she had pre-approved my doing so.

Most of the LEOs I met did not ask about the different addresses on my vehicles & my drivers license. Those that asked, I told the truth. That usually lead into a conversation about what I was learning & how they either had wanted to live on the road, or about what their experience was with this lifestyle. It is amazing how many folks have this “living on the road” experience.

IHTH, 48.