Chapter 3 : From Here To There
The graphic that Alan (a.k.a. T A) Chafin had designed showed a red line snaking from Shaky Town on the West Coast, to the Jersey Shore on the East Coast.
The Convoy would begin near Los Angeles, California, on the morning of June 6. The song begins “We is headin’ for bear on I-one-oh, ’bout a mile outta Shaky Town”, so the plan was to begin near L.A. and confine the drive to Interstate highways, except for the final dash across New Jersey.
The first proposed route was published in the March 13 edition of The Legend-News:
Convoy 2000
There is now a first draft of the itinerary for
Convoy 2000. The basic route:
- Day One: Los Angeles, California to Gallup, New Mexico via I-10, I-17, and I-40.
- Day Two: Gallup, New Mexico to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma via I-40.
- Day Three: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Clinton, Illinois via I-44 and I-55.
- Day Four: Clinton, Illinois to Youngstown, Ohio via I-55 and I-80.
- Day Five: Youngstown, Ohio to Atlantic City, New Jersey via I-76 and Atlantic City Expressway.
We would adhere to this route, but with a few exceptions. After all, what’s a road trip without a couple of detours?
And so far, both Alan and I had committed to the drive. Lisa, my partner / spouse / significant other (pick one) told me that I was crazy; but she had married me, anyway.