by Galen Black

Preface

Sometime in February 1997, I made a huge decision. I quit my job of 7 years and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy with a sketch comedy group called the Van Gogh-Goghs.

In June 1997 I packed a 1993 Saturn SL2 full of clothes, cd's, towels, snacks, maps, books and a plastic bank shaped like the head of Mr. T and I headed west. My traveling companion was my brother. Wendell and I had 7 days to make it from North Carolina to West Hollywood. Our mission was not just to make the trip, but to see as much of the U.S. as we could. Or at least the part of America that was directly between NC and CA.

I was excited about the trip. I had tried to plan as much as I could. I researched cool places to see and the best way to get to them. One rule of the trip was to try and drive some of the highways and roads that weren't part of the country's interstate highway system. We didn't have enough time to just drive on back roads. We'd have to use the interstate when we wanted to make good time and other roads when we just wanted to look.

Here are the next few chapters of this across the country saga. If you'd like to start at the beginning, then just click the "Next Page" license plate at the bottom of the page. If you've read the first installments, click on "Shamrock, TX and The U Drop Inn" to continue. Please send any comments to me. Especially if you see any errors. If I had listened to my mother I would have been a better speller, but as things are I am at the mercy of a computer spell checker. Happy Motoring.

Table of Contents The Beginning-- Tuesday Morning-- The Smokies-- Best View Anywhere!-- Maggie Valley and Cherokee, NC-- Santa's Land-- The Santa's Land Aftermath-- Gatlinburg, TN-- Christmas Stores-- Gatlinburg is Branson-- Driving Through Memphis, TN -- Sun Recording Studio Tour -- The Lorraine Motel--On to Arkansas -- Our Stay in Calumet -- Route 66: First Impressions -- Finding Food in Oklahoma -- Shamrock, TX and The U Drop Inn -- The Big Texan -- Cadillac Ranch -- Tucumcari -- Gallup and The Road Runner -- The Yellow Horse -- Jack Rabbits -- Standing on the Corner in Winslow, AZ -- Meteor Crater -- Flagstaff, AZ -- The Unseen Grand Canyon -- Look it's Chasm, protector of the Canyon -- The Grand Canyon -- The Roadkill Cafe -- Hoover Dam -- Nevada -- Gambling in Vegas -- The Las Vegas Strip -- On to L.A. -- Los Angeles -- Los Angeles at Night

Copyright © 2000 The Van Gogh-Goghs