Would You Buy A One-Way Ticket To Start A Road Trip?

I’ve done this with a 2007 Cayman S. Flew from NC to Grand Junction, CO. Drove it back nearly 2,000 miles over 3 days with my father and had a blast the whole way. The car performed wonderfully, and even got pretty good gas mileage.

My car is not a classic but I will share this story anyway. About 10 years ago I was bought a 05 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon against my wishes – I thought my 91 Acura Legend served me just fine. However, I began to fall in love with the car as it powered through upstate winters and transported cavernous amounts of cargo to and from home at the end of each year. When I moved to Chicago later in my career, I ditched the car to rely on public transportation. Fast forward another few years and I moved back to New York and was in the market for a car again. I knew I wanted a sporty wagon that was reliable and had AWD. These criteria narrowed down my choices quite a bit and these cars had price tags that could not be justified at this point in my career. I started browsing my old Legacy forum and laid eyes on a beauty. The matte black paint was not my taste, but it was otherwise well sorted with an especially appealing 6-speed swapped transmission. My first Legacy had a 5-speed automatic and I always wanted a car with three pedals. A month and one stick-shift lesson later, I had bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco and caught a Craigslist ride share up to Humboldt County five hours north. I arrived at the sellers house close to midnight, and after a beer set off for a local hostel. Traffic was dead at that hour so I had little trouble navigating the gears and I was giddy with excitement. I slept little that night and woke up early next morning to begin my trip back to SF. I had a terrible time making my way out of Arcata, stalling the car as traffic built up behind me – at times my nerves were so bad I parked the car to sprint around the block just to calm the shakes. It was hard to control the stage three clutch when I couldn’t hold my foot still. Despite the rough start, and a quick stop to Kinko’s to print a makeshift sign, it was a beautiful first day of car ownership.

On day one I drove through Highway 1. On day two I drove the Pacific Coast Highway. Day three I drove to Las Vegas for a four day reunion, followed by Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and Arches National Park. I visited Denver to see an old friend, then a gratifying visit to an establishment in Des Moines, Iowa called the “Lumberyard.” I stopped for a few days to see my old stomping grounds in Chicago before departing back to New York where I completed my trip at the Brooklyn Promenade. It was an unforgettable trip and writing about it reminds me of those honeymoon phase with the wagon.

If you want to see some of the photos from the trip they’re on my Instagram [url=”https://instagram.com/explore/tags/godwinseesamerica/”]here[/url].

I bought an ’06 BMW M Coupe in Lubbock Texas a few years ago, flew in to retrieve it and had a two day window to drive the 1900 miles back home to Oregon. I did it averaging 98.8 Miles an hour which it turns out I can keep up for about 14 hrs straight before I start hallucinating that road signs are jumping into the road at me and time space is warping.

In a word …. NO !

In part because I want the previous owner within striking distance should the car turn out to be a lemon/dog … and in part because I have no desire to ruin a potentially enjoyable road trip with what may at best be a questionable car . Add in my living in CO and why would I buy a car from anywhere else ?

But hey … a full ten points plus for going analogue with the camera and film . Now all we need to do is get you upgraded into a Leica M series and some B&W film and you’ll be top o’ the pops in my book [ I highly recommend the M6 by the way … my camera of choice ]

Mine was a 911 SC back in 2012…flew solo to Ft. Lauderdale as [url=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Beryl_(2012)”]Tropical Storm Beryl (2012)[/url] was about to come ashore on Memorial weekend. First afternoon / evening trek only a short run up near Orlando as the rain pounded down and my new car had a header set up with no fan/air/defrost whatsoever…..just a roll of paper towels!! Day Two, more rain to the Georgia border….stop for a quick stop, car won’t start, a quick troubleshoot over the phone with Aaron at Flat Six back in Minneapolis and I need a new starter…push start, get on road heading north and an appointment with a euro repair shop in Macon, GA awaits….they have me back on the road after lunch. Straight to Tail of the Dragon and then into Knoxville, TN. Day Three to Chicago, a quick stop at WeatherTech Factory, dinner with old friends….then Day 4 home to Minneapolis…..the most trouble I have had with the car was in the first 24 hours and it has paid me back in so so may ways both on that trip and since. I can’t wait to find one far away again.