On the Road

Few people in the UK realise that there is anything worth studying about our gun-toting, burger-guzzling, neighbours across the pond. But in fact, America for all her faults, fallacies and fatness is a fascinating place. As holder of a degree in American Studies, I am qualified to do very little, so it was with great satisfaction that Ceri and I embarked on our (mini) American Roadtrip, a subject I know something about.

As part of my American studies degree, I wrote an essay on the "American Roadtrip" genre in literature and film. It is a genre as real and relevant as any in American literature, as anyone who has read John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath", Jack Kerouac's, "On the Road" or even seen "Thelma and Louise" will know.

Americans started heading across the USA as soon as they found about the all the mind-boggling goodies in the West. First it was gold and land, and no pesky indians were going to stop them. During the Great Depression, survival, food and jobs pulled them westwards. The depression created a whole breed of men, the original hobos, who would jump on and off trains that zigzagged the nation, escaping poverty in search of opportunity and adventure.

By the 1960s, heading west was less about finding fortunes in the goldmines, planting a stake in a plot of land, or escaping famine and more about being in a place symbolic of the American Dream, ultimate freedom and opportunity. California became a magnet for musicians, hippies and surfers, and who can blame them... apart from all that symbolism crap, the place is unbelievably gorgeous, an outdoor paradise boasting redwood forests, snowcapped mountains, canyons, deserts and countless miles of Pacific coastline.

Ceri and I had 5 days, a convenient window created by badly connected flights between Cosa Rica and the Bahamas. It was only enough time to scratch the surface of Southern California's Pacific coast area, from Northern San Diego to Orange County, but enough time to whet our appetite and get us planning the Big Roadtrip. (Applications for RV guests welcome to apply. Expected dates sometime between May-July 2009. GSOH driving, cooking skills required.)

In no other place on earth do I ever want to drive a 26 foot RV. But America is all about supersize and with 7 lane highways and neighbourhood roads wider than the M1, I didnt even scrape a wing mirror! If you want an understanding of American size (and fatness) go to McDonalds, or Wendy's, Taco Bell, Burger King, etc. etc... in the USA, and take a friend. You need 2 hands just to pick up the gallon of coke you get given, without even asking for the large meal! Of course we were too refined to go to McDonalds, so this is all hearsay.

Our 26 foot RV looked like a little toy campervan next to the monsters some Americans retirees jaunt around in. You have to see one to believe it, but I'll try to describe. Imagine a full sized luxury coach, maybe 50 feet long, 10 feet wide, all tinted windowns and shiny chrome. Like some kind of Transformer robot, the side panels slide outwards to create more interior space, and a living room about 20 feet wide, laden with leather couches, wide screen TVs and full kitchens and bathrooms. Jutting out of one side will be a huge awning, giving acres of shade, and on the roof will nearly always be a satellite dish for the TV.

Within this collossal house on wheels invariably lives a couple of retired Americans (modern day Hobos?), exploring their country and living the good life. If Gordon Brown needs a solution to dwindling pensions and an aging population, he could do worse than buy a load of RVs, and one-way tickets to the USA.

This is a fact: Ceri+ 26 foot of American RV + fridge full of food + box of wine + perfect weather + good surf = FUN. Add to the mix the pleasure of surfing with dolphins in crystal clear turquoise Pacific ocean, building fires on our clifftop spot in San Clemente state Park, while watching the sunset into the Pacific and you will get an idea what an amazing time we had.

If you ever get the chance to do an American Roadtrip, DO IT!