Doesn't sound crazy to me. Sounds like a fascinating book! It is very ambitious, but that's admirable.

Thinking about your blog post saying people might freeze when asked for their stories, maybe you could plan to take little website/email/blog address cards with you? People could send you their information that way (anonymously if you'd approve of receiving the stories without names).

As for the approaching strangers... This is just tough. The beauty of being master of your own destiny/roadtrip is that you can get the hell outta Dodge if things aren't going well. But you may find that people are touched to be asked. I'd probably be startled but also flattered and thrilled.

As you head north, you're welcome to stop in Eustis.

Also, the Holden Caulfield references? Great way to start a project! Good luck.

Business cards -- what an interesting idea!  It seems oddly unromantic for such a quixotic journey, but you guys are right that it might help put people at ease; rapists don't hand out business cards.  Plus it provides a convenient way for me to give them my email address in case they think of another story later that they want to tell me.  (loverslanes at gmail dot com is all me, baby.)

Moroschino, thank you very much for your kindness!  I think I'll probably take you up on it on my way up; my tentative plan is to swing south through Homestead and then up the east coast of Florida before heading west, and Eustis is right along that path.  And Raven, even if I can't stay with you, I'd love to hang with you and hear your stories!  Maybe you could even point me to a quiet bar or somewhere else where I might have good luck finding interesting interviews.

This sounds awesome. There are a lot of road trip type books out there, but I like the theme for this one. It's a really ingenious idea.

You're all so sweet for saying so   I hope I have the courage to back up my vision.  Follow my blog!

Anyone want to recommend an inexpensive but highly reliable car that a six-foot-two guy can sit in without feeling cramped?

satyreyes wrote:

Anyone want to recommend an inexpensive but highly reliable car that a six-foot-two guy can sit in without feeling cramped?

I'm guessing the smartass red 'vette answer wouldn't be helpful here. (Although it would get a depressingly large percentage of the population to open up to you.)

I'd say I'm jealous but who am I kidding--if it were me this would be a food tour. Best of luck!

lex wrote:

I stay in California   near the Los Angeles area and while I can't offer you a bed...I can offer to meet up with you and check to see how's your trip going (and not to mention show you all the cool spots ) ...I'm totally going to follow your blog.

Lex, that's fantastic!  Until your offer I was going from Houston to San Francisco without a pit stop with a friend.  I'll happily take you up on that.  And do follow my blog!  I get a little ego boost whenever my number of "followers" goes up on my Blogspot widget (it currently stands at three -- one of whom I don't know, amazingly enough), though I imagine most people who follow blogs don't use that feature.

Gio, sorry, the red 'vette is a little outside my price range, unless you're offering to donate one   I wish I could indulge you, since you're offering me so much help by letting me crash with you near the beginning of the trip.

Well I'm going to go with something like a Nissan Sentra, a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla. They're reliable as hell and very gas efficient. Not hybrids, since those need special maintaince. But they are kind of small, so I'm not sure they would work? They're also not the cheapest brands, but they are really good cars.

Kaelyndra wrote:

This sounds awesome. The only thing I can reccommend is to plan way in advance, and try not to drive more than six hours a day. It really makes a road trip so much more awesome to drive less and look around more. And make sure you have someone to call every day or every other day so you have someone you know to reinforce your position and in case something happens.

I might be in a dorm by the time you go on such a trip, but I live and will probably live near the Sacramento area for the next few years. I don't know if you'll be going through there, but if you are, I can probably arrange for you to stay for a night or however long you need.

Oooh, Sacramento!  I'd probably be over there... I dunno, late July?  If I'm there around that time will you be able to put me up?  I'd love to stay with you and meet your horses! 

I'm not sure how far in advance to plan.  There's something to be said for staying flexible.  I mean, if I take a pit stop in Alamogordo, New Mexico and end up meeting a second-generation Hispanic immigrant who has a unique and tearjerking story about his forbidden romance with his boss's daughter or something, I don't want to have to cut him off because I have to be in Las Cruces by ten.  Conversely, if I leave the Missouri-area minicon with all the IRGers in the state and feel like my work here is done, I don't want to push north to Minneapolis when I would rather be going home.  I think I'll probably have a tentative route planned and not let it bother me if I have to edit that route.

This is going to be so cool! As for finding folks to talk to hit (not packed) happy hour and spot loners...most of the times people love talking about themselves. Good Luck.

Are you inviting me to stay with you, Razara?  I know you've got folks who the idea would have to be run by, but is there a pretty good chance we could at least hang out and do an interview? 

I will certainly be coming through Charlotte -- my brother lives there -- and I'd like nothing better than to meet up with you for lunch or something   Don't worry about not having interesting stories; from the stories you've told on this forum, I imagine you'll come up with something.  What I'm interested in isn't even necessarily stories about relationships.  Crushes are fine... people you're attracted to in fashion magazines and what it is about them... how your understanding of your sexuality has changed as you've dated... I would be fascinated to hear anything like that.

Well, plans have changed a lot as time has gone on.  Notably, I'm not planning to collect love stories from strangers anymore.  It might happen, but it's not the purpose of the trip.  Making that decision stung for a little while, but it was the right call.  The journey itself is going to be challenging enough!  I am, after all, still driving from South Florida to Seattle and back.  It's hardcore.  And scary.  And did I mention I'm leaving in 36 hours?

I decided against taking I-10.  Sorry, southern IRGers who offered to meet me!  I'm opting for I-40 instead, which is less desert and more places to stay.  Moroschino and Stormy are both putting me up at intervals along the way to the West Coast, as are a couple college friends.  Time permitting, I'll detour south to L.A. before driving up to Frisco in time for a friend's wedding; then it's up to Seattle and perhaps Vancouver!  From there... who knows?  I'll probably come home on a more northerly route -- Yellowstone, the Black Hills, the gorgeous upper Midwest... maybe even get as far as New York before finally turning south, stopping in Charlotte to visit my brother (and hopefully chat with dollface!)  From Seattle to Charlotte will be almost entirely improvised, making it the scariest and hopefully the most fun part of the journey.  All told, the trip will last over a month.

I'm hoping to have Internet access almost every night, and I'll try to keep a presence on IRG   Nonetheless, I feel like I'm saying goodbye.  I hope you all have a good journey through your own summers!