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Date:         Fri, 20 Mar 1998 15:31:30 EST
Reply-To:     Oxroad <Oxroad@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Oxroad <Oxroad@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: what would you take on a 3,500 road trip?
Comments: To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hello--

TOP FIVE THINGS TO BRING: scroll down

But first: On the subject of phone calls on the road: I carry a Motorola cell phone in the glove box with no contract. That means I can make calls in many places by dialing zero first, then the number I'm calling. I get the operator and charge the call to my home number. It's not a particularly cheap call. But It beats having a contract paying monthly for a phone I only need for emergencies. 911 is a free call as far as I know.

I got the phone for free from a friend who got a new cell phone with his new contract and the old phone was free in his prior contract. So he had no use for the old phone. Since this is often the deal I'll bet there are a lot of cell phones not being used. Ask around, or maybe you've got one in a drawer after finding out how annoying they are.

On a particularly dark night at midnight on Rt. 287 about 5 miles west of Muddy Gap Junction in Wyoming (the epicenter of nowhere) I got flagged down by some 18-wheelers. They asked me if I would give the woman lying in the ditch by the side of the road a ride to town. I'm not a genius, but I did manage to ask, "Ahhhh....Why is she in the ditch?"

"Oh. Her husband was shooting at her and she jumped out of the car. She flagged us down. She's hiding there because she's afraid he might find her. I can't turn the truck around here, and I'm heading west. So can you drive her back to town?" says one of the truckers.

(pause) In my mind I'm thinking bullets might really screw up my paint job, or puncture my water tank. Or worse, bust my muffler bracket. 50 bucks a piece! "Ahhh. How about I call the cops instead?" (pull out the cell phone and smile) Dialed 911. I got Cheyenne police which were about 200 miles away. But they called the appropriate police department.

I swear the above is true. And there was absolutly no "town" 5 miles down the road at Muddy Gap Junction. Just an intersection and a phone pole with no wires attached to it, and lots more darkness.

I used the phone several times on the cross country jaunt to make personal calls as well. And only once I couldn't get ahold of an operator to charge the call. Even at that time though, I could have made a 911 call.

That's my 2 cents.

So in addition to the usual road stuff: basic tools, jumper cables, "fix a flat" (it's worth a shot if you're in a bad place) maps and service manual, my top five would be:

1. A cell phone with no contract

2.Cup holders as described at Vanagon.com

3. A piece of carpet to lie on should I have to go under the bus for repairs.

4. Christy Turlington (LOOK. It's my wish list. You bring what you want.)

5.A camera (Nobody's gonna believe I was with Christy without proof.)

Have a good trip. I'm envious.

Jeff 83.5 Westy


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