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?
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