A VINTAGE ROAD TRIP

by Debi Gustafson

NEW YORK TO OCALA NATIONAL FOREST

We headed to Philadelphia first, to visit friends and pick-up Julien, who was coming along for the ride to New Orleans. We started off with a stop in Virginia Beach to visit another friend, and then Asheville, NC. It was very surreal getting used to the idea that we didn’t have to do anything specific. or go anywhere for certain (except to mail out orders). We originally planned to make several stops down the East Coast, but knowing that we would be sleeping in the van in many of these places, we decided to skip them in order to escape the winter! We basically woke up one day and said: ‘Alright let’s just get to the beach in the Florida!’ So that’s what we did.  

Miami Beach was gorgeous; we had great weather there. Unfortunately, parking the van overnight there was impossible, so we just spent the day, and then headed to Hollywood, FL which was less populated.

We stayed in Hollywood for a couple nights and enjoyed the quietness of the town, as well as the locals who we met at the bars on the boardwalk. We were really starting to get sick of the cities though, and decided our next destination would be the Ocala National Forest, where the Rainbow Gathering was happening. The gathering is an event where all kinds of travelers and ‘hippies’ form an intentional community in the woods. I had never been to one before. It was an eye opening experience; I met a lot of interesting traveling people. It was fun, but since we were living in the woods, I had to ‘turn off’ the vintage shop while we were there, and after about a week I was ready to keep on driving – and get back to selling the vintage!

NEW ORLEANS

Last minute, we made up our minds to leave the Rainbow gathering... just in time to make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras! We drove there in one day, giving some hitchhikers a ride from Ocala, and went out in New Orleans on the night before Mardi Gras. 

New Orleans is a lot of fun, but it was rough living in a vehicle there. We weren’t parking in the safest of areas, but it was all we could find without paying a meter every night. On top of all that, we all got really sick after Mardi Gras, from not getting enough rest, and whatnot. We eventually were able to stay in a friend's apartment in downtown New Orleans, which gave us a chance to rest and get healthy, which I’ve realized is really hard to do if you’re living in a van, because you always have to go out to do anything, and you’re always walking around, etc.

HEADING WEST...

After staying in New Orleans for what felt like way too long, Casey and I headed west! This was a really exciting part of the trip because we were finally going to see some terrain we had never seen before in our lives! We drove through swampy Louisiana, and then finally made it to the Texas state line.

Casey at the State Line

1/2 

   

We had a lot of fun here at the first Texas rest stop, grabbing just about every map & brochure that we could! Our next destination was Galveston Island, which I had to visit, since that is where my parents had lived together back in the '80s! On the way to Galveston, we drove through Crystal Beach and also took a ferry with the van, which neither of us had ever done before.

Driving in Crystal Beach, right alongside the ocean!

1/3 

   

Galveston has definitely changed since my parents lived there. It’s also still recovering from Hurricane Ike, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We walked around a lot along the seawall, which was very cool! We slept in a Walmart parking lot, and walked around the downtown area before leaving. Galveston did not look like much to us at first, but after exploring the cute downtown area, we were liking the town a lot more, and even considering coming back there after Austin to get jobs for a little while.

Casey & I at the beach in Galveston

1/5 

   

AUSTIN & SXSW After a couple days in Galveston, we had to get back on the road and get to Austin for the SXSW music festival. Austin ended up being our favorite town at that point in the trip! We found a perfect place to park the van, in a safe area under a bridge, and right near a public park & a coffee shop. It was also not too far of a walk to downtown 6th street, either. We met people right away, the first night, and had a great time with them all week. We also knew a bunch of friends in town, who were playing at SXSW. It was a week of free music, free food & free beer, which completely and utterly exhausted us!

By the end of the week, we were almost totally out of money, and so planning to get jobs in Austin for a bit. Our plans changed quickly when a friend I met there offered to pay our way to Los Angeles if we could give him a ride. Surprisingly, as I made plans to do this drive, Casey also was making plans with some other friends to go to LA with them. So Casey & I split up temporarily, and planned to meet back up in LA in a week.

LA-BOUND

I saw and did a lot between Austin and LA! From climbing a huge rock with a view of most of Texas, to sleeping in the desert, seeing the Grand Canyon, and visiting Las Vegas, I really can’t believe it all happened in just about a week. Photos sum this up better than words:

Enchanted Rock, west of Austin

01/10 

   

The drive from Austin to LA was the most exciting, especially because we traveled much quicker than we had earlier in the trip, but also saw much in that short period of time. Sadly I have no digital pictures of Las Vegas (they are on a disposable camera, in case you were wondering).

Now I have to get back to the reality of getting a job for a little while, so I can either keep traveling...or maybe just stay in LA. I have a temporary apartment here now and a job. I really love it so far, and am considering the idea of maybe just living in LA for a while. I love the freedom I have right now, and love the fact that I don’t have to keep traveling if things happen to work out for me here! It would be a great place to continue working on LuAnne Vintage, as there are tons of thrift stores, and also lots of potential models for the shop. I’m going to take things day by day, and simply see how it goes.

About Debi Gustafson