U.S.A! U.S.A! Road trip begins

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Could the start of a USA road trip begin any worse? Everything you could think of that could go wrong went wrong. Drenched and standing in front of an empty building with a For Lease sign on it. My road trip through the states was about to not even get started.

My first port of call before seeing the sights of New York was the motor registration office to see if I could register a car. It turns out that a 3 month tourist visas doesn’t allow tourists to register. That meant I was left with the possibility to just risk it and buy a car on craigslist (a classifieds that provides a laugh or two on the prospect of driving the states in a ridiculous looking old car) and get pulled over.

The other option was to see if a car hire company can give me a good deal or not. If not than forget about the states on the long haul and head to Central America earlier. There were a lot of negatives to the first option like getting fined after being pulled over and/or the car being confiscated. The car breaking down continuously was another.

The only advantage was that financially I’d save a few hundred dollars. But the killer of that idea was that you need to pass an omissions test - If the car fails then its not road worthy. A problem an Australian I had met earlier meaning he wasted $1000 as his car was not road worthy.

Whilst forcing McDonalds down in New York I used the free Internet to search and search for a good deal. And good deal I found. It was like going back in time. $21 a day with Hertz and not picking it up at the airport or downtown but across the bridge in Brooklyn.

With no accommodation booked for the day because my friends were either away for the evening or had someone else on the couch. I figured I might as well leave today and change the booking. So I did, I called the company and they said a Toyota Camery will be waiting.

The office closes at 7pm so I said I will get there at 6pm. I leave for the subway to give myself about 90 minutes leeway. I have one change from line 1 to either line 2 or 3. The first part went fine than on line 2 we stop. It had taken the 6th day to get the real New York experience and I was getting it in my last hours.

Every 5 minutes the driver would say, “Apologies for the delay but we are waiting for the train ahead to clear the way.” 50 minutes had gone and they said. “Apologies for the delay but we are waiting for the train ahead to clear the way.” A train passes us on the other line with nobody on it and they say “Apologies for the delay but we are waiting for the train ahead to clear the way.” A passenger on the train “Oh man, now that is just being insulting.” 1 hour and 10 minutes later we get going.

At this point in time there was no Internet access in the subway. A few days later on the radio they said that plans were made to put wifi on the platforms. But around late September 2011 it was not the case. So no calling to say I am late. I panic a little mainly because I have all my stuff on me. On the Internet earlier all accommodation from $65 and below was taken and a friend who said the next night I can stay but tonight my couch is taken.

I arrive at Borough Hall station and it’s pissing down. I call the Hertz Brooklyn office and I get to the main office instead. They tell me its open for another 5 minutes its okay but they can’t contact them. I sketched on my subway map the details on how to get to the office via google maps. 4 streets down to 238 Atlantic Ave.

I get there and see no Hertz sign. I walk a few blocks and back again but nothing. I reconfirm that the vacant building with the for lease sign is the address. I call the main office again. The lady says its too late they are closed you can pick it up tomorrow morning. I replied, “But that will be useless because I will be in the same position I am in now. I am standing right in front of it and there is a vacant building.” She couldn’t help.

Eventually I find it out the back at the bottom level of a car parking garage. The guy is still there and says. “I’ve been waiting for you.” So from there things were rushed. I am still too scared or most likely forgetful to look in the trunk to see if there is a spare tyre or not.

When it was time for signatures I asked about payment. He said I pay at the end. I wanted it done straight away. The Aussie dollar plummeting just before I arrived from $1.07 to the US$ to 94c in a 10 day period. Reports feared the worst and so to was I. In 2008 the Aussie dollar briefly went as low as around 57c. It was never going to be that bad but still… Instead I was allowed to pay taking it off in months. I had it booked for 11 weeks.

11 weeks to a rough guide to who knows. In fact my facebook status went. Drew “Is about to embark on his US road trip tonight. Traveling north to a small town called 'I don't know USA' but most likely a truck stop and sleeping in my car!! It's the only way I thought it could start.” And I picked it like a dirty nose.

I drive out and its dark, Friday peak hour doesn’t help and the bright lights of New York means the water on the road is reflecting the neon lights. With this reflection the white road markings are hard to see at best. Most cars blinkers are red, the same colour as the break lights. The cars fogging up whilst taxi’s start honking at who knows because there are so many (never mind about the $350 fine for honking in the city.) Add to this gigantic blobs of raindrops block my view from the rear and I am driving on the left side on the right side of the road.

The day before I met an Australian who just finished driving and gave me these valuable tips. He said, “Remember these things and you’ll be right”;
- Turn left wide
- Turn right at a red light is okay after stopping
- Don’t roll at a stop sign
- At a 4 way stop, the first person there rolls then goes. (These are the intersections where you see those massive crashes on TV)
- Slow lane is the right lane

I kept that on board and in the excitement forgot to ask how to get out of Brooklyn. So I drove off hoping to see a familiar sign. Instead I saw a viewpoint and quickly exited the highway and found a spot and walked over. What it provided was a misty looking New York City under lights. The rain tampered down a bit and even with the cars below going by. The sight of some cargo ships easing by the Hudson River it was quite peaceful. Brooklyn Bridge to the right it was a viewpoint that makes you want more. But I had committed to an American road trip. There will always be a time for New York City but rarely is there time from an American road trip.

As I searched for the right way out making sure I don’t head to the dead end, which was Long Island. I decided what the heck lets do this trip properly and go through the middle of Manhattan and try and drive through Time Square. It was an adventurous move but really was the only direction I knew with confidence.

I cross Manhattan Bridge and surprisingly I got out of New York without paying any tolls. I went along Bowery for one last look at the shithole accommodation of my first 3 nights in America and proceeded up Broadway and 6th avenue (avenue of the Americas)

I was quite proud of myself and used this decision as a motivational tool if I can get through this I can get through the rest of the trip. Yellow cars zig zagging in front and behind, the taxi drivers are the worst to test your driving ability. I was helped that nearly all streets are one way. I am pretty sure in Manhattan a beep was not dedicated to my White Cammeray from Rhode Island (we’ll get to that later).

I drive through the outskirts of Harlem and onto the 3rd Avenue Bridge toward the Bronx and Yankee stadium. Yankees were meant to play Boston that night but because of the rain it was called off. Still I thought I should at least drive off the right direction and have a look at the stadium.

Waste of time really, as you don’t see much but a building and a waste of fuel too. I make my way back… Well close to anyway but not the same road. So I just use the compass of my head and head north and hope that signs will help… Bad move

GPS is the only way to go in these conditions, I never thought I’d say it but it’s a must. The street signs only gave Albany as a direction. But where the hell is Albany. What about Boston, Providence, Hartford?????? Apart from that sign it was just small insignificant towns. And it was like that even when I eventually got on the right track.

That was thanks to these local guys in their mid 20’s when I stopped off on some backstreet to ask for directions. Prior to that I was heading south, north, west and east whilst being on what seemed to be the same road. To top it off the lights on the highway weren’t working so the signs and turn offs were dangerous to read and veer to. Add to that the need for the New Yorker to speed.

There are no reflector lights on the roads to tell you what’s coming up and the turn offs are sometimes sharp sudden turns. The two lanes for each direction was cut by half a lane because the drainage was awful and half the outside lane for ages was full of water… It was a stressful start.

At the convenience store I asked the guy at the counter, “Do you know how to get to Boston from here?” 3 customers say, “Come with us we can help you.” They take me up to their apartment where a young guy who is a delivery guy told me the directions. They open the door of his house and this instant hit of marijuana smacks my senses. They offer me a beer and I can tell you I was this close to grabbing it. But with the weather and my inability to say no to a beer after one, sanity prevailed. I still wonder what would have happened that night if I had that one beer. I did this one more time 2 days later and I vowed I will not do that mistake again.

Even with the correct details it was hard to see. Now well past midnight my plans to be near Newport Rhode Island were dashed and the sight of a sign for McDonalds was good enough for me to call it a night. I reclined my seat, got the sleeping bag out and called it a night for at least a few hours.

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