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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2005-08-14, 14:33

back in the late 90's a good friend of mine decided to make the leap from the Atlanta film market to the LA market so he and his wife sold their house and put all their belongings into one 24' truck and his prop kit into another 24' box truck.

We drove up to Memphis and along the way I learned to drive a big truck. It was REALLY gusty that first day and I discovered first-hand what truck drivers face when they're driving around with a huge sail behind their cab. It was amazing. At one point we drove past a big trailer that had been carrying one half of one of those pre-fab homes. The wind had tipped the damned thing over and there it lay on the side of the road. Then we had another incident where I cut off a big truck, which wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had his wife and infant daughter in my cab. Five miles down the road they were in HIS cab and I had the dog. We were all much happier from then on. Stopping in Memphis we dropped off wife and baby, who would catch up to us three days later via air.

The next morning we drove across the Mississippi and into Arkansas, where the interstate (I-40) is made up of patches of concrete that set up a TERRIBLE harmonic vibration due to the wheelbase of our trucks. Ba-da-DAM, ba-da-DUM, ba-da-DUM, ba-da-DUM..... man it was misery. Hours later we made it into Little Rock and started climbing toward Oklahoma, which was gloriously uneventful - if not a little windswept and barren. That wind really DOES come sweeping down the plain - there were tiny little scruboaks along the road for awhile... in fact, EVERYTHING was "scrub" due to the wind.

Texas? Hot, dusty, barren, but very cool to have driven through it.

By the time we got to the desert proper the enormity of the drive was beginning to set in. Sunsets in the desert are very special. Flagstaff was a surprise, especially that mountain, whatever it's called. We had to beat it westward that night because it's a big drop on the west side of Flagstaff and it had started snowing like crazy after we left an Applebee's, two margaritas heavier. Hyperspeed snow, tequila and a sharp descent is something I recommend never mixing.

By the time we rolled into the LA area we were tired of driving and when we finally landed we rolled the family Volvo stationwagon off the trailer he'd been towing and headed down to Santa Monica. After four days up in the cabs of our trucks it felt like we were UNDERNEATH the road. If we'd been in a miata I think that I would've peed my pants.

Good luck with your drive. Anticipate all your moves miles in advance, always remember that you can turn around and go back to any exits you miss and be ready for the four-wheelers to cut you off every chance you get. And if you can figure out how to bypass the governor then go for it. You'll be much happier! And more dangerous to boot.

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
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