New York State Of Mind

I've been on the ground in New York City for a few days now. I'm here for two weeks to catch up with friends and look around before I fly to Detroit to take delivery of the ute. Everything about New York is intense, but there's a normalcy that comes from the fact that this is just day-to-day life here.

In the short time I've been here I've really hit the ground running. I think that's the only way to be with this place. Most of the people I've met have been other Australians, funnily enough. As I'm travelling on my own, I tend to keep to myself and only really pipe up if I hear an Aussie accent. I try to not look like a tourist, which has meant I've been asked for directions twice and the people on the street corners have stopped trying to hand me pamphlets.

As much as I'm enjoying myself (and I am), I'm really eager to get the car and hit the road. Despite being close to public transport and being free to come and go as I please, without having my own set of wheels with me, there's a feeling of being somewhat trapped.

My next update will be after I get the Ford from Michigan. Then I'll be preparing the truck before the roadtrip launches on July 22nd.

The road is calling.

Bagel With Pastrami With Engineers Without Borders

There are two things that I'm not very good at: meeting new people and being the centre of attention. I still wasn't very good at either of those thing today when I was invited to join the lovely people at Engineers Without Borders Australia for their Friday get-together lunch. But despite my social failings, the wonderfully warm and welcoming atmosphere among the team put me at ease. Even when I wore my lunch all over my face and hands like a two year old.

After introductions, the question of the day was 'who would you want to be apprenticed under?'

People mentioned chefs, authors, and other cool and interesting people. I chose Chris Bangle, the former Chief Designer at BMW, who was particularly controversial during his tenure. Of course, I couldn't remember his name. Instead, a blind Volkswagen salesman with a similar name was all I could think of. Close enough.

Simon, the recent mechanical engineering graduate from England, told us about his travels and his plans to work with EWB. I told everyone about my route across across North America and the F150 that I'd purchased yesterday, noting the look of horror on the face of the woman who is working to reduce emissions to zero.

The guys at EWB filled me in on the dozens of amazing projects they're involved in around our region. One of the things that impressed me most was their assistance in creating local Engineers Without Borders in places like Nepal. Another example of helping developing nations become more self-sustainable (or giving them the resources to get there themselves).

My thanks to everyone at Engineers Without Borders Australia. They're a wonderful group of people doing wonderful things for people that genuinely need it. If you're reading this, then please click here and donate some money to help provide clean water and infrastructure to those who don't have the option of taking that stuff for granted.

The Effie

Today my good friend Josh Hanger from the Bussa Allstate agency in Allendale drove well out of his way to pick-up my new pick-up.

I've been spending weeks scouring Craigslist, looking for an appropriate car to roadtrip in. My original thought was to get something like a Chevrolet Suburban, being that the 5.7L V8 has been in every Chev for the past three decades and would be easy to find parts for, and also that I could set-up a bed in the back of the car for some quality powernaps.

Given that I was looking at cars in Michigan, where it snows and a dedicated 'plow car' is not uncommon for residents, most of the Suburbans I was looking at had their guards completely rusted out on account of the salted roads. So I expanded my search and came across the Ford F150. The 5.0L Windsor V8 is equally as common as the Chev small-block, having been used in Ford Crown police cars for the last gazillion years. Most come with a bench seat in the cab that will suffice for powernapping duties.

Well, today Josh got in contact with the owner of one of the utes that I had my eye on. He went down, looked it over, and slapped a few Greenbacks on the bonnet.

This white 1993 Ford F150 Flareside 5.0L is going to be my rig as I drive across North America. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in its livery, provided by the excellent folks at Graphic Effects.

Eric Dewhirst, founder of the ride-share site PickupPal, has very kindly donated roadside assistance from CAA so I'm not left completely stranded by the side of the road when my bush-mechanic skills fail me. My sincere thanks to him.

The Effie is a quintessentially American V8 pick-up, and I love it. I can't wait to jump in it and get gone! Big thanks again to Josh for all his efforts.

Doomsday Prepper

With a little over two weeks before I fly to the 'States, things are really amping up.

On Friday I picked up the stickers from Graphic Effects, and they look brilliant. As always, the quality and timeliness exceeded my expectations. Thank you to Iain for looking after us. Do me a favour and click through to the Graphic Effects website, and keep them in mind for any projects you have coming up.

One of the biggest challenges of this trip has been finding a way to purchase a car in my name. Hiring a car was ruled out early in the planning for a few reasons, but mainly because it would cost twice as much and I'd have to drive some horrible four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive sedan that would sap the very life-source from me with each passing mile. And I really want something quintessentially American that I can tear across the heartland in.

Insurance was the biggest issue. I was originally looking at buying the car in Canada, as you don't need to provide proof of residency in order to register a vehicle there, but after being quoted CAD$11,000 for six months of basic third-party insurance, I had to look elsewhere.

Michigan turned out to be the holy land. It's only fitting, seeing as Detroit was the capital city of automobiles since Henry Ford got in on the act.

After much searching for an insurance broker with the chutzpah to help me, Josh from the Bussa Allstate agency in Allendale took me under his wing. After much work at his end, it turned out the cost was still a little above my budget.

Not easily deterred, Josh co-ordinated with Beth at the Carr Insurance Agency in Ionia, who was able to provide exactly the cover I needed and could afford. My thanks to them both for their hard work. It's truly appreciated.

An extra shout-out to Josh who's also now my Man On The Ground in Michigan. You'll be hearing more about him soon.


Meanwhile, there's much to do back here at home before I leave. If you can take a small amount from your paycheque this week and click the donate button on the top-right of this page, you'll be doing a lot of good for people who can never thank you.