Remember how the last one was going to be a quickie, and it turned out to be plenty long? Well, this one’s going to be a genuine quickie. I’m leaving for West Virginia this morning, and it’s an eight and a half hour drive. It sucks! So, I need to take to the highway and get this long day of driving behind me.
Today I’m just going to share the latest episode of the world famous Jeff Kay Show podcast. Right here. I’ve decided to make every fourth installment available to anyone who wants to listen. And the other three can only be accessed by folks who are pledging $4 or more per month at Patreon.
I hope you like this one. Or, at the very least, see some improvements. I’m enjoying it, I really am. In fact, I can see myself ranting incoherently into a microphone deep into old age. Maybe in South Carolina, or someplace like that? With a sweaty Pabst tallboy by my side? We’ll have to see how it goes.
In any case, I’m driving today. I know 8.5 hours is nothing to many people, but it kicks my ass. What’s the longest you’ve ever driven in one shot? And what’s the longest you’ve driven over a few short days? Tell us about it, won’t you?
And I need to go now. I’ll be back on Monday, I hope.
See you then!
Now playing in the bunker
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I once drove from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, California in a single shot. Shared driving responsibilities with the wife; took just about twenty hours. By the end we were bickering and so exhausted, but had a great trip once we did the long stretch. On the way back, we stayed with a friend in San Francisco and at a cabin on the Oregon coast. At the ripe old age of twenty five I can’t do those long drives anymore, I like to actually enjoy the trip and see the sights.
Hope your trip to West Virginia is great! I’m digging the podcast and it makes my long commutes home so much better.
Jeff,
Nice podcast. However, I continue to believe that it’s almost impossible for one person to pull off anything over five minutes alone without wearing a hole in one frequency of the virtual tape. Since you seem to want to stay married, Toney’s out of course. But I think it might not be a Nagasaki-type situation to get one of your sons to participate, ask you questions, and flip you occasional shit on-mike. Of course you’d have to pay, but part of the tension would be whether you got anything at all for your money. The reveal would be a well-asked question about some obscure 80s punk band in which everyone but the bass player has taken that long, lonesome ride in the $70,000 hearse.
Anyway, I think there might be humor and pathos hiding in one of those relationships. You never know ’till the red light on the “record” button starts glowing through the late-morning humidity haze of a basement in Northeast Pennsylvania.
John
I went through something similar with a shoe store. I recall the manager running over to me with 20 dollar socks. I kept saying I had socks I was just there for boots. He kept trying to sell me the 20 dollar socks.
I drove a Penske truck and trailer from San Francisco to Long Beach Island, NJ (literally coast to coast) in 3 and a bit days. That nearly killed me, I still shudder when I see those yellow torture chambers on the road.
In May 1982 I drove my 1971 Nova after graduating from Nuke Power school in Orlando to Columbus, OH. to pick up my buddy and his girlfriend and on to Ohiopyle, PA. where we met up with a bunch of friends for a rafting trip on the Youghioheny River. Non-stop except for gas, food and toilet breaks. Only in Columbus for 15 minutes to load their crap.
Over 1100 miles, close to 20 hours, no cellphone, no GPS. Thank you AAA for the triptik. I still wish I had kept that Nova.
Had a Nova. Loved the Nova.
I drove with two friends from the Avoca airport in PA in a rental car to the Mall of America for a convention back in 1999 with a stop at O’Hare to pick up 2 folks from CA. Stopping only for food and potty time. Longest 2 days of my life.
Raleigh NC to south of Atlanta immediately after working a 12pm-10pm shift. arrived close to 6am, picked up gf car, drove right back. couldnt make it. pulled over and went to sleep. woke up and car on fire from engine. no idea why. walked miles (no one stopped to offer help) to a pay phone (1994). waited all day for someone to get me. Arrived home. drank heavily. passed out for 2 days.
Year 2000 – NY to Florida. Left Thursday, arrived Friday, went to funeral for mother-in-law’s husband Saturday, back home Sunday. I did a most of the driving, because Beloved just had lasik surgery and his eyes were still pretty messed up. I almost literally fell out of my car when we pulled into our driveway because my legs refused to work.
Denver to Barstow, ca. On a 67 bmw motorcycle non stop except to pee and gas up.
Back in 1975: Rising Sun Pennsylvania to Houston Texas in my friends new Jeep CJ5. Ended up being nonstop because we had planned to camp in the Great Smokies in Tenn but is was raining so we just kept driving. Sun set as we crossed into Tenn and was rising as we left Tenn. No stops except for food, gas and restroom. Clocked in at 26 hours.
In 1990 (I think) Redondo Beach California to San Antonio Texas driving a Penske box truck towing a small car to help my then BIL move their stuff to Houston. Sister was preggers and flew. Again, no stops except for food, gas and bathroom breaks. Left at 7:00 AM and hit my place just outside San Antonio at about 10:00 AM the next day. Ex BIL drove on to Houston.
Switching drivers all the way both times. I slept in the back of that damn Jeep all the way across Arkansas. That my body cursed me for several days after.
1988: Chicago to LA over 3 days. Day 1 I got all the way to Amarillo (17 hrs), day 2 to the CA state line, I think (10 hrs), then a quickie 4 hrs into LA.
As a fledgling family in 2005 I drove my 9 year old son and my then 8-month pregnant wife from LA to NC over 3 days. Across the Mojave desert without A/C on that trip. Still don’t know how we made it.
2017: Drove from Chapel Hill, NC to JFK (8.5 hrs) to pick up my mother-in-law who had flown with my wife from Russia with a fractured L5 vertebra and a dislocated shoulder. Loaded her into a van with the seats ripped out and turned around to drive another 8.5 hrs straight to the ER at Duke Univ Hospital. Just about killed me.
And I regularly drive from central NC to the Toledo area for work/family reasons. 9 hrs. Interestingly, Jeff’s hometown of Dunbar WV is almost exactly halfway and where I usually stop for gas.
One was Albany NY to Wheaton Ill on a twin-cylinder Honda 450 Hawk. Nonstop except for gas and bathroom. Out via Ontario and “the 401”, back via I-90. I think it took about 18 or 19 hours each way.
The other one took the same amount of time a few years later: Albany to Tampa for a funeral. This was in the new Honda CRX, so much more comfortable.
1989. Santa Fe to Nashville in 1 shot. Still haven’t recovered. Make sure and go to Tudor’s Biscuit World while in WV.
Sarasota to the vacation destination of downtown Detroit. Took 16 hours of dread the whole way there, Made it back in 12.
Podcast was strong, dude. Had a local two guys, Bill and John, not really original names, who did all my auto work. They were awesome. Both retired and turned it over to their tatted up sons. They fucked everything up and the place went out of biz in less than a year. Now I just YouTube and fix everything myself.
AWG, understand there’s a pretty good tailwind out of the Motor City. Didn’t realize it was THAT strong.
jtb
JTB, there was a strong tailwind leaving Detroit in 2009-2102, but its better now. Chicago is where people are exiting in mass droves.
I went back there in 2102. It had a wall around it filled in with concrete. I came back to the present.
AWG, I borrowed Dad’s car and went then myself to follow up on your lead. I think the wall was actually filled with Stevie Wonder’s Grammy Awards: Looks like concrete, but gets you into the R&RHOF. Baby, everything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight.
Me? I just called to say I love you.
jtb
My dearest 1998 Pathfinder will be put to rest this year after many years of mountain travel and me sleeping in the back (when not driving). Longest journey was about 15 hours in a stretch with a 120 lb dog. If I wasn’t too shy to instagram I coulda been famous. Trying to figure out what to buy
next…. Maybe another Pathfinder?
Oh Yah – World cup!!!! Don’t care who wins just have fun!
I drove from Chicago to New Orleans when I was in my mid-20s and had a bit more stamina. Took about 14 hours or so. I was driving a big land-yacht Oldsmobile with a functioning A/C, so I don’t recall it being all that bad. My only memory from that day was the realization that there is a shitload of corn being grown across that section of country.
My wife and I once drove from Indiana to central Texas. It took roughly 16 hours. We did it in a single shot while she was several months pregnant… with two crated cats in the backseat. It was the most brutal trip we’ve ever taken. We managed to make it fun with music, singing, and horrible road snacks.