I don’t know exactly how I’m going to update this site on this trip. Not in terms of how I’m going to connect to the internet, but I just don’t know how to present this trip. There is too much that goes on during the course of the day. Everything that mattered before is virtually out the window. Although, I am still doing some work. And that’s perfectly fine. So let’s go.

Recap of day 1 –
Stats:
2648.1 km – start
2865.1 km – finish
—————————–
217 km or 130.2 miles

Details/Notes:
Duct tape for block of wood, didn’t work out so well. However, block of wood is the bomb dealio, yo! (Update, next day – block of wood lost. Picked up a block of cedar sticks to replace it. Block is to hold the backpack off of my back, relieving some of the tension and pull on my shoulders.)

I should probably be less excited than I am to be on this little adventure. It is only day one. But I’m brought back to Joe Vs. The Volcano, toward the end when he and Meg Ryan only have four large trunks on which to make a final raft at the end of the movie. Joe complains about the situation. Meg’s character says, “It’s always going to be something with you, Joe.”

But so far, so good. In fact, I would say great!

Day started with me getting up to watch the sun rise over Miami Beach. Cloudy skies. Woman doing yoga. Guy going through mid-life crisis in khaki shorts and barefoot standing in the water’s edge. Coulda been me, but it wasn’t.

Did some last minute work this morning before I left. Didn’t quite finish so I’m going to do some of that in the morning. I’ve realized, with the distance I’ve already put between me and South Beach, I already feel relaxed. Forget the tremendous pain. I’m relaxed. Tomorrow morning is going to suck when I wake up as I’ll be sore from head to toe. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Stopped by the scooter store to get one last thing on my scooter checked. THAT decision turned out to be a really, really good one because Beach Scooter hooked me up. They’re now an official sponsor of my road trip as well, offering support throughout the trip, giving me tons of stuff to help on the road, and possibly one really nice thing at the end of this little trek. Beach Scooter is actually where I bought the scooter when I moved last year, and they’ve been nothing but helpful and providing me great service since. The guys there are cool. Friendly. Great place and I’d buy another scooter there (or rent one) before I went somewhere else. Easily.

Honestly, I would’ve said all this had they not decided to sponsor me and had planned to give them props anyway. And they didn’t ask that I say anything on my site in exchange for their generosity, but really, I owe them. They were good to me before today and they’re the people who’ve helped put me on the road by selling me the most awesomest scooter, The Kymco People 50.

Back to the trip itself. Met up with Gus Moore of Miami Tour Company and Carlos Miller who shot some footage of me leaving town. Had to make one more stop by the camping store for some last minute supplies, courtesy of Miami Tour Company.

Had my last meal at The Pitt somewhere along Tamiami Trail with friends before I began a long quiet trek across the straightest most desolate road around. Purposefully ran my gas tank all the way down somewhere halfway between Miami and Naples so that I could fill it to the rim with the gallon of gas that it takes and check to see what kind of mileage I’m getting. Looks like a lot. I’ll let you know when the tank empties again.

Saw an alligator while I was filling my tank on the side of the road. Score.

As I was getting close to the campsite just outside of Marco Island, I saw a model shoot going on by the side of the road. Nice backdrop. Hope the guy got good photos. Which reminds me, saw another shoot going on last night outside of the dive of the hotel I was in. Talked briefly to the photographer, got his name. Curious to see what he did in the photos. Interesting choices. Funny how I still see this going on. It’s like I couldn’t get away if I tried.

Anyway, came up on the campground as the sun was nearly down. Wanted to go to Marco Island to watch the sunset so zipped down there and that was entirely surreal. When i hit the white sands ot the beach, I witnessed all these little clusters of people standing and just looking out to the horizon, with the aquamarine colored ocean and cloudy sky, just waiting for the sun to move from behind the clouds and set.

Weird. It was as if none of the hundreds of people on the beach had ever seen a sunset. It was as if they were truly worshipping the sun. All of them.

The sun came from behind the clouds and dropped behind the horizon.

Hopped back on my scooter and came to the campsite. I’m laying down in my tent now typing this (that’s my one man tent which is going to need some rearranging since all of my stuff is in here with me but there isn’t room for me to stretch out the way I should be able to). No problem, just move stuff around. Might invest in a pad or something to go underneath the sleeping bag. Although, tonight, I don’t care. My body is tired.

And so the ride itself… difficult. Physically draining. The odd thing is that I expected for my feet and hands to go numb from the ride, since that’s what’s been the case before. But I figured it out, why that’s been happening. I was driving around with flipflops and no gloves. Now, I’m wearing shoes and have gloves on my hands. No numbness.

The backpack. THAT’S the killer. Beach Scooter had a block of wood and right now, for the road…it’s the smartest thing I’ve got going on. Having it wedged between the seat and the bottom of the pack makes a world of difference. When I lean forward and the weight comes off the block, it’s hugely noticeable.

I had more I wanted to write. More details about what I saw. But I’m tired. And this was a long day. And it was a good day.

All of the photos from today (and all days in this trip) can be seen in the Nomad’s Land category in the Street +/ Life gallery.

Final note: I’m actually in Naples now, at a Starbucks updating. Figuring out where I’m going from here. It’s Highway 41, no doubt, I just have to pick a destination.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

I kind of had a good post I wanted to write. But I’m actually just really tired right now and am not really feeling it. So I’m not even throwing any photos up with this post. Why tired? I spent all of Wednesday getting rid of stuff, Moving stuff around. Shuffling stuff. I was left with a mattress last night so I spent one last night in my place. I’m in a hotel tonight, typing this as I lay on the bed.

And I’m at the Rodeway Inn on 73rd on the beach. This is the same place I stayed when I first arrived in Miami. I thought it a fitting way to end, right where I began. Only, there’s a vinyl banner out front announcing that it’s apparently now the “Hawaii Hotel.” Yeah. That makes sense.

I didn’t expect much coming here, the place is somewhat of a dive, the rooms barely bigger than the last cardboard box I threw out today. However, I really wasn’t expecting to find a roach swimming about when I broke the piece of paper (that read “For your protection”) covering the toilet seat lid, Disgusting. If this is what Hawaii is like, I never want to go. Of course, I’m sure it is just like this because why else would they name a hotel the Hawaii Hotel?

I’ll feel better in a campsite than I will here, which brings me to item number two. I’m riding out Tamiami Trail tomorrow to land myself at Collier-Seminole State Park outside of Naples. That’s the plan. Yes, it’s true. I have a plan. Well, I have a plan to get to Collier-Seminole State Park. After that, not sure. Although, I’m thinking 41 looks pretty good for heading up the western coast of Florida. Might be doing some more planning soon. But I want to be there by sunset and maybe ride out to Marco Island to watch that.

Which brings me to item number three: me riding anywhere on that scooter. This is going to be a taxing trip. I anticipated that it would be physically exhausting, simply from the fact that your body goes numb from the constant vibration and sitting in one position for so long. However, I’ve added the extra luxury of carrying a full hiking back-pack ON my back. I’ll tell you either tomorrow night or Saturday morning which items are being left behind because I’ve certainly over-packed and some items aren’t going to make the cut. Odd that pretty much all of my earthly possessions are with me and I still want to get rid of some.

I’ll also take some photos tomorrow of my hog and how I’ve packed it so you can see what’s doin’ in Scott’s world. Because it’s important, I know. Basically, I have: one large backpack, one small bag, one underseat compartment filled with stuff, and a 2-gallon can of gas and a liter of oil netted down in the back. I need to wedge something between the bottom of the backpack and the seat so that I can reduce the weight pulling down on my shoulders and lessen the burden of travel. I’m anxious to go now.

Which brings me to item number four: someone asked me the other night, “don’t you ever get lonely?” Why yes, yes I do. Yes, I do. Yes. I. Do. And I can’t stand it.

…when she passes, each one she passes goes ‘Aaaahhh’”…

Thankfully, I planned a long trip to nowhere in which I’ll be alone for days upon days upon days on end. Clarity, Scott. Clarity.

In the morning, I wrap up the last of things here. I’ll be in South Beach the bulk of the morning and will be leaving from there around midday tomorrow.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

Habitat for Humanity came by this morning and hauled away the bulk of my possessions. Some items I am giving away are being picked up by a friend later today. A few other items are being picked up and kindly held by another friend for a while. What remains after that goes in the dump out back.

There is no furniture here now save a bed that will be gone by the end of tonight. There will be nothing in this place in 12 hours. I’m spending the next two nights in a hotel before I leave. I have a shoot tomorrow and have to finish those photos before I leave. One last dance and then I am gone.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

Not too long ago, before I really went public with my plans to go on this journey, I mentioned the trip to a close friend. At first, she burst out laughing. And then she asked, “Tell me, Scott: are you running from something or running to something?”

A worthwhile question.

Let me save you a lot of reading and give you the short answer: it’s a little of both. Everything that follows is an elaboration of that.

I’ve talked to a fair number of my friends since that conversation about why I’m going on this trip, each getting some version of it depending on my relationship with them (or the amount of time we had together to converse OR my inability to stay focused on one topic in a conversation too long before ADD kicked in and I got distracted by something shiny). But I haven’t really put it into words so well. And I don’t know that I will this time around but I would like to try to provide a definite answer without going into much detail as the details are, for the most part, only important to me.

There are too many issues that plague my mind. Not everyday issues; the everyday is irrelevant. But there are circles in this life of mine. Circles that I run in. Circles I have been running in for decades now. They are so familiar to me that I can nearly predict the future as it’s already in my past and… oh look, here it comes again; if not brought about naturally, it’s brought by me.

I’d like to stop living like this. I’d like to be surprised by life for a change. I’d like to break out from the circles that hold me hostage in my mind. Some of the circles are good, and I’m okay with them. But there are many I’d like to just leave behind, never to see again.

Apart from the never-changing circles, there are squares that I dance in presently and I never really wanted to do the two-step. Somehow, a circle I was enjoying rather nicely has turned into a square. I still want to believe it’s a circle but it looks like a square, walks like a square, and quacks like a square. I never wanted to two-step. I never wanted to be in a square. I want either a) to change that square into a circle or b) to be a better dancer.

But of everything that consumes my mind now, the worst of it… truly the worst of it… is the rhombus in my head . A god damn rhombus. And it’s interlocked with a trapezoid on top of it all. And wrapped in an enigma. I cannot put my mind around it, cannot grasp it. And as I watch the days go by, it is farther and farther beyond my reach.

It’s a problem I can’t work out in my head and words have all but failed me. I don’t know how to break down the rhombus and make it into another simple circle that I can glide around on a big-wheeled bicycle, smiling at the crowds as they look on and cheer. And as much as I would like to see this tangled up shape become a familiar circle, I don’t know that my thinking is at all right. Years of thinking one way…

The girl from Ipanema? She is my rhombus.

The complexity of this is beyond my reasoning ability. And there is no logic from which reason can be extracted here. The fact that I give any credence to the entire theory of this ideal – this girl from Ipanema, an ideal I’ve held for decades – is something that I can’t properly evaluate under these conditions. My mind is sinking in a sea of shapes.

Had life just continued… the everyday of my life just continued as it were… had the idea of the girl not bubbled up to the surface of my mind… had the thought not been stirred, I could probably continue to function as I always do with the circles spinning round and round, coming and going. And I could’ve even dealt with the squares that have popped up. I could live with it all at acceptable volumes. But the rhombus is there. And the calamity of that rhombus with the circles and squares… it’s like an elephant in a small room filled with pots and pans. I cannot quiet anything in my head; the noise level has risen exponentially. I cannot think clearly.

And so I would like to evaluate the elements of my life that make this noise. I’d like to approach them all outside of the noise. On my turf. In solitude. In a place where I can look at them from different angles. In a place where I can freely inspect them, these circles, these squares, this rhombus. In a place where I can sit comfortably and see them all suspended before me.

My destination for this journey isn’t LA. My destination is peace of mind. And I am running there as fast as I can.

This is the only thing I can do: run to where only I stand. Run to where there is nothing and not a soul but me. I need complete and utter solitude. I need to be alone. I need to hop on my scooter and watch a sunset on the bayou. I need to stand in the middle of nowhere and bask in the aloneness of that moment. I need to sit still and watch the shadow of a mossy tree crawl before me on the ground as slugs dart to and fro. I need to stare blankly at a gas pump in Anytown, USA, and ponder taking a job at the local factory for nothing wages only to go home every night to a salisbury steak dinner, three hours of regularly scheduled programming, and wood paneling. I need to stand there at that same pump and realize I can’t get that job because the factory shut down, and work can’t be found. Even day labor work is scarce in this dying, one-horse town. Or I need to simply stand there, pumping out that one and quarter gallons of gas that will fill my tank, and wonder about the distance to the next station; should I go back to that last campsite I saw 30 miles back or press on to the next?

And when I get back on that scooter and finally reach that most desolate place where there IS no stimuli, where there is nothing but my thoughts and they all turn to those circles, those squares and this enigma-wrapped rhombus…

What I hope is that in running to all that I am running from, I can reach clarity.

Also, too, I always wanted to go on a Vision Quest! So this will kind of be like that. Only by scooter, and probably not so much with the whole enlightenment part. And I’ll probably eat at a lot of Waffle Houses. My veins will probably be coursing with syrup by the time I reach LA.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

I wanted today to be the day I left, but it’s not today. That would’ve been 40 days to my destination. I wanted it to be this Wednesday, but it won’t be Wednesday. I have set my departure date for Friday.

It sunk into me today that I have more to get rid of than I’m going to take. I began to think today about my personal possessions and what I will do with the possessions that don’t go with me. A collection of items. I had a yard sale yesterday (as you know) and sold some books, sold some LPs, sold a couple of chairs. That really didn’t make too much of a dent. In fact, I had a party last night and people asked, “Didn’t you have a yard sale today? There’s still a lot of stuff here.” There is.

I’ve also given some thought about what book I want to take with me to read along the way. I’ve been reading Karen Armstrong’s A History of God recently and I thoroughly enjoy her writing – her book Buddha is superb – but I really don’t want to be found dead in the desert with that book in hand as if this trip were about finding God or some spiritual journey. Maybe it is or will be but that’s not why I’m going. I’ll talk a little more about that at another time.

No, I decided I’m taking the The Stories of Vladmir Nabokov. The collection of short stories within are so utterly and painfully beautiful. I love that book and, years after buying it, there are still stories within it I haven’t read. It’s as if it were a box of chocolates and I’ve been picking out a chocolate here and there to eat, knowing each bite within would bring some great pleasure. And so I’ll take that box with me.

What I don’t unload by this Wednesday will be given to Goodwill or put by the dumpsters in the back where items will most definitely be picked up and put to use somehow somewhere. I’ve seen cars stop and women get out to pick up a bottle of perfume sitting atop a dumpster. I’ve left furniture beside dumpsters only to later see it sitting in the communal hallway where I lived, waiting to be taken indoors. And anything that could be used in one way or another that I’ve left beside a dumpster was taken before collection time. So I feel comfortable leaving stuff by the dumpster if it doesn’t go to Goodwill.

I need to be done with everything by Wednesday. That means unloading everything, wrapping up every little project. Sadly, none of the projects are really that little. It also means (and this is the most challenging part of all and I don’t know how I’m going to do it) finishing up/editing thousands upon thousands of photos and hours upon hours of video for my roommate.

I also need to pack for the trip. I also need to map a rough route.

On Thursday, I clean. On Friday, I leave.

I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was up at 6:30am yesterday for the sale. I was up until 5:30am until the last of the people from the party left. My ankle has a large lump on it. I suspect gangreen and an amputation is on the horizon. Or it could just be weird funkiness with my body. I’m having serious trouble walking.

This is going to be a busy and long week.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

I called my kids tonight to tell them what I’m doing. You know, the whole scooter trip across America. Talked to my youngest first. He’s the logical one. The straight and narrow one. The one whose voice is changing completely now and he sounds like a kid whose voice is changing completely.

I tell him what I’m doing. Laughter followed by, “That’s the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard,” as he continues to laugh into the phone. This is a lot of the response I’ve gotten from everyone. We talk some more, and then he thinks it’s cool. Insane but cool.

Then… then I get on the phone with the oldest. We talk, he’s flabbergasted. Doesn’t know what to say. There’s some discussion of how it sounds like a great adventure. Some logistical questions covered. Likes the idea. Some discussion about whether I’m going to stay in LA. He thinks it’s cool.

And then he stops and ponders for a second before asking, “isn’t that how they got across country in Dumb and Dumber?” As a parent, I should tell you that there is nothing that compares to this level of respect and admiration a kid has for his father. We had a good long laugh. Then I told him the other boy was now my favorite. I kid.

Scott’s roadtrip across America is proudly sponsored by Miami Tour Company. For info on the best tours in Miami, visit MiamiTourCompany.com.

I’m pleased to announce that Miami Tour Company has offered up corporate sponsorship for my upcoming road trip across the country. Needless to say, I’m thrilled. Miami Tour Company owner Gus Moore had this to say when discussing the sponsorship:

“Scott, you’re awesome.”

Those may or may not have been his exact words. In all seriousness, I’m truly flattered to be considered awesome. Many people before me have been called that. Now I’m in their ranks.

No really seriously this time. Gus and his wife Michelle, who run both Miami Tour Company and MiamiBeach411.com are simply fantastic people. I have such mad respect for both of them that it’s really such an honor to be sponsored by Miami Tour Company.

In other trip-related news, I received a letter of encouragement from a fellow brat just now.

“If you’re seriously going to make a trans coastal trip on a 50 cc scooter you must have balls the size of grapefruit…….or at least will have by the time you get to LA.”

Now I may need to rethink what clothes I’m packing for this trip.

I’ve realized in planning this cross-country trip, that there are some potential problems. One of the larger problems is that I have health issues. Probably significant health issues that would warrant me staying here. Of course, they haven’t stopped me from smoking, so I guess I’ll just take my chances.

In 2007 (I think? It’s been so long now), I underwent pretty extensive surgery in my groinal area (that’s the proper medical term) that would leave me with a significant wound that never really healed. That wound, in part, somewhat guides my life, guides my decisions. It’s a daily part of all that is me.

Part of the appeal of moving to Miami was the access to the water since the ocean is a miracle worker for me. Two months after I moved here and with a near daily regimen of swimming in the ocean, I was all but healed. Of course, I stopped going in the ocean as much and my body sort of reverted back to it’s old self. But I’ve recently started going again and it amazes me what a difference it makes to my health.

When I don’t go, I have what could be called outbursts of really bad health. My body acts up. Not always in the same spot. It can happen anywhere on my body. I sometimes writhe in pain, and am pretty much unable to move without grimacing for days at a time. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen during this trip. That would suck.

So I’ll be ditching the luxury of the ocean; ditching the luxury of good health. And rather than dipping in healing waters, I’ll be plopping my butt down on a scooter for hours at a time for days on end. The one part of my body that’s not really well suited for seating will be situated as such. That concerns me somewhat.

The other problem that’s even more troubling, though… I’m basically not going to be able to drink chocolate milk the way I like it for the next two months. I like my glass of whole milk in the mornings with two heaping spoons of Nesquik in the glass. That’s just not going to be possible. Nesquik pre-made isn’t the same, and, well, what other options are there?

I’m bummed about that. I may have to come up with a plan.