yo yo yo

[Johnny P]

Hey guys my name is Johnny. From columbus,OH hitting the road in a couple weeks out of columbus and headed south to begin my travels. Wont be hopping any trains or hitching, just rubber tramping along in my 86 VW vanagon. I'm 24 and have spent most of my adult life in the SF bay area. Thats where I'd like to make it back to. I plan on documenting my travels briefly through reddit and STP. Hopefully I meet some of you awesome folks along the way. This will be my maiden voyage, so any tips and or places to check out/camp for the night undetected would be much appreciated. I'm a resourceful guy and have been improvising life for as long as I can remember, so im happy to see goods and the bads the road has in store for me. Living on the road is no easy task and should not be taken lightly or viewed as a walk in the park 24/7. That part I understand. If you would like to meet up my first destination will be New Orleans, then heading west. internet access will be scarce, but send me a message and ill get back! Thanks for checking me out. Cheers!

-Johnny P

 

[todd]

hello

 

[Johnny P]

whats up todd. Hows Memphis treating you?

 

[Deleted member 125]

everybody always wants to goto nola...

god i hate nola.

 

[Johnny P]

just have to pick up a couple of friends. only reason for that stop. its an alright place but not where i'll be spending too much time. bad experiences there? @cantcureherpes

 

[Mankini]

everybody always wants to goto nola...

god i hate nola.

they can check out any time they like but they can never leave. ::hilarious::

 

[maddeningcrowds]

Welcome! How far you plan on going west?

 

[Mankini]

try not to cross lat 38 if atall possible. lol

 

[Johnny P]

Welcome! How far you plan on going west?

bay area, but I plan on being all over the place. might head up to Oregon too for a bit. never been.

 

[rooster831]

what part of the bay u from?

 

[Johnny P]

not from, but I was living there for a long time. Started in SF spent most of my time living in the East bay though. you from Northern CA? @rooster831

 

[maddeningcrowds]

bay area, but I plan on being all over the place. might head up to Oregon too for a bit. never been.

Cool, should be a fucking blast

 

[Bedheadred]

Go to Oregon! I just spent the last 3 weeks traveling down south, grants pass had mad travelers and was gorgeous, and Portland was a blast

 

[Johnny P]

Go to Oregon! I just spent the last 3 weeks traveling down south, grants pass had mad travelers and was gorgeous, and Portland was a blast

Do you travel by RV? or is that big conversion van in your pic?

 

[rooster831]

not from, but I was living there for a long time. Started in SF spent most of my time living in the East bay though. you from Northern CA? @rooster831

yep, sf is my hometown

and be ready for the rain on oregon, and the cold. it came early this year

i'll be in grants pass early november, pm me if u go there and things might happen

 

[Grubblin]

just have to pick up a couple of friends. only reason for that stop. its an alright place but not where i'll be spending too much time. bad experiences there? @cantcureherpes

NOLA is ok is if know where to stay away from and watch your ass. If you're new to the city it can be a tough place to be. Lots of tension in certain areas and it's very easy to make a serious misstep. Lots of very "closed" communities that don't tolerate outsiders very well at all. I guess that's true for most metropolitan areas but I lived just outside NOLA for years so I'm more familiar with it than other places. Try to hook up with someone that knows the city and you'll be fine. Good Luck!

 

[Johnny P]

Thanks for the heads up @Grubblin. I plan on eating my weight in creole food, listening to lots of Jazz, hit some bars and take off for the west! Yeah definitely violent city with a lot of pride, but 3 days max shouldn't get me into too much trouble...I hope XD

 

[Bedheadred]

Do you travel by RV? or is that big conversion van in your pic?

Yeah I have a '76 Ford conversion van

 

[Johnny P]

Yeah I have a '76 Ford conversion van

Gotta love van life! Prepping my van right now for the big trip Question for you, do you have any trouble stealth camping random places? Also do you tend to stay in the same place for awhile without getting harrassed or ticketed? I've always done short trips and stayed in wal mart parking lots if need be or on quiet neighborhood streets that I'm somewhat familiar with. This will be my first BIG trip where I wont know the territories and I feel a lot of effort will go in to scoping a safe place for the night, so if you have any advice, that would be cool. Hope you're enjoying your travels I know I cant wait for my departure! it's almost here!!!

 

[Bedheadred]

Gotta love van life! Prepping my van right now for the big trip Question for you, do you have any trouble stealth camping random places? Also do you tend to stay in the same place for awhile without getting harrassed or ticketed? I've always done short trips and stayed in wal mart parking lots if need be or on quiet neighborhood streets that I'm somewhat familiar with. This will be my first BIG trip where I wont know the territories and I feel a lot of effort will go in to scoping a safe place for the night, so if you have any advice, that would be cool. Hope you're enjoying your travels I know I cant wait for my departure! it's almost here!!!

So far the only places I've gotten harassed at was Walmart parking lots, 2 different ones in Oregon. In Portland and in grants pass, all the other Walmarts I've stayed at with no problem and I don't usually stay more than 3 nights in one town. Quiet streets are good, just pay attention to any signs that say no overnight parking. I also use the websites freecampsites.net and compendium.com, they show you free/cheap places to camp or park overnight all over the country. When I was driving down the 101 I also slept in turnouts off the highway a lot and never had any problems.