The Logistics of the Really Big Outcast Roadtrip Thing

[HobbitGirl]

Hello, all you GOOers! I know I've been absent for a while now, but hey, life sucks that way. I remember, though, discussions that took place about some sort of Outcast Roadtrip thing. We were all talking about traveling across the country to see each other and pick each other up and cart each other away and visit each other. I started thinking, "Hey, this is a really great idea. But how the heck are we going to pull it off?" I started thinking about it more, and I realized the logistics thing of this thing are insane. They are completely, absolutely, totally, and in all other ways mind-boggling. But they are possible. We wanted to do this in about, oh...three-ish years or so in the future when all of us ambitious fifteen year olds are eighteen and can leave mommy and daddy's house, right? Well, I figure it'll take us all three years just to get the logistics worked out. If we're persistent, determined, and just generally stay on the ball, we can pull this off. We can. But we gotta work together.

I have come up with some basic logistical issues we need to work out. I am well aware that this stuff only scratches the surface, and that there's butt-wads of other stuff to work out. I know that you, being the creative GOOers you are, will come up with more stuff that needs smoothing over. Please throw the stuff into this thread, and I'll add it to the collective list of stuff that we need to work out. We'll get to all of it eventually. :D

Route=First of all, who is going to go? Who is going to get picked up? Where is this all going to start out from, or are we going to start out from different places and meet up? If this is the case, what are those different places, and who's going to start there? Where, essentially, are we going to go? Where are we going to stop? Are we going to stop? Will we stop and/or take detours for sightseeing? If so, where? Are there any particular places we need to see and/or stay at? Where are those places?

When/College=We're going to do this during our lovely college years, right? And in the summer, I'm assuming? What are people's college plans so that we can work out exactly when this is going to occur? Will people's college plans affect where we go? How?

Transportation=Whose cars are we taking? Are we taking any RV/Winnabego thingies? How are all the people going to fit? How are we going to fit our stuff? Do we need to rent a trailer?

Lodging=How many times are we going to stay in hotels? Are we going to camp at all? Who has camping equipment, and if not or if something's missing, how do we get it? Medical conditions and "feminine issues" must be taken into account.

Food=How are we going to split up the paying for it? Where and how often to we restock it? Where are we going to store it?

Cleanliness=How are we going to get our laundry done? How are we going to get sufficient showers?

Vehicle Trouble=What if a car breaks down? Does anyone have insurance or AAA? How do we get it? How do we prevent breakdowns? Where do we store spare tires, jacks, ect.?

As far as money goes...I think that issue will take a year in itself to work out. All I can say now is that we have to start saving. Don't go spend lots of money at the mall, don't splurge on video games, try and get a summer job to save and save and save. We have got to save. If we don't start saving now, how is a bunch of impoverished college students going to pay for one of the biggest roadtrip endeavors ever?

We will only focus on one of these categories at a time, cause Lord knows we can't plan all the logistics at once. That would make our brains go all loopy. :D



Let's start with Route.

[YayGollum]

Route ---> Depends on other things like who's coming and what all of their situations are. It could turn out that twenty-seven thousand different Outcasts will have twenty-seven thousand different routeses. oh well. Three years? Hm. Maybe I'll think about having a car or a job by then. I'm too miserly and lazy for either of those now.

[Rhiannon]

Hey HG!!! Let's see...in three years....I'll be...*counts on fingers* 20. Wow. I'll be at college, which is looking to be in Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth area. In the summer I'd probably be home (unless I'm one of the road-trip starting points, which is good with me), close enough to the same area.

Transportation: In addition to the Outcasty one, I want to do a general across country see the world road trip, and I want to do it in a 15 passenger van called The Questing Beast. (You need a special license for an RV, but not for a 15 passenger).

For stuff, we should probably go spartan. People, plan on one or two pairs of jeans-that-will-die-soon-anyway, t-shirts, and enough underwear to last a few weeks. You can wash such things in sinks with hand-soap (...I hear). We won't be doing any beauty pageants on the way.

Lodging- People's houses, youth hostels, the occaisonal cheap hotel, in the van in Wal-Mart parking lots; we can manage. Anyone with camping equipment bring it- we'll improvise. Creativity, woo-hoo! Boys/Girls- just be ready to give people the appropriate amount of space and No Foolin' Around.

Food- non-perishables, cheap things, dump it in the back of the car, people can share around and divide things up. If we eat at a restaurant type place everyone would pick up for themself.

Cleanliness- certain gas station chains, like Love's, have showers, etc. Sponge baths! Wash clothes in sinks! We can also hit the occaisonal laundromat. We'll bring lots of body spray and nose plugs for the sensitive.

[Dragon]

hmmm...

well, first of all, we really do need to know who all intends on coming. I know I do for one, in fact, I think I was the one that first mentioned this, and discussed it a wee bit w/ rhi.

I think it would be much easier for us to all meet up in one place, and then possibly go from there? we would have a hell of a time trying to drop by everyones house and pick them up, we live all over the country, in fact, not all of us even live in the USA (shush funding!!!)

but anyways, if we were to meet up in one place, it should probably be as close to the middle of all of us as we can get, so we need to know everyone's approximate location in about 3 years time...since I'm 14, in 3 years, I'll be 17, and I will still be here (texas)am I the youngest one in the GOO, or are there some shy ones that barely show themselves?

if 2 ppl are pretty close together, to save gas and money, they should go together, i.e., in the same state, or 1 state over, for instance, I know rhi comes to texas all the time, so it would be reasonable for us to hook up and go together (just a suggestion, don't assume any obligations)

*looking for interactive maps for plotting locations on the internet...*

[YayGollum]

Ack! I thought that we were sticking to the Route thing first of all. Hmph. oh well. I would most probably be twenty-one by this time and living in Florida. Doesn't sound very convenient for anyone else. Also, I am an evil and cheap person. Why should I buy a car when I don't need one? oh well. It's years away and I don't know what might come over me by then.

[HobbitGirl]

You don't necessarily have to contribute a car, Yay, but you have to contribute something. The rule is, anyone who goes contrubutes something, whether it be money to live on, a car, camping equipment, RV, van, or trailier to put all our stuff in. Gotta contribute.

The reason why I started with Route is so that we can acertain who all is going and where the heck this whole thing is taking us. So, everyone in the GOO say whether or not you're coming, and make a list of place you want to go as well as the places you live in. Whether we start out from a coast and pick everyone up or meet somewhere in the middle we should list places. I'll compile a huge list of everyone's places, get out a really big map, and we'll work out a route from there.

YES, I am going. A bit obvious, isn't it? :D

1.) Sandy, UT, because I live there.
2.) Fallbrook, CA, because Kailita lives there.
3.) Denver, CO, because Mablung lives there.
4.) Talahassee, Florida because a good friend of Kailita's lives there.
5.) Phoenix, AZ because two of my best friends live there.
6.) Southern Utah, because it's chalk full of national parks.
7.) Possibly somwhere along the East Coast, because I've never stuck my toes in the Atlantic.
8.) Definitly somewhere along the West Coast, because I NEED to stick my toes in the Pacific.
9.) Any and all national parks and monuments on the way.

Now what about ya'll?

[Rhiannon]

(The Pacific is....a lot like the Atlantic)

Okay, lessee

Either Altus, Oklahoma, or Abilene, Texas (only a few hours apart, but I'll probably be living in one or the other)
Fayettville, NC, because my best friend lives there.
Tom's River, NJ, because I have a couple of friends living there.
New York, NY, because I've always wanted to go there.
The Mall of America (forget where exactly that is) same reason.
Grass Valley & Nevada City in California, because they're called the 'Hay-on-Wye of America'
Scotland, TX, Tennyson, TX, and Byron, TX, because I want my picture taken with the town sign :D

[Talierin]

Denver's good, I live there :D

Not sure if I'll be joining you guys or not, but you can always come visit!

[Rhiannon]

Oh yes, and Denver because Tal lives there!

Preferably Denver during Ren Fest season.

[Talierin]

Runs all summer, June-July ;)

[Dragon]

mm...

I live in Ft. Worth TX, but the only other place I can think of that I really wanna go is Seattle WA bc my aunt and uncle live there (and they have the coolest house EVER!*ahem* )

[YayGollum]

New Orleans, because of the good food.
New Hampshire, because it's the greatest state in the world.
The entire state of Oklahoma, because it's the most exciting place in the world. :rolleyes:
No boring monuments or nature type things. Too popular. Anyways, why should anyone write that they will or will not go? You people are talking about three years. Too long. Or maybe I'm just an insane person who doesn't have his schedule planned that far ahead. Right now, I just know where I'm going after this post.

[Rhiannon]

The entire state of Oklahoma, because it's the most exciting place in the world.

HAHA AHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, Yay, you kill me.

New Orleans! New Orleans! Definitely New Orleans!

[kohaku]

Wow, I see lots of places on those lists that I want to visit! Three years from now... I will be in grad school, either Florida, California, or Hawaii (my top choice!) so who knows if I could even come. What a good idea, though! I definitely suggest anywhere in the Pacific northwest, it's a great area. And if you're ever around Ohio, I highly recommend Cedar Point for roller coaster junkies, or the Lake Erie area in general as a nice place to spend the day.

[Sador]

Don't suppose this outcast road-trip-convoy-type thing will be coming past Sydney Australia?

[YayGollum]

Don't even worry about it. I'm sure that we shall all have the ability to contribute to plane tickets for everyone. :rolleyes: Ack. Doobedoobedoo... three years is too far away. *runs away*

[HobbitGirl]

*looks over list so far* Wow, lots of places in Texas...Kailita won't be too happy...oh well, I'll just force her to get in reading Wheel of Time while we're in Texas or something. ;)

No national parks, Yay? *scoffs* Dude, have you ever even been to a national park? Like the Grand Canyon? Canyonlands? Mesa Verde? Bryce? Zion? Arches? Crater Lake? If you've been to any one of those places and seen even a little bit there you wouldn't be talking like that. *folds arms*

Everyone, we're dragging Yay to the Grand Canyon to go white-water rafting.

[Dragon]

sounds good 2 me....

:D K may not like it, but ur not getting me unless sum1s in texas.

[kohaku]

I vote we swing by Australia! Anyone own a private plane??:D

[Kailita]

Yeah, yeah! Let's go get Sador and Kohaku! :D

Texas...*mutters*...:rolleyes:;)

I don't think I have any particular preferences as to where we go, as long as it's interesting. :) And I'll live with the Texas thing as long as we prohibit the playing of country music for more than an hour at a time. :rolleyes:

[kohaku]

Well I don't actually live in Australia. It's just one of the top places on this earth that I want to visit!! Of course, a lot can happen in three years...

Never been to Texas. I'd like to check it out sometime though.

[My_Precious]

Great Idea! Although, as Yay already said, 3 years is a long time indeed. But who knows? If everybody STILL wants to go three years from now, I'm going!
Well, then:
1. Chicago, Illinios - that's where I live now. (By then I'll be 21-22, so we'll see, I will probably move out by then, but I haven't decided where I want to live yet).
2. Madison, Wisconsin (In three years I'll be starting my 4th year, and I am planning on transferring there. I was admitted there once, how hard will it be? And I love that city, so I'll probably will be staying there after I graduate. But since it is not really in the middle of the country, it'd be no problem for me to drive to Illinois to meet somebody? Or all of you guys.)

And I guess I would just like to see the country, because I never had an opportunity to, especially Texas and New Orleans.
Lets raise our glasses to J. R. R. Tolkien who keeps on bringing people together through his stories, and beyond them.

[Dragon]

*raises a little plastic cup w/ a smilie face on it*

hmm.... I'd like to go to australia, but.... well, we'll worry about that later

and as for country music.... bleghalkjaosdihfc I hate country music. I can't even take 1 song. it's just so horrible I don't kow of anyone who would force you to listen to country music, K, and if anyone tries, I will personally be strangling them.:rolleyes: ;) :D

[Rhiannon]

Precious! You live in Chicago??? BookExpo America is there! Gosh, what I wouldn't give to be in Chicago in June....*whimpers*

Texas rules! But I'm with Kaia, there will be NO playing of country music WHATSOEVER. NONE. Country music is not outcasty and is forbidden!

[Kailita]

So then Chicago is definitely on the list of places to hit up, then. Are you keeping track of all this, HG? ;)

Originally posted by Dragon
I don't kow of anyone who would force you to listen to country music, K, and if anyone tries, I will personally be strangling them.
Originally posted by Rhiannon
I'm with Kaia, there will be NO playing of country music WHATSOEVER. NONE. Country music is not outcasty and is forbidden!
Thank goodness. :rolleyes: Country music is evil and not outcasty...and D will personally punish anyone who tries to force me into listening to it. :p I am much relieved.

[My_Precious]

Originally posted by Rhiannon
Precious! You live in Chicago??? BookExpo America is there! Gosh, what I wouldn't give to be in Chicago in June....*whimpers*
June 2004? Well, if you decide to come, we definitelly should hang out! Plus, I've never actually been to BookExpo, and it sounds interesting...
:)

[Rhiannon]

I am dying to go, but my parents aren't being very helpful- I'll be 18! It could be my senior trip! Pleeeeeeease! eish. I know a bunch of people that will be going, and who have gone before, and who say that BEA is nothing but awesomeness and free books. Wheeeee!!!!

So, whenever this roadtrip happens, we have to go wherever the BEA will be that year- it rotates between Chicago, NY, and....Los Angeles, I think.

[The-Elf-Herself]

*looks sheepish* I know I've been absent this past bit, but can I come along? Hmmm, by then I'll be nineteen in 2005(sorry, 2004 is simply a no-go fer me), heck by next summer I plan to have a license and a car-so I can meet anyone along the way. Shoot, I'll have to plan this around my other outcast road trip(beware GOOers of the Outcasts Haven, be VERY afraid! Mwahaha! :D ). I don't care where we go, so long as it's fun and I can take as many books, cds, extra batteries, notebooks, and sharp pencils as I want!

I'm going to be going to Geneva College by then, just finishing up my first year as a writing major. It's on the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. Like I said above, the biggest thing that will affect my plans is that I'm planning a lot of other trips that summer as well. ;) Um, my car will probably be a little five-passenger thingy. *shrugs* Just FYI fer ya there.

Oh yeah, and not that I think anyone would be 'Foolin' Around'-we're amazingly cool outcasts, after all-but I'm bringing a Super-Soaker 2000 just in case, mwahaha...:D

Also, any country music CDs brought along will be properly exorcised with a sledgehammer to get the evil whining out, courtesy of Yours Truly. :D

[Dragon]

does that mean I get to bring my water guns too? *maniacle grin*:D :D :D

where did the 2004 come from? I thought we were talkin 3 or 4 years?

[My_Precious]

I was asking if the BookExpo was happening in 2004. The Outcast trip, if it's still happening, is going to be in 3-4 years.
Also, I hate Country Music as well, but I happen to like some of Faith Hill's songs... (Usually I listen to rock and punk rock).

[Kailita]

Yes Jam! Of course you can come! :D Oh, this is going to be so much fun if we can make it work...*speculates*...

Supersoakers! Sledgehammers! Books and cds and notebooks! And no country music! How can it get any better? :D

[Sador]

Maybe I could start saving and in 3 or 4 years I might have the price of a ticket to the States.
I would fly to LA and set out from there picking up Outcasts along the way and finish up in NY for the Book Expo thingy.Stopping at various national parks to spray water at country music fans.

[Arebeth]

Would it be my occasion to see America?

Ahem. Well, in July 2005 I'm supposed to go to Japan to see the universal exhibitition-thingy (how do you say that?)
Plus, I hope that by this time I will be planning my departure to UK (mmm... still have problems with my parents about it...)

But anyway, I will follow the idea.

[Kailita]

Well, we're not leaving for three to four years, which means summer of 2006 or 2007, so you still have time, Arebeth. :) And Sador, you should definitely come! Think how much havoc we could reak!...er, I mean, how much fun we could have...:rolleyes::D

[Sador]

OK Kal I'll make it a goal. 2006 or 2007 I'll be 42 or 43 years old and from what I've read most of you guys will be early to mid twenties, so I could be the responsible mature one!!! Not a situation I am too familiar with.
Imagine getting an old school bus for cheap in LA and gradually filling it with Outcast Tolkien fans as we wind our way along route 66 or whatever. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test without the acid(I'm insane enough already).

[HobbitGirl]

*backpedals*
*backpedals*
*backpedals*

*takes a deep breath*
*begins to blither anyway*
*gets a grip*

*deep breath*

Okay...so far we have...(whack me if I missed anything!)

-Sandy, UT
-Fallbrook, CA
-Denver, CO
-Talahassee, Florida
-Phoenix, AZ
-Southern Utah
-Possibly somwhere along the East Coast
-Definitly somewhere along the West Coast
-Any and all national parks and monuments on the way
-Either Altus, Oklahoma, or Abilene, Texas
-Fayettville, NC
-Tom's River, NJ
-New York, NY
-The Mall of America
-Grass Valley, CA
-Nevada City, CA
-Scotland, TX
-Tennyson, TX
-Byron, TX
-Ft. Worth, TX
-Seattle, WA
-New Orleans
-New Hampshire
-The entire state of Oklahoma
-the Pacific northwest
-Cedar Point, Ohio
-Chicago, Illinios
-Madison, Wisconsin
-Book Expo America
-The Pennsylvania/Ohio Border (Geneva College)

*blithers some more at thought of plotting this all out on a map*
*decides to wait until it's an earlier hour in daylight than midnight to undertake this task*

Ok...did I miss anything? Did I? Huh? Huh huh huhuhuhuh??

No country music...*does sign of cross* *sends up silent prayer of thanks*

*hordes sledgehammer in bedroom so she can directly transfer it to her car when she gets one*

[Sador]

Maybe we could swing past Nashville blaring some Punk or Electronica while spraying with our super soakers anyone wearing gingham.

[My_Precious]

So is the big TTF convention still on? Or did they cancell it? I was thinking about going, but I haven't heard anything about it in a long time.:confused:

[HobbitGirl]

Urgh...I dunno anything about the convention. I wanted to go to it, cause they said it would be in Denver and that's way close to Utah, but I don't know what the story is anymore. *pouts*

*plots and plans for a time when she can steal her dad's computer and plot out all locations using his nifty Microsoft Map Point*