moment tour
Time: 9:57am.
Date: May 1st, 2011.
I inhaled the fragrance of hotel gardens and freshly paved asphalt mingling throughout the mid-morning Atlanta heat while I schlepped my overstuffed duffle bag from the parking lot into my first hotel lobby of the tour.
There I was. Waiting and anticipating the arrival of my crew and office-space-on-the-road that were about to transform the next 7 months of my life. The second my eyes caught the glimmer of the silver beauty we call the Airstream, butterflies immediately filled my stomach. I know what you’re thinking right now… How can this girl have a crush on an inanimate object? I don’t get it either people, but it happened and you need to know the level of excitement here.
As the trailer hypnotized my eyes while it paraded around the parking lot, I broke focus for a second to study the beast of a truck that towed the silver bullet. This black GMC sported fierce red body art on its sides, and I realized that I was beholding my new home away from home. As the 57 feet of motorized vehicle came to a halt, the driver decked in camo pants and a Mountain Dew t-shirt swung open his door and stuck out his hand to give me a friendly “Hi there, I’m Gary.”
Gary… the man, the myth, the driving legend. Right in front of my eyes. I couldn’t wait to get this show on the road and get to know this coworker of mine. After the whole crew united and unhitched the trailer to ride in the truck for the first time, I noticed that GareBear (already on a nickname basis on day one) had two particularly adorable passengers on the right side of his dashboard. I picked up the star-spangled monkey and dog and asked him their names.
“Oh they are just my Little Buddies,” he replied. I was SO amazed that this burly truck driving machine had chosen these two little co-pilots that I decided what better way to honor our 5th and 6th passengers than to document the journey from The Little Buddies’ point of view. In this video, you’ll see a glimpse of the road through their eyes.
As we drove from city to city, state to state, the Little Buddies witnessed it all. They were the only other crew members who knew of the hilarity that ensued inside the cab as Gary recorded us sleeping in some of the more unattractive positions this world may ever know. They heard our private karaoke sessions to Bohemian Rhapsody and Bennie and the Jets. They listened to Ben’s corny one-liners and techie twitter updates, Gary’s war stories and cringe-worthy jokes, Dave’s quest to be the truck’s best DJ, Jess’s vivid dreams from the night before and my bizarre what-if scenarios that I’d often present to the crew for entertainment.
Yes, these Little Buddies encountered…
The line dancers of Waco
The blackberry winters of Fayetteville
The Randol’s Cajun cuisine of Lafayette
The steamboats of Mobile
The La Parillas of Macon
The alligators of Myrtle Beach
The Rib Fests of Winston Salem
The Harbor Fests of Norfolk
The Salvation Armies of Springfield
The Ben and Jerry’s of Burlington
The wing kings of Buffalo
The lakes and fireworks of Erie
The Tincaps of Toledo
The Ninjas of Lansing
The tweetups of Fort Wayne
The Grand View Drive of Peoria
The Trash Can Annies of Davenport
The Packer practices of Green Bay
The alpine coasters of Duluth
The concerts of Fargo
The libraries of Topeka
The state fairs of Kearney
The reptile gardens of Rapid City
The dance clubs of Missoula
The mountains of Salt Lake City
AND the California burritos of San Diego
Words will never do justice what an honor it has been to serve alongside the Little Buddies, Gary, Ben, Dave, Jess and everyone of you this summer. Each one of your stories make this tour go ‘round, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what a pleasure you’ve made it to partner with you on this adventurous celebration of the voices of America.
Thank you for putting the “aha” in my moments over the past 7 months,
Natalie
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