Eric does America

April 2018 - May 2024

An open-ended adventure by Eric Read more

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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 15, 2018, 8:57am
- 🌧 1 °C
- Altitude: 203 m
- United States Illinois City of Chicago Grant Park 41.874453, -87.62464541°52’28” N 87°37’29” W
From Cafe Koepuur to Chicago o Hare
April 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 1 °C
Nobody said traveling would be easy, but somehow i did not expect the excitement to start already from my bed in Ghent.
After a great little get together in our favorite/only cafe at the faculty, setting my alarm clock, repeat setting my alarm clock, i peacefully went to bed, awaiting this great adventure which was about to start the next day. Unfortunately this idiot decided to ignore the alarm clock, and wake up at 07:00, when his plane takes off at 10:30 in the morning! Two near heart attacks later, a nice little full body check at customs and 17 hours of complete boredom on 2 airplane rides, i arrive in Chicago !
I instantly realize why they call this the Windy City, when i get off the train from the airport to downtown Chicago. It’s about 2 degrees out here, with a -10 degrees windchill factor.... but its awesome! I of course craved for a nice cigaret, and already was 15 bucks lighter. Maybe there’s no better time than now to quit? Well see how the other states are dealing with smokers :-).

After a good night sleep with great neighbors, which apparently have a great sex life, i am now starting my first day in Chicago, getting some breakfast, and if the rain is not too bad, check out the city a bit. Pictures will follow.

Tomorrow will be the big day, picking up my RV and hitting the road!

See ya later!

Eric

PS. Will obviously take more pictures soon, but this one is from a burger place near the hotel!Read more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 15, 2018
- 🌧 1 °C
- Altitude: 203 m
- United States Illinois City of Chicago Grant Park 41.874447, -87.62463441°52’28” N 87°37’29” W
Nice to meet you Chicago!
April 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 1 °C
The rain has stopped! Perfect time for a walk through downtown Chicago and do some primary camera testing. I soon find out that i my freshly bought lens takes ultrasharp pictures, but if you want to take pictures of buildings, the stuff that fits on your picture is pretty limited. Damn you fixed lens! Here are some first images i took during the day... maybe tonight if the weather allows, will try some evening pictures (exciting right!)

See ya later alligator!Read more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 16, 2018, 9:43pm
- ☁️ 0 °C
- Altitude: 192 m
- United States Illinois Fox Township Millbrook Ackleys Run 41.594479, -88.54072641°35’40” N 88°32’27” W
Day 1
Home sweet home!
April 16, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Finally the real Journey has started! After a good attempt of fitting in with the Chicago hipster community, by traveling by Uber-taxi to the RV rental office (keywords: Creditcard fail, back to old fashion and expensive taxi), i finally got my beloved home away from home!
I instantly realized that I must have not been drinking enough fluids today, because i did not literally piss my pants when i first saw this Tank of a vehicle. But hey, if there is a good way to die, or get somebody else really dead, this would be it! So i got in my beloved little tank, and drove off into the sunset.... not really... first get primary supplies right across the street; Basically water and beer, and some other stuff, but cannot remember ;-)
It turns out that driving this little tank is both difficult and easy at the same time. Going straight forward seems easy, until you have 20 km/h gust winds trying to push you off the road. Combine this with no sense of road placement at all, and you have made yourself a cocktail of death.
Fortunately my mind somehow managed to calibrate itself to the new road conditions and.... here i am on my first campsite in a town called: i don’t have clue where i am, and its in the wrong direction ( if there is a right direction in life, but lets not get philosophical just yet... )
So tomorrow, i will get some gas in the tank, get some pots and pans so i can make coffee in the morning and see where this journey takes me!
Hopefully somewhere warm, because this 1 degree cold and snow was not mentioned in the brochure!

See you later!

EricRead more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 17, 2018, 8:12pm
- 🌙 13 °C
- Altitude: 156 m
- United States Illinois Randolph Morrison Branch 37.968998, -89.80161337°58’8” N 89°48’6” W
Day 2
On the road !!!
April 17, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Still alive! And loving it.......
You might wonder why i sound so relieved, but my first night in the RV was quite the experience. Some of you might remember the night we spent in a tent in Heidelberg, but this was the same experience, but then not the „ we have to keep our bodies close together so we wont die“ kind of cold.
Short story: the heater went on strike, during the night... But i survived the 5 degrees temperature, and found a new source of happiness the next morning when the sun was saying hello, and the chipmunks watching me from a far distance (probably laughing, but I am not sure if chipmunks are capable of doing that), but i am making myself think that they were trying to tell me everything was going to be ok...
So, my first real traveling started. I am really getting used to driving my little tank, and even had the balls to take a sip from my coffee during the drive! The roads out here are really great actually, and my fear for the big freeways are almost gone ( except for the big intersections, but other drivers are pretty nice to give me some space when i tend to get in trouble. I now completely understand how truck drivers must feel....
I wanted to make some good amount of miles today, and after some advice from some awesome campground guests, i decided to drive all the way to st-Louis, and maybe pass it already, so that the next day the real scenic view drive down the Mississippi River starts!
I actually drove over the original Route 66 by the way!! Until i realized that the freeway next to it was a way more comfortable road to drive, and the view was exactly the same... so easy decision. After a good 300 miles, i found a beautiful campground for less then 20 bucks, including power supply, so i am quite happy to get a good night sleep.

Like i said, tomorrow i will head towards Memphis, on the so called Great River road, a scenic road that will eventually take me to New Orleans!

Be sure to watch the next episode of „ Eric does America, and how he can get lost, even with GPS system“

By guys.....Read more
Traveler What happens in Heidelberg stays in Heidelberg 🤐.
4/18/18Reply
Traveler Love the stories!!!!
4/18/18Reply
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 18, 2018, 9:58pm
- 🌙 12 °C
- Altitude: 142 m
- United States Kentucky Hickman County Columbus 36.761894, -89.10769436°45’43” N 89°6’28” W
Day 3
Down the Great River Road!
April 18, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
Yes! The sun has finally found its way back to Illinois. It’s a comfortable 20 degrees, and that’s all we need in life!
This also means that i can have actual water in the camper!! No more craving for coffee in the morning, and don’t even ask when the last time was that i had a shower :-).
Today my goal was to drive to Memphis, but somehow the last 4 days of traveling were finally catching up to me, so i did not travel as far today.
After a good breakfast, getting fuel (110 dollars ) and some provisions ( Chex mix, coffee ) i hit the road again. This time i followed part of the Mississippi River, which by the way is amazingly huge, as our good friend Mr Trump would describe it. In the beginning it seemed like there was not a lot to discover, but when i got more down south I entered the actual swamp land area. Just as i imagined. Unfortunately i could not really stop anywhere safe, so no pictures... After a good 3 hour drive i kind of felt like hitting a campsite a bit earlier than normal, so i could relax a bit longer.
In the evening i actually tried to take some night pictures of the Mississippi River, for a first try i think not too bad. And for the people who want to know how its like to drive in a RV, i actually managed to take a video while doing some driving!

Tomorrow i will decide if i will continue going down the Mississippi River, or take a turn to the west in Memphis.... maybe just let the dice decide!

See ya later alligator!

EricRead more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 19, 2018
- ⛅ 10 °C
- Altitude: 84 m
- United States Tennessee Shelby County Giles Town Barnishee Bayou 35.338047, -90.06026535°20’17” N 90°3’37” W
Day 4
Nothing special today... swamp swamp.
April 19, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Swamp and no internet connection all day
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 21, 2018, 1:47am
- 🌙 12 °C
- Altitude: 25 m
- United States Mississippi Washington County Erwin 33.10221, -91.0429133°6’8” N 91°2’34” W
Day 6
I took a right turn.........
April 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
I took a right turn. The campground that I was aiming for was closes, and the next one was about 1,5 hours driving, in the middle of the Missisippi bajou. Not knowing where to go, i drove back to the main road, despiritely looking for a place to boondock ( stopping in the middle of nowhere without power or anything), After driving for about 20 minutes, i saw 3 or more campers parked on the right side, and within a split second, i would take a turn to the right, which would change my evening completely.
I drove up on a big field with docked fishing boats, being welcomed by a 60 year old woman, who told me i could stay here for the night.
After making friends with her schitzu dog, more people arrived. They brought 40 pounds of crawfish and were going to make an original creon soup with it and had plenty of beer to share!. This meant taking a big pot, fill it with water., mushrooms, potatoes, unions, herbs, and ofcourse the still alive crawfish. When iit was ready they told me to take off the head, and suck the juice out of the head..... I did, and it tasted amazing! Ofcourse the meat was extremely tastefull.

So be it, because of that right turn I made, I ended up having a amazing diner locally prepared cooked potatoes and crawfish ( huge schrimp kind of animals), with a big bonfire, beer, clear sky, and good company!
These people were absolute local people, which aparently means they use the N-word a lot, and shows that racism is still a big thing here in the state of missisippi, but lets put that aside for a second, and not lose the moment....
After everybody went to bed, because they are going fishing tomorrow, i wet down the fireplace, which also took away the only light source in the vicinity, and watched the stars for a while.... Its just amazing how a decision of 1 second to make that turn made this into an amazing evening.....

Now i am going to bed at around 02:00 in the morning and will see what the next day will bring!Read more
Traveler GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! That is what I meant yesterday! By the way: where is the pic with the AK 47 you liked so much?
4/21/18Reply
Traveler How about allergies for shrimps?
4/21/18Reply
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 21, 2018
- ☀️ 20 °C
- Altitude: 87 m
- United States Louisiana City of Ruston 32.54281, -92.63488232°32’34” N 92°38’6” W
Day 6
Driving with a hangover...great idea :-\
April 21, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
I am never drinking again.... not with Mississippi hillbillies anyways. The cinnamon whisky, Miller Lite, caramel Schnaps, and let’s not forget the crawfish and sausage were not very nice to me the next morning. After waking up at 10 in the morning, I literally grabbed my stuff together and hit the road as soon as possible. What seemed like a great evening yesterday (which I truely believed that evening), could also be described in a more sober/ realistic way: Totally racist, drunk trailer trash people carrying knives and guns... So not to to tempt faith too much, I took off as fast as I could.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a great experience, but somehow some voice in my head said that this could have ended a lot different....
But.. We survived once more, and now I am heading into the sunset again.
I decided that I had seen enough of the swampland, racist hillbillies, and apparently there was more to come when i would go down south even more.. So I desided to leave Mississippi, and head east towards Texas. I didn’t drive far, and found a nice quiet campsite where I would stay for 2days just to recover from driving I had done all week. Too bad not many people were around to talk to, but somehow I did not care. just needed a good night sleep, get new provisions, and clean the septic tank... yes one of the better jobs when traveling with an RV.

Warm regards, and talk soon!

BTW here are some random pictures, as this day photography was not on my to do list...Read more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 23, 2018, 9:31pm
- 🌙 14 °C
- Altitude: 148 m
- United States Texas Van Enas Pond 32.508701, -95.64112932°30’31” N 95°38’28” W
Day 8
Pushing through to the West
April 23, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 14 °C
Short story this time, while have stopped at a truckers resting place, which means, food close by, and free overnight stay :-)
The only thing is that I can barely hear myself think due to the fact that two cooled trucks have parked next to me, and they need to run their generators.
but as they seem to be able to sleep, so will l !
but to get to the point... One of the campsite owners told me that crossing the southern states to the west would not really be a fascinating trip, I decided to put the pedal to the metal, and move towards California as fast as I can. I believe there’s way more stuff to see over there than in the south.
the First impression is already proving me right.. so I am putting on some good music, and will be cruising the interstate for 1 to 2 days, so I will have way more time in the Grand Canyon region. MAYBE, but only when I see that I have enough time, I could cruise the california coast once more, then go to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and further to Denver... but I need to check the amount of miles that I have left and the time ofcourse....
like I said , today I felt like a true truck driver, which definitely has its Charmes :-) Do I fit in ????

That’s all folks!Read more
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Traveler Eric does America
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- Apr 24, 2018
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Altitude: 288 m
- United States Texas Clay County Three Island Lake 33.757176, -98.39096833°45’26” N 98°23’27” W
Day 9
Thunderstorms and a bit of lonelyness...
April 24, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
The sound of cooling truck generators were apparently not as easy to block away as i thought. I think it would have been easier getting a good nights sleep when i would have slept inside a 747 engine at take off power, but who could have guessed! So just about when i was falling asleep from complete exhaustion, all the truckers decided to get up and start their engines! Damn you truckers... So Eric was up around 06.00 AM, and after 2 or three coffees i was ready to hit the road again. Like i said, I decided to go up north a bit again, due to the fact that there would be not al lot to see in the 2 day drive through the south of Texas. So let’s try Route 66 then! Again some good planning ahead Erics style! After a 3,5 hour drive, which was more boring than watching the grass grow, I arrived at a campsite in Witchita. Ofcourse it was completely empty again, so the social contact that i was hoping to make was limited to a couple of rabbits and an occasional mosquito buzzing in my ear. Something is starting to tell me that its not quite the right season for doing this type of thing, because nobody else is doing it. This was actually the first time i might have felt a little bit lonely, as i really expected to meet more people during my trip. It’s not that i am not enjoying myself, and the drives are still awesome, but if I had somebody around me to talk to once in a while would have been a bonus. Let’s hope when i get more to the touristic routes i will meet some more people....
Btw, i am not complaining, i know this type of journey by yourself can have its bad moments, but lets see the next day when i had some good sleep...

Time lapse.... its now around 10.00 PM and i noticed it started to get very windy and a bit of rain is falling down. Five minutes later the thunder started.... no problem... then the RV starts to shake a bit from the wind, and a shitload of rain is falling down... The flash and thunder is less than a second apart! I am starting to get nervous, because i am quite in an open field with only a couple of trees around me.
Then i check the US weather reports, apparently i am the lucky winner! In the whole state of texas, with about 50 counties, Only the county of witchita got a Special alert.... 50mph gusts, extreme thunderstorm, hailstones of half an inch. Luckily no Tornado alert though.... This lasted about an hour, and then i finally fell asleep! Great experience, but before the weather report, i actually felt like being in a storm chasers episode on the discovery channel!

Next morning i ofcourse completely overslept, and woke up at 10.30 AM , and quickly cleaned up, and headed towards my next destination, that would be Amarillo, taking me back on the Route 66!

Talk to you soon!
EricRead more
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