Road trip USA
By interstate or back road, there's a book to help you
out&emdash;or scare you
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The Lost Continent. Bill Bryson. Abacus $12.95. 293 pages.
Uneasy Rider: The Interstate Way of Knowledge. Mike Bryan.
Knopf $35.00. 349 pages.
There isn't a car buff I know that hasn't at one point or another
told me that they wanted to drive cross-country. Oddly enough,
"cross-country" has usually meant across the USA, not across Canada.
Perhaps because there's such a large variety of routes to choose
from; perhaps because it's simply warmer down there; perhaps they're
having fantasies about running a one-car cannonball run. Whatever the
case, the trip across the States in an interesting car is one of the
most oft-voiced automotive fetishes I've yet to come across.
Mike Bryan and Bill Bryson&emdash;both travel authors of some
repute&emdash;aren't immune to these feelings, and both succumbed to
the urge to see the country out the window of a car. The urge seems
for both to be a magnetic one; after leaving Des Moines as soon as he
was able, Bryson came back from England almost twenty years later to
finally do the trip. The idea had been stewing in the back of Bryan's
mind for almost as long, and much to his wife's chagrin, wouldn't go
away until he could put his book together.
As similar as the motivations for the cross-country trip may seem,
the approach that the two writers take is radically different.
Bryson takes the typical travel-writer tack, getting himself an
old car (a Chevette) and tackling the country's back roads, staying
as far away from the interstates as he can, moving from historical
site to historical site, from the glitz of Graceland to the heart of
Amish country. He hauls the Chevette up the Rockies and rolls down
the Las Vegas strip. In almost three months of driving, it never
gives up on him&emdash;something which really impresses him.
But why avoid the interstates, argues Bryan, when they are so
clearly the foundation of modern American culture? Why relegate
yourself to a homely car when you can afford something better? "I had
decided that the tradition of the great American road book had lost
its way on the back roads," he says. The interstates are "America as
it is and as it is becoming; the real thing, like it or not." So he
gets into a black Mustang convertible and drives to California from
Dallas. And then back. And back to California again, unearthing all
sorts of locales and characters along the many ways, and checking up
on those that he's visited before.
Each book's tone is also quite distinct. Bryson's a lot more
lighthearted about it all, gazing upon even the stupidest sights with
laughter rather than any kind of condemnation. It's all new to him,
and he tries not to judge, and even picks up a few tacky souvenirs
along the way. He's charmed many a time, often by people whom we'd be
quick to avoid&emdash;the documentation of which is the very best
part of the book.
While Uneasy Rider certainly has a sense of humor, Bryan's view on
what America has become is a lot more critical. He passes countless
depressing-sounding businesses, interviews a passel of religious
zealots for whom he thinks there's nothing left in the world, and
ironically ends up hoping that "Blue Highway" writers like Bryson
have it right&emdash;that America hasn't come down to this. Nice car
or not, the sights and sounds and smells just beside the interstates
aren't very savory.
As divergent as the books may be, though, Bryson and Bryan both
tell of a country that is very much alive; a country that thrives on
its roads and its highways, and on the automobiles (from Chevettes to
Mustangs) that criss-cross them every day. If you've always wanted to
make a cross-country trip, but don't have the time or financial
resources, both books are a great way to live vicariously; if you are
planning such a trip (luck you,) both of them are invaluable
resources.
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If you are planning a road trip in the States, make sure to check
out Cars and Culture's road trip page
<http://www.carsandculture.com>
for maps, directions and lodging advice. MapQuest
<http://www.mapquest.com>
has an invaluable service called TripQuest where you punch in your
address and the address of the person you're visiting&emdash;then it
plots an exact door-to-door course for you. Automobile Magazine's
webpage
<http://www.automobilemag.com/>
also has a Trips section; the emphasis here is on great driving roads
and fine dining.