Sunday, July 19, 2009

On The Road Again !

As mentioned in the below post, there have been quite a few stories about travelling on various blogs of late, which I suppose is normal this time of year. One of the most amazing of which is here at Halfway to France. . . a roadtrip of epic proportions. If I had no choice but to live on the road for any long period, I think the vehicle pictured below might be a good choice for such an adventure. . . this creation was spotted at an event billed as the Brandywine Folk Festival, a few years back. If you were going to set out for a life on the road, how would you like to go ???
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31 comments:

English Rider said...

Tie-Dye T-Shirts DeRigeur, of course!

James said...

I would rather go in something from here. :-)

Amy said...

I think I would really prefer an airstream, but this makes quite the gypsy cart!

Sar@h said...

Comme je ne suis pas mécanicienne, je voudrais juste un bon moteur qui tourne [& économique].
Après quelque chose de modeste qui ne pue pas le clinquant friqué comme on envoit sur nos parkings face à la mer.

Si vous avez le temps, j'ai retrouvé cette note :
http://sarah-perso.hautetfort.com/archive/2007/06/29/petit-bonheur-196.html

Steve said...

How fantastic. A shed on wheels. Perfect. Every blokes dream surely?

Arnaud said...

20 ans....
Ce joli cliché date de 20 ans... Je suis sûr que ce chalet motorisé doit encore être en état, non ?
OK, peut être quelques couches de vernis sur le bois, mais sinon ???

J said...

Having someone else driving! ;) That trailer is quite superb, and it had to be a folk festival with those t-shirts.

Álvaro said...

Fantastic photos!
Greetings from Spain.

Jenny said...

Owen,

I would like to go with an old horse driven circus-van. Then, it would be great if there were electricity and running water there as well. ;) Ehm…

Really nice pics, as usual.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow, that is quite a vehicle, lol! Since I plan to do just that, travel across Canada, the U.S. and perhaps Mexico, I'll be doing it in comfort in an RV. Not sure when I'll get to that dream, but it's definitely in my future! Although if it were a short trip, say, under a month? I'd pack a tent and hit the road! :)

Owen said...

Hi English... yes, tie-dyed shirts are required if one wants to get invited to sit on the back porch here and drink a beer...

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James, wow, looks big... and expensive... not sure it would be at home in the muddy cornfields of obscure folk festivals... but that's ok, different strokes for different folks...

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Hey Amy, hmm an Airstream ? Like one of the old aerodynamic airplane aluminum looking ones ? That might be alright... makes me think of Tom Robbins book Skinny Legs and All, in which an Airstream gets converted into a giant mobile home rolling turkey...
Good reading ! ;-D

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Salut Sarah, c'est fabuleux tes Citroens soudées ensemble... drole de création... j'aime ce genre de vision !!! Merci pour le lien...

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Hey Steve, I guess you could call it a "shed", or maybe a "shack". Maybe this is where people go when they want to "shack up" together ???

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Arnaud, tes divinations dans le temps sont remarquablement justes... c'était il y a 20 ans effectivement... comment tu as pu tomber si juste ??? Il y avait une indice ??? Tu as cherché sous Brandywine Folk Fest ??? Et oui, un peu de vernis serait le bienvenu... j'espère qu'elle existe encore... je voudrais bien le croire, qu'elle n'a pas été mangée par des termites !

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Ah J., so mademoiselle wants to be driven, chauffeured around in a rolling home ? Just have to find the right chauffeur I guess ?

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Alvaro, thanks ! Appreciate your visits !

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Jenny, sounds great ! Horses and circus vans ! I suppose when Magic Lantern shows were travelling about the American west they were in horse drawn wagons... so I'm going back to my imaginary roots with this... although yeah, running water is nice, especially in the form of a hot shower !

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Rain, hope you can find the right RV to do your dream trip in. You also might like Tom Robbins "Skinny Legs and All" if you haven't read it already... but a tent is good too... I once did a bit of hitch-hiking in Wyoming and Montana with a tent for a home... those were the days ! :-D

Arnaud said...

Pas de divination, juste 2 yeux qui ont regardé le nom du fichier ! ;-)
Zut, je viens de casser la magie de ma future carrière de médium ! Mais je ne désespère pas de trouver, comme toi, une vraie lanterne magique !

ladydi said...

I can't imagine why U.S. automakers haven't thought to add a porch to more vehicles - such a luxurious chariot you have selected - LOL! Brandywine must be a popular name - we have a Brandywine art festival around here, as well as Brandywine Falls, Brandywine Ski Resort, etc.

Anonymous said...

A gypsy caravan like Mr Toads from "Wind in the Willows"

GG

Buskitten said...

Flippin ek Owen, that is amazingly cool! I'll be trying to get one of those up the drive next!

Alexandra MacVean said...

Hmmm...never even thought about that question before. I will have to ponder on it awhile and get back to you as to what I would like to travel in for the rest of my life!

LOVE the photo. :)

jeff said...

Owen ! Tu ne passeras jamais aux péages ! Soit un peu réaliste...! Mais même si tu prends les départementales ! Je connais quelques virages pour monter sur le causse qui n'accepterons pas cette forêt ambulante ! Tu veux en faire toujours à ta tête...! Tu as repassé une couche de "Bondex" au moins ?... Hein !... Il a passé tout l'hiver dans le garage ou dans le jardin... je te dis pas l'état des planches ! Au premier coup de frein, tu vas voir passer toutes les planches du toit devant ton pare-brise ! ! !
Enfin ,je t'aurais prévenu ! En tout cas, ni je passe devant en bagnole, ni derrière !... Pas fou moi !
Oh ! Sans rire ! Quel camping-car ! La vache ! The cow !...

Bye Owen ! Je t'ai à l'oeil !... Tu prends pas la route avec... ça... et ta bouteille planquée sous le fauteuil passager !
Ouah ! A plus !....<8:))))

namaki said...

hummm je pense que j'adorerais voyager dans ce camion ... looks very cosy !!

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Yes, that's the way to travel, Owen. I used to try to convince my husband to make one of these when we lived in California. No go. He didn't have the romance of the road addiction. I thought it was extremely creative way to travel. Especially, if you combined it with folk stories, writing, painting, photography and/or a bit of guitar playing. <3

The Sagittarian said...

I'm not sure it would be sudden-big-pothole-proof? Looks like a wine-spiller to me but what a way to travel, very romantic...just add champers and M'sieur Depp and we're away (Mr Brown still a no-show)

robert said...

Good morning Owen,
back from Vienna where carriages drawn by horses where roaming through the streets, nice to see your photography.
Life on the road, would like to spend it 'walking'...once had the dream of walking towards UlanBator...guess have to wait a couple of years still.
Please have a nice start into the new week - and thank you very much for your comments!

Margaret Pangert said...

I'd like to go in the RV from the movie About Schmidt that was the size of the "Death Star." and one more thing: Jack Nicholson in the driver's seat, of course!

CiCi said...

I could easily live in a fifth wheel and travel all over. That way the fifth wheel could be left at camp someplace and we could go exploring in the truck with cameras and food.

Marguerite said...

I would love to travel all over Europe in any kind of vehicle. The one in the photo reminds me of a gypsy caravan. Great shots, Owen!

Just for the record, I wanted to pass the Kreativ Blogger award along to you, but I saw that someone else had beat me to it. You're too much!!

Adam said...

I've just come back from a trip, but I prefer to take the train! Actually, I don't even have a driving licence so I wouldn't be much use on a road trip!

SP said...

Now, for style purposes, this van wins out but as for reliability? I'm not sure this would last on a road trip beyond the end of my road... Thanks for the comments too - and yes, you were right, a "swift half" is a drink... It seemed apt for a day time pub shot.

Owen said...

Sacré Jeff, j'étais mort de rire lisant tes remarques !!! LOLOL ! Tu as raison, certains virages pour monte sur les Causses sont plus que serrés. L'image de cette forêt ambulante est riche, comme l'image de tout un tas de planches qui ferait un bordel monstre sur la route au premier freinage un peu sec. C'est clair, ne me suis pas de trop près, et si tu vas devant, reste loin devant ! Comme ça au moins je serais tranquil sur la route ! Mieux peut-être de la garer qq part dans les montagnes our sur une Causse, et ne plus bouger... Alors, le Mistral s'est calmé ??? Ou tu es encore tout ébouriffé? Ciao mon ami, merci pour le grand rire à plein poumons !

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Namaki, tu as surement raison, je n'ai pas vu l'intérior, mais je pense que sur l'échelle cozy, ça doit être à 9 ou 10 sur 10... :-D

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Hi Cynthia, definitely a fine way for artists to travel... in the list of fun blogs in sidebar, there is one called "At the Hermitage" which you may enjoy taking a quick peek at if you haven't already... a pair of artists living in a home on wheels a bit like this one... and doing stunningly beautiful artwork...

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Dear Saj, on big potholes all the boards fall off in the road, causing massive traffic jams while owners pick them all up... but that's a small price to pay for travelling in style like this ! LOL ! I'm game for champers !

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Hi Robert... walking to Ulan Bator, now that is a PROJECT... well, if that is your dream, I hope it will come true some day... I'd like to go there too, maybe in a camel caravan though ?

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Ah Margaret, a giant RV eh ? With Jack at the wheel ! Sounds like a plan ! LOL... have fun !!!

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TechnoB, exploring with cameras sounds GREAT... and tell me more about the food... food is important too... :-D The important part is to get out and see the world while we can...

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Bojour Marguerite... the gypsy image frome years ago remains romantic for sure... todays gypsies drive Mercedes and pull big caravans... and a big Merci Beaucoup for thinking of me for an award, that is lovely, I'll accept it in spirit... in fact, that's the best kind I think !

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Hey Adam, hope you had a great trip wherever you were... and in a way I envy you, not having a license, the automobile is a source of many major problems in the world today for sure, but on the other hand, it does bring a certain freedom, I could never have done the WWI graveyard detective work the other day in one day without wheels...

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SP ; No doubt not the most practical vehicle ever created, not good for small country roads... but it has a certain charisma... well, we could have a swift half and discuss it... or a slow whole pint too... ? :-D

Roxana said...

wow, these pictures are even better that the previous ones - one could start writing a novel based on each of the two. i can't stop dreaming about the two t-shirts there...
for me trains have more charm, but i agree that a car drive can become, under certain circumstances, equally romantic :-)

(i have to laugh, you have the tag 'dream cars', i have one which reads: 'dream women' :-)

ps. no, i don't know that zen-car book, must be an interesting read, though.

Owen said...

Hi Roxana, The "dream cars" and "dream houses" on the blog are for the "dream women" in my life... or not in it, as the case may be... (If you go down the sidebar to the labels index, and click on "Dream Cars" or "Dream House" you can pull up the past posts on those themes, of which there are a few. Some people think I have strange ideas about dream houses and cars... but that's just me and my visions...)

If not familiar with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I'd highly recommend it, it isn't really about motorcycles or cars at all, its a philosophy work, an inner journey, and beautifully told...

They are nice looking t-shirts... American hippy days...

Batteson.Ind said...

hahahahaha!!... so you like the book!.. :-D I ironically couldn't get into it at all, I suppose the philosophy of zen is far too complex for tiny minded mountain folk!lol.. anyway, if I did travel somwhere, it would have to be by horseback.. I would love to travel europe or somewhere with my horse (if I had one).. failing that, a vw camper (predictable but true)... feck it, I'm so desperate to see the world I would fecking walk!..lol

Owen said...

Dear Cats, just now saw where you slipped this in... yeah, I did love that book, the journey he takes with his son is so terribly touching, even if he does go off on a few sort of long winded tangents, it still felt awfully human to me... hmmm, sounds like you're going to have to find a way to finance those travels... hope the Anne Marie song was not the intended source of financing ! err the subject of the song ! Maybe the song itself, if you can sell enough copies, would get you started on a round the world tour... in the meanwhile, hang in there, and hang cool !