TripZillaVenice Beach, California → Hollywood → Redlands, California → The Grand Canyon → Zion National Park, Utah → Las Vegas, Nevada → Phoenix, Arizona → Tuscon, Arizona → New Mexico → Amarillo, Texas → Austin, Texas → Houston, Texas → Bourbon Street → New Orleans, Louisiana → Mississippi → Pennsylvania → Portland, Maine
Also read: Discover Europe On A Thrilling Road Trip
If the above itinerary looks intimidating, well you are right. It definitely is. Just imagining a road trip like that has already got me tired. But there’s one fella. His name is Benjamin Jenks. He decided one day that he take up the route above (mind you that is from the west coast of United States to the east coast of US).
Just to put it in perspective, while travelling in Singapore from “east coast” to “west coast” will take you at most an hour or so, travelling in US from East to west is a slightly different animal. It spans four different time zones. Yes. Four. “Alright so he went on this big road trip, big deal” you must be thinking. People do that all the time. And you’re right. What people do not do however, is to get through the entire journey using only one mode of transport, hitchhiking.
So this is where the journey begins!
By the end of the video, you will fully understand the title of the project.
He meets so, so many people.
Not always humans though. Sometimes he bumps into the odd Na’vi or two.
Is he well liked? Judging by the expressions here, I’m not sure.
I’m just kidding. Everyone loves him. Especially the ladies.
Apparently adorable kids love him too.
What Benjamin has put together here, I feel, is a truly admirable work of art (no, I do not think its hyperbolic to refer to it as so). Reviving the nearly extinct practice of hitch-hiking, he lives up to the entire premise of his project, that he simply loves people. Literally, the only way he could have made it a successful trip is to befriend many, many people. By his estimates, nearly 1000.
And so many times we travel with a specific purpose, to tick this off our bucket list, or to see that spectacular mountain range. And it’s not wrong! But doing so, we neglect the most unique aspect of every country. The people.
So, what have you done today?
Also read: The Reality About Being On The Road
