I'd like to meet:
other travelers.
people who live in all states, or would want to hang out in any state during the time that we'll be there!
Taken From The Detroit Free Press (www.freep.com):
The garage was filled with clothes and shoes and stacks of DVDs and posters of Marilyn Monroe -- almost all their worldly possessions. Everything was for sale: $2 for a shirt, $1 for a candle, $20 for a chair.
A shopper walked up the driveway, lured by the moving-sale sign, the kind that pops up every weekend in this age of foreclosures.
"Who is leaving?" asked Deanna Morin, 42, a hairstylist from Westland.
"We are," said Rosie Maynard, 23.
Maynard and her best friend, Holly Antal, 20, sat in the shade of a 1966 Shasta trailer that they plan to live in for the next year.
"Out of state?" Morin asked.
"Yep."
"You have to," Morin said. "There are no jobs here."
Maynard, Antal and Christopher Wells, 20, plan to leave Michigan on Wednesday, following a wave of young people. There is a growing despair in Michigan, especially for people in their 20s, who can't see a future here because of the bleak economy.
But Maynard, Antal and Wells don't want to give up on Michigan.
They love it here. This is where their families are. This is home. So they have decided to sell all their belongings and travel for a year, visiting every state but Hawaii and Alaska. Then, they plan to come back and apply what they've learned on the road. They are on a mission to make Michigan better.
"We will be able to see how different people work in different economies," says Maynard, who is the ringleader and called "Momma Rosie" by her friends. "What exactly are they doing differently that people our age don't do in Michigan? There has to be something. It can't all be chance and circumstance."
Maybe they will find a new business to open here. Maybe they will find a new approach or solution. Or maybe they'll bring back nothing more than fresh perspective and renewed hope.
They plan to go to Austin, Texas, because they've heard it has a vibrant music scene, and Arizona because so many of their friends have gotten teaching jobs there, and Seattle. "I heard on 'Oprah' that Seattle has the best housing market," Antal said. "We want to go and experience the difference."
They want to come back armed with knowledge, instead of just giving up and leaving.
Maynard, Antal and Wells call themselves the Three Travelers.
They want to see the Grand Canyon and New York City and San Francisco and Roswell, N.M., and everything in between. They want to experience life on the road, a coming-of-age experience that has lured countless others.
They plan to document everything online with videos, pictures and blogs. They are taking three digital cameras, a video camera, a laptop computer and two cell phones.
They will drive a 2002 Saab hatchback, nicknamed Sebastian, with a turbocharged engine and enough power to haul the trailer. They haven't named the trailer yet, but they "know it's a girl." Maynard bought it for $800.
The trailer will be cramped -- they have limited each other to three duffel bags of clothes -- and they know they will get sick of each other. "Guaranteed, without a shadow of doubt, there will be multiple points in time on this trip where we are gonna hate each other," Maynard said.
The trailer has three bunks, but no shower. They are taking a small microwave and a stash of canned food. They removed the kitchen and the furnace to create more storage space -- they plan to stay out of northern states during the winter. They will sleep in the trailer only when they are between destinations. Most of the time, they plan to crash with friends.
How they will pay for the trip is unclear.
"I am a little scared because I'm the financial person and the one who puts everything together," says Maynard, who was born in Southfield and lives in Westland. "I know it's gonna be really expensive and really hard."
They aren't sure how much the trip will cost or how much they will take with them; it depends on when they get their tax refunds and whether Maynard gets back her security deposit from her apartment.
"We have a few ideas on how to make money on the road, which we are hoping will keep us afloat," Maynard said.
One is to perform on street corners for donations. Wells plays the guitar, Maynard sings, and Antal plays a few instruments.
They are also asking for donations on their blog at www.myspace.com/livingontheroad.
If they run out of money, they figure they can stop and find part-time jobs.
"My big plan is to get side jobs," Antal said. "I've waitressed for three years. I can get a job here or there."
They will keep costs down by staying with friends. They know people in all but one state. "None of us knows anybody in Wyoming," Wells said.
Wherever they go, the Three Travelers will stand out. Antal has five tattoos. Maynard has a Mohawk, 30 tattoos and 10 piercings, including two in her lip and two in her nose. Wells said he has eight piercings and "more tattoos than I can possibly count."
Julie Antal, Holly's mom, is worried about how the three will be viewed. "When they go to some of these towns, a lot of people aren't as open-minded," she said. "They are great kids, but I'm afraid of them getting beat up or attacked because people are mean."
In her next breath, Julie Antal said that she wishes she would have done this kind of trip, at the same age: "But I would have wanted a big stash of money. And I don't know if I could do the camper thing, not knowing when you are going to shower."
After completing two years at Schoolcraft Community College, Maynard has worked in retail for 1 1/2 years. She has worked for more than one independently owned company that has failed. "They can't make it in our economy," she said.
Antal was born and raised in Livonia. After three semesters at Schoolcraft, she quit. She was working at a hotel as a waitress, but quit a week ago to go on this trip.
Wells was born in Royal Oak and lives in Westland. He is a professional body-modification artist, which means he pierces people and gives them tattoos. The shop where he worked went under in March. Wells has traveled extensively, and jumped at the idea of a trip. "I want to find my bearings, one way or other," he said. "I want to figure myself out. I'm so excited I can't express it."
But it might be hard for others to figure out the Three Travelers, without taking the time to get to know them. "It would be real easy to put labels on us," Maynard said. "But that's a big part of our trip, to defy stereotypes. If you would see me walking down the road, you would think, 'Is she scary?' But what it breaks down to is, I'm a Christian, I'm a good person, I work, I do whatever. You could call us punk-rock. You could call us hippie."
But they don't fit into any single category.Maynard posted her first blog about the trip late Thursday night.
Title: The Time is Nigh...
Current mood? Anxious.
"We're getting so close! In less than a week, we will be starting our yearlong road trip across the country (and maybe into a few others! Canada and Mexico, here we come?) and we are WAY TOO EXCITED! All we've been doing for the past two weeks is packing, throwing stuff out, picking what to take with us, and selling stuff in our garage sale. It's been very, very crazy, but we just can't wait to go!"
They plan to hit four states in the first four days, driving through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware and stopping in New Jersey for the Bamboozle Festival, where one of their friends is playing in a band. In May, they plan to drive through 20 states and the District of Columbia.
They have sold off most of their possessions, giving away the rest, trying to save only things with sentimental value, which has been an emotional but cleansing experience.
"Wow," Antal said at the garage sale, watching people walk away with her stuff. "We are beyond the point of no return now."
Some young people have left the state, in search of a job, in search of something new. It is unclear if they will ever come back.
But the Three Travelers plan to return in November for the holidays, and also to vote in the presidential election.
"We have to vote," Maynard said, "or we have no right to complain."
And The Follow Up:
The Three Travelers hit the road early Thursday on their year-long journey around the country, camping out later in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Rosie Maynard, 23, of Westland, Chris Wells, 20, of Westland and Holly Antal, 20, of Livonia plan to visit every state but Hawaii and Alaska. "I'm excited, but it's kind of scary," Maynard said.
They left at 1:45 a.m. Thursday. "The first 45 minutes, we were singing really loud, goofing off," she said.
They stopped in Groves City, Pa., parking their trailer in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
"I went inside to brush my teeth," Maynard said Thursday afternoon. "Right now, my cell phone is plugged into a wall at Wal-Mart. I don't know how they feel about that."
They planned to hang out in Pennsylvania for the rest of the day, hoping to hook up with a friend in Allentown. "He was in a band, and we got to know him on a tour."
This weekend, the Three Travelers will head to the Bamboozle, a music festival in New Jersey.
The Three Travelers are driving a 2002 Saab, pulling an old, cramped trailer. They want to experience life on the road, visiting hot, hip cities, looking for what works, trying to find ways to help Michigan.
They will document their trip online with videos, pictures and blogs. You can find a link to their Web site at www.freep.com/ontheedge.com.
After the Three Travelers were profiled in the Free Press, several readers called and recounted their own trips around the country. One reader offered to help fix up their apartment to make sure they got their security deposit back.
