Your first trip

Where did you take your first road trip in the biz too. Mine was to Corvallis, Or. for the OSAA state softball championships. I remember sittin in a hotel in Eugene (my SE was convinced I wouldn't be able to get a hotel in Corvallis due to the NCAA baseball regionals being there also so I stayed in Eugene) eatin a superstar burger from Carls Jr writing my story with the Mariners game on.

 

I went to Bloomington, Ind., for a high school playoff soccer game. I wound up not having a remote because the world's biggest idiot hadn't brought it back in time for me to take it. As I was leaving the game to go find a phone to call my (very short due to dictation concerns) story in, the transmission in my car refuses to switch out of first despite my going 55 mph. I find a phone, car decides to work and my SE doesn't send me on another road trip of more than 30 miles until after I've bought a new car.

 

A high school "summer baseball" state finals (they had normal spring baseball, but small schools could opt to play summer baseball instead so they could have track and baseball teams basically made up of the same guys) in Stevens Point, Wisc. I felt all growed up, having a company pay for my food and hotel room. The real reason I asked to cover it was that a family friend lives in the area and I got to see him.

Modem wouldn't work from the press box or hotel, so I found a lonely Kinkos on the main drag. Thankfully, the game ended in the mid-afternoon, so deadline wasn't an issue.

 

By road trip, I assume you mean an overnight stay.
In college, it was for the NAIA tournament in KC.
My first job out of college, I lucked into the SEC beat in my second year there and my first road trip was to 'Bama.
My publisher wouldn't sign off on flights, so I had to drive, me and the photog.
It was about seven hours, and we stayed in some shit hotel along the way, and then stayed in some place even worse on the way back.
Good times though. I wouldn't trade that trip for nearly anything. Best memory was fighting over the time change. Photog kept saying we would be screwed because Tuscaloosa was an hour different and I was like, no its not. It was entertaining as we squabbled for hours in my lil' Civic.

 

Champaign, Ill., for the IHSA state football title game. My team won, and it was cold as balls (it was the day after Thanksgiving, and about minus-15 with the wind chill). But afterward, all of the writers went out for beers, so it was a good time.

 

Mine was sort of an impromptu. I found out I had a brother and planned to fly back to L.A., but he wouldn't get on the plane, so we ended up driving.

Then he didn't want to be on the interstate, so we took two-lane roads from Cincinnati to Cali.

Lots of stuff happened along the way. There was this crazy song that played on the radio with a lot of nonsensical lyrics. We also cheated at blackjack at the casino, yet somehow no one intervened even though we had a big crowd watching us.

When I got back to Cali, I just decided, "Fuck it," and sent my brother back to Ohio on a shiny train.

 

Side note: DyePack is an excellent driver.

 

DyePack's brother is an excellent driver.

DyePack just swears and throws underwear.

 

SON OF A BITCH! *echo*

 

My first overnighter for the job was to the tiny burg -- really, it doesn't even deserve to be called that -- of Adel, Georgia. (pronounced like you think it would be: "aaaaaaay-del," including the long A.) There was a catfish house a few miles outside of town, and a Dairy Queen and a Waffle House (of course) inside of town. And a brand-new Hampton Inn right off I-75. That was it. (I felt big-time expensing a catfish dinner that night. )

Class AA baseball playoffs, I was 19 and working for my hometown paper. I was a year removed from playing against almost everyone on that team, and they were a surprise quarterfinalist in the state playoffs when they played Cook High School in Adel. Those rounds were all best-of-three, doubleheader on the first day, a Game 3 if necessary the next day. That team went to three games every round. Which is why I had to stay overnight when it got to Adel.

I got assigned to them in the first round, because our better teams were playing at home and so our better writers were there. Turns out my team kept winning, and winning, and winning, and my SE gave me an incredible chance to gain experience by keeping me on them for every round, even though most of our other teams were getting eliminated, and much more experienced writers were available. So I followed them all around the state. They ended up making the semifinals before getting knocked out. The next year, I got assigned to them again -- followed them around the state again -- and they made the semifinals again. Completely unexpected again. But I loved it.

 

My first overnighter was for the Division II national championship game (football), in Florence, Ala. I got to West Bumblefuck, Ala., about 30 miles out, and my water pump blew. At 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. In December. Fortunately, I was about a mile from a garage, had an old car that was easy to fix, and didn't run into the evil mechanics from "Vacation." They had me on my way in an hour or so and I was able to cover the game the next day.

 

Fort Dodge, Iowa, for the state high school softball tournament.

Got food poisoning the first night there. Thunderstorms knocked out the satellite at the hotel, so there was no TV the first two days. Team I was covering lost its first game, so had to play consolation games in early afternoon the rest of the week. Which was fine, except the temperatures were in the 50s at game time (even though it was in mid-August), and I did not have a jacket.

It was a long, long week.