He was threatened by a tornado along the road outside Idaho Falls, Idaho, and was pinned for several hours by flooding in Farmington, New Mexico, and again in Gainesville, Florida. He only had one flat tire, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
“The original goal was to hit every major city in America, but then I added the state capitals, the Dalton Highway in Alaska, Hawaii and reaching all four corners of the country, which made it a little more challenging but that much more satisfying,” Ajay said.
Although his Jeep was outfitted for car camping, he stayed with friends a few nights along the way but mostly stayed in roadside motels, often arriving as late as 2 a.m. Every day was long and every night was short. He averaged 671 miles per day during the 66 days. It was a journey of perseverance and sheer determination.
“The purpose of the trip wasn’t sightseeing, it was to get a glimpse of as many places as possible and to cover as much ground as possible in the short couple months’ time I had,” Ajay said.
“For us, it certainly was a leap of faith and trust. We felt that it would be a singular experience that would stay with him his whole life, particularly to accomplish all that alone, at just 17 years old,” David said. David and Tracey Bentley are retired American Airlines pilots and have instilled their lifetime love of travel in their son.
“The original goal was to hit every major city in America, but then I added the state capitals, the Dalton Highway in Alaska, Hawaii and reaching all four corners of the country, which made it a little more challenging but that much more satisfying,” Ajay said.
Although his Jeep was outfitted for car camping, he stayed with friends a few nights along the way but mostly stayed in roadside motels, often arriving as late as 2 a.m. Every day was long and every night was short. He averaged 671 miles per day during the 66 days. It was a journey of perseverance and sheer determination.
“The purpose of the trip wasn’t sightseeing, it was to get a glimpse of as many places as possible and to cover as much ground as possible in the short couple months’ time I had,” Ajay said.
“For us, it certainly was a leap of faith and trust. We felt that it would be a singular experience that would stay with him his whole life, particularly to accomplish all that alone, at just 17 years old,” David said. David and Tracey Bentley are retired American Airlines pilots and have instilled their lifetime love of travel in their son.
To reach Hawaii, Ajay flew from Los Angeles to Honolulu and took an Uber to the capital and flew back all in the same day. He had to do the same for Juneau, Alaska, since it is inaccessible by road, so he flew from Anchorage to Juneau, took an Uber to the capital, and came back the same evening.
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/eagle-county-senior-road-trip-50-states-capitals
No comments:
Post a Comment