It was the summer of 1978. I was 17 years old. I had been thinking about going to California for the summer, but never shared the idea with anyone. You see, I had a crush on a girl in the TV show, The New Mickey Mouse Club. Her name was Allison Jewel Fonte. I was a member of the fan club and had received photos and newsletters from them for a year. I recorded the TV show on cassette and would listen to them over and over.
Bear in mind that this trip was taken without a cell phone, without GPS navigation, without air conditioning, without power steering! I used a printed Atlas for routing. I drove my 1966 Chevy Caprice automatic with a 327 engine. I had an 8-track cassette player and 3-channel CB installed.
Day 1 – I’m outta here!
I don’t remember exactly why, but one day I had an argument with my mother. In a few hours I had packed my car, told her I was going to California, and left to withdraw money from my saving account. I really didn’t have a plan other than my destination was Disneyland in Anaheim, California. That is where The New Mickey Mouse Club members were performing live, on stage.
I left Luck, Wisconsin in the afternoon and headed West on highway 94. I drove all night.
Day 2 – Heading to Billings
I remember as the sun came up it revealed the Black Hills of South Dakota. I make an obligatory stop at Mount Rushmore, but had to keep driving until I reached Billings, Montana. I found a cheap motel, then called my mom for the first time since I left. Initially she did not believe where I said I was.
Day 3 – Yellowstone National Park
The next day I drove through the mountains toward Yellowstone National Park. Because of the altitude, I took out the thermostat from my engine so the radiator wouldn’t boil over. I remember my dad having to do that during a few vacations we took as a family through the mountains. At the park I watched Old Faithful erupt once, drove around a bit to see Yellowstone Falls, took a bath in a hot spring, then headed toward Salt Lake City. At dark I was just arriving at Ogden, Utah. After gassing up in town, I spent the night at a rest stop.
Day 4 – Salt Lake City
The next day I drove into Salt Lake City to tour the Mormon Tabernacle and take a dip in the Great Salt Lake. On the way back to my car to change clothes, I noticed a tall, dark-skinned man getting something out out of the trunk of his car that was parked next to mine. I don’t remember his name, so I’ll just call him ‘Dave’ from now on. Dave was driving a nice car with New York plates. His trunk was packed full of nicely folded clothes. We started up a conversation. He had an American accent. He asked where I was going and I said “Disneyland”. He said he was headed for Los Angeles and would I like to caravan there together. It seemed like an innocent offer and since I was having some trouble with my car overheating, I said yes. We passed the lights of Las Vegas and ended up stopping at a bar so he could get a drink. Since I was only 17, the bartender would not serve me alcohol, so I had to settle for a can of soda. We got back on the road and kept driving until dark. I was having trouble with my radiator overheating so immediately after we topped a hill, I put my transmission into neutral and let the air cool the engine as I coasted to the next hill. We pulled into a rest stop and spent the night in the cold air of the desert.
Day 5 – Disneyland
We drove to Anaheim, California, which is an old suburb of Las Angeles. Dave paid for one room for both of us. We headed for a complete day of activities in Disneyland. At the end of the day we went back to the motel room. There was only one bed so I told Dave to take it and I would sleep in my sleeping bag on the floor. Some time during the night, he got up and tried to cuddle with me on the ground. I said, “What are you doing?” He said, “You indicated it was OK that I come over.” I said, “No, I didn’t” and moved his arm from around me. He went back to his bed and there was no other incident.
Day 6 – Disneyland
Dave and I went back for a day at Disneyland. There was no mention of the incident last night, but our communication was strained. We went back to the motel room that night and no further questionable behavior occurred. Honestly, I do no recall what we ever talked about.
Day 7 – Goodbye, Disneyland
Early in the morning, while Dave was in the shower, I snuck out for another day at Disneyland. I was able to catch one of The New Mickey Mouse Club stage performances. Allison was in it! When it was over, since I had achieved the goal of my trip, I started the long trip back home. I drove through the night until I reached Tucson, Arizona.
Day 8 – Tucson
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is in Tucson, Arizona. My family lived for a year in 1968. Soon after my dad retired from the U. S. Air Force. I drove to the house where we lived and took a few photos of the grade school I went to. Back on the road, I kept driving through Texas until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I took a 4-hour nap at a rest stop, then continued driving. (That was the last sleep I got until getting back home to Luck.)
Day 9 – Tulsa
As I was leaving the state of Texas, I calculated I didn’t have enough money to pay for gas to get home. I called my mom, who suggested I stop to see relatives of neighbors in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since I was planning to pass through that town anyway, it was convenient. My mom called them to let them know I was coming. I had only expected to borrow $20 and be on my way, but Mr. and Mrs. Blessing wanted to give me a driving tour of Tulsa and a home cooked meal before I left. It was evening when I left Tulsa. I had 12 more hours to drive. Some time during the night I felt myself dozing off at the wheel. I was out of caffeine pills to help keep me awake. I stopped my car on the shoulder of a Minnesota freeway and did pushups in the cold air. I kept the car windows open for many hours in order to stay awake.
Day 10
I got home to Luck, Wisconsin sometime in the afternoon. I said hello to my mom, unpacked, and went right to bed. I slept the rest of the day and most of the next day without interruption!
Final Thoughts
Going on the trip was impulsive and not very well planned. But remember, I was a 17 year old boy with hormones racing through his body. I was too young to enjoy each stop properly. I was too driven into reaching a single destination. Driving back home from California to Wisconsin on only 4-hours of sleep was reckless.
Another member of The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1978 was Lisa Welchel. She later went on to play Blair on The Facts of Life.
My encounter with ‘Dave’ could have turned out to be a traumatic childhood experience if he had forced himself on me. I look back at it as a cautionary tale. My naiveté got me into the situation, but I think it also got me out of it. Prior to this blog post, only a handful of people ever heard my story about Dave. It was part of my adventure, so I wasn’t about to leave it out of this post.