Al's Jobs and Travels

Al..#1-4-1 as he refers to himself, drives a taxi for Desert Cab in Palm Springs, Calif. This job would place him in many odd and humorous positions as he encounters various strange passengers.

During the year Al.#1-4-1 would have to break away from this job to sail at sea as a merchant marine for Crest Tanks, out of St. Louis, Mo... his other part-time job. This particular year he opts to drive this old 64 Volkswagen van across the country to meet his ship in Boston, rather than flying there.

Sleeping at night inside the van, Al would stop at his favorite towns and bars, ones he used to frequent in his younger life. These stops include Las Vegas, Aspen, St. Louis, Chicago, Montreal, and finally, Boston.

Leaving his van in storage there, Al then boards the oil tanker Chablis that would take him to various ports around the Gulf of Mexico and up the eastern seaboard, through the Panama Canal and back, up the Mississippi River, and eventually ending his four-month tour of duty in Baltimore, Maryland.

After retrieving his van, the Grunt, from storage, and not wanting to return the same way in which he crossed the country, Al would venture south and drive to Mexico, via the Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

In Mexico, Al stays for a month in the resort town of Puerto Villarta, before completing his circle. Taking a ferry across to Cabo San Lucas, he then drives up the Baja Peninsula to California, stopping in Hollywood and Lake Big Bear before falling back into his other life—that of driving a taxi for Desert Cab.