Why Did This New Yorker End Up In California? - Cross Country, Take 1

Yes, it was a bit of serendipity that set the wheels in motion for my eventual relocation to the Left Coast of the United States. I was working a temp job in NY, after college, because there seemed to be no action in the field of Broadcasting jobs in NY. Part of the problem was that New York City was in a fiscal crisis and businesses, like broadcasters, were moving to other, better locations.
I was waiting the bad times out and when my best friend graduated in December of the following year, we made our plan. We would both work together in the temp job and make enough money to head out to Los Angeles. We had several older graduates who had already relocated to the West and we figured we could settle down for a bit with them. We worked through the winter and when Easter arrived, we left. It was the Thursday after Easter and my Mom and baby Brother bid us, the intrepid travelers, a tearful goodbye. None of us knew then that I would never come back, except to visit. My girlfriend did return for almost a decade, though she is now out here with me in LA and has been since the late 80's.
We had a tent, we had a car and we had stuff to start our life. I had one thousand dollars cash. It ended up being enough to get me across the Country...and start a life.

The year was 1979. We did what countless people have done, we crossed our great nation. It took us 2 weeks and we did it just as the 2nd gas crisis began. We ended up in places like, Charlottesville, VA, Nashville, TN, Benton, AR, Dallas, TX, Midland, TX, El Paso, TX (big state), Carlsbad, NM, Las Cruces, NM, Tuscon, AZ, Grand Canyon, AZ and finally our destination, Los Angeles,CA. Lots of stories to tell, but I will tell them at some other time.

I did end up staying with a college friend for a month or so, got a starter job, just to pay the bills and found an apartment for myself. That same month, my girlfriend left and sold me her car. I met a guy, married him the next year, got my broadcasting job...and the rest is history.

Cross Country Take 2 is Here.