Marc and Pete, quite the ambitious duo, will set out on a cross-country road trip at 3 pm PST today. They will venture from LA to Richmond, Virginia, without ever getting into a car. How is this possible? The friends are using Google Maps and Ustream to chronicle their adventures, and they want to share them with you.
Marc and Pete practicing for their trek
Marc writes: “So on August 10th, 2009, at 3pm PST, we’ll leave my house in LA and drive together to Pete’s place in Richmond. We’ll “virtual drive” across the country by continuously pressing the Google Maps arrow keys eastward, and we’ll broadcast the entire experience live. This means you’ll be able to not only see and hear us as we travel, but also join us in a real-time chat room. Just think of it as an invitation to hop in the backseat and ride along with us for any part of our adventure that you like. We’ll take your suggestions on what to see and where to go as we trek this great nation, and ideally we’ll all get to know each other a little better.”
But don’t think that this gets them out of staying at fleabag motels and arguing over where to stop next. Since the road trip will take place in real time, when they stop at a restaurant in Montana, they will really eat. That Motel 6 in Kansas? That’s when they will sleep. And since you can’t have a road trip without music, mix tapes will also be included. Marc and Pete will also visit you if you’re up for it–they will give you a call when they near your house and you can then give a little tour of your hood.
You can shoot by Marc an email with suggestions for places to stop along the way!
[...] This post was Twitted by marchorowitz [...]
Pete, Ron would like vitual bbq ribs from Memphis and I would like a vitual gift from Graceland -Enjoy!!! your experience. Love Susan
[...] be available at http://www.thefastertimes.com/travel and it was written up in Readymade Magazine at http://www.readymade.com/blogs/readymade/2009/08/10/virtual-summer-break-two-friends-undertake-cross…. You can see stills on our flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/googlemapsroadtrip/ [...]
Thanks for the article. Very interesting. My family and I go to Memphis every summer. We go to Graceland, Beale Street, the Sun Studio, and then to the blues clubs for the evening. Always a good time!