A Wish Fulfilled: Williamstown Man Checks Off Bucket-List Trip
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — David Larabee has accomplished much in his 63 years.
He served in the military, married Nikki with whom he raised four children, built the family home, worked as a trucker, worked at General Cable until it shut down and worked for the town of Williamstown until he retired, founded and still operates Specialty Carriages. And he was honored with the Faith R. Scarborough Community Service Award in 2000.
But life interfered with his fulfilling a wish he made at age 21.
"I wanted to ride cross-country on my motorcycle," he said in an interview. As he grew older, he put that wish on his bucket list.
A birthday celebration presented an opportunity for Larabee to finally bring his wish to fruition in this summer.
"My wife and I were going to go to her mother's place in Tacoma, Wash., to be with her to celebrate her 90th birthday," he explained. "I don't have a motorcycle, but I have my truck. I had time to think about it and decided to build a camper on the back of my truck (a 2003 Chevy Silverado) It only cost $100 to build the camper. It has a bed, stove, two coolers for cold food and one cooler for dry food, and a place for my dog, Bear, to sleep."
Because Nikki Larabee doesn't like long car rides, according to her husband, she arranged to travel to Washington and back to Williamstown by airplane. Larabee's only companion on his cross-country drive was Bear, a 9 1/2-year-old golden retriever/chow/husky mix.
"A highlight of the trip was that I didn't want to spend a lot of money, " said Larabee. Then he grinned as he acknowledged that "People say I'm as tight as skin on bologna."
The $100 he spent to build the camper proved to be a good investment. "I slept in the camper at truck stops and rest areas, but when truckers kept their engines on so they could use air conditioning, I didn't get much sleep."
Larabee made better time on his trip than he thought possible. "I thought I could only do 500 miles a day, but once I got past the Mississippi River, the country opened — no cities, only farms and ranches, beautiful vistas," he said. "In Iowa, I saw all the corn I want to see in my lifetime. My favorite state was Montana with beautiful mountains."
Going to Washington, Larabee drove 3,159 miles and coming back to Massachusetts he drove 2,883 miles. He explained that the drive to Washington was longer because he detoured from the direct route in order to see Niagara Falls, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and to visit the "American Pickers' " store in St. Claire, Iowa. The store is home base to Antique Archeology, the business of the stars of the History Channel's antiques program that Larabee especially likes.
However, he was forced to abort his attempt to go to Sturgis, S.D., where an annual motorcycle rally is held. "Smoke was drifting onto the road from a fire in Wyoming," he said. "But I did get to Sturgis on the way back to Williamstown."
Keeping to a routine when on the road, Larabee got out of bed before the sun came up, and started driving.
"I did 150 miles before breakfast," he said "For breakfast, I made egg salad on wheat bread with a slice of ham; for lunch, I had a ham and cheese sandwich and for dinner, brats or hamburger."
Bear was well fed with dog food and scraps.
The longest distance he drove in one day was 830 miles. "I have a trick for keeping awake at the wheel," he said. "I eat Fritos, the crunch keeps me awake, and another advantage is that I don't have to share them with Bear."
Asked if he missed having company other than Bear, he said, "I listened to talk radio and country music."
"One day, I happened to meet Marines who had set up a trailer to do a fundraiser for Toys for Tots. We talked for about two hours.
"I didn't meet one mean person on the trip. And kids wanted to pet Bear. At Mount Rushmore, when we got back into the truck, kids waved goodbye to Bear."
Larabee need not worry that memories of his trip will grow dim as the years roll by. He has almost 100 photos by which he can relive the fruition of the wish he made as a young man. "I would give people my camera and ask them to take a picture of me and Bear, and then I would take pictures of them with their camera."
Not everyone would have been able to handle vehicle issues as well as the Willamstownian who built his family's home. For instance when the right turn signal light on his truck stopped working, he fixed it, and he changed the oil when necessary.
"There was only one time I was afraid. I would stop and fill up whenever I got down to a quarter tank. But once it was nightfall when I got down to a quarter tank and there were only plains for miles and miles, not even a house in sight," Larabee recalled. "The tank was going down and down when I saw a little sign on a piece of plywood that said 'GAS.' I took that exit and pulled into this little town where everything was boarded up. It did not look like a good spot to spend the night. All I had for protection was pepper spray and a hatchet, with which I could at least break some fingers. I saw some boys and girls talking and asked if there was a gas station, and they said it would open at 8 a.m.
"I got back on Route 90 and finally saw a gas station. It was closed but you could pump your own gas and pay with a credit card. After that I never let the tank go down to one-quarter.
"When I got to my mother-in-law's place, all I wanted was a cold beer and a hot shower."
Because Larabee kept a record of his expenses on his cross-country trip, he knows that he spent exactly $1,100 on gas and $90 in tolls.
Now back safe and sound in Williamstown, Larabee said, "Bear slept most of the time we were in the truck, and everyone loved him wherever we stopped. It was really his trip, I was only his chauffeur."
Tags: community news,
