Mark's Blog

Sherrylee and I took last weekend and went to the Texas Hill Country, just west and south of Austin. It’s beautiful during the spring bluebonnet season, but just different in February. We spent a day in Fredericksburg, center of the German settlements in the previous century. It’s becoming quite a tourist stop, but is fun!

In our traveling over the years, we have learned that our best trips are those where we get to explore something that catches our historical fancy.  This trip was no different. We spent time with three historical figures, and coincidentally, all their last names began with the letter J.

I won’t try to recount their history which you would do better to get from Wikipedia or other sources, but I would like to share with you briefly over the next three days what impressed me about each of these people.

The first is a rather obscure person from Burlington, Vermont. We met him late one night as a serendipitous choice on Netflix!

Horatio Nelson Jackson

In 1903, this 31-year-old man bought a used car, hired a mechanic to go with him, and became the first person to drive a car across the United States. It took them sixty-three days, twelve hours, and twenty-three minutes to drive from San Francisco to New York City.

But it is not the feat itself, rather the perseverance of this man that is amazing. In 1903, there were no gas stations, there were no road maps, and there were often no roads—just wagon and horse trails. The car had no windshield, no service manual, and no spare parts to speak of.

Jackson had to use his only spare tire the second day of driving! In the course of the trip, they were lost, they were stranded, they were stuck in river beds, they were misled, they were days without food—this was a dangerous adventure in 1903.

Virtually every part in the car had to be replaced somewhere along the route! When the car broke down, first they had to find a telegraph to order parts from San Francisco, then wait days for the train to bring the part.

In all of his letters to his wife, letters which document the adventure, Jackson never loses heart! He believes that every day will be better, that nothing worse can happen, and he never ever doubts that they will complete their journey.  His optimism in the face of insurmountable odds is amazing!

Sherrylee and I watched the Ken Burns PBS documentary called Horatio’s Drive which told the story as only his documentaries can and loved it. It’s an inspiring story of what optimism and determination can accomplish. You’ll enjoy seeing the documentary too!

Bud rode with Jackson across the U.S.