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Keith McCord reporting This first long holiday weekend of the summer means a lot of Americans hit the road, heading to a favorite campground, lake or other fun spot. Most will be back to work tomorrow.
But we found one husband and wife who have been traveling for a lot longer than most folks this weekend.
When we first heard about Brad and Melissa Pauquette, we thought they were either retired or going through some sort of mid-life crisis. Neither is the case.
But when we heard that they quit their jobs, sold all of their possessions and are now living in their car, we just had to go talk to them.
Brad said, "We knew there must be something better than sitting in cubicles and all of that. So we decided, let's give it a try."
Both in their early 20s, Brad and Melissa Pauquette from Columbus, Ohio, call this a pre-life crisis. Their journey started more than three months ago, and they immediately headed south. And then west, and for the past week, they've camped at Antelope Island State Park.
Melissa said, "Yeah, it's beautiful, the mountains and everything. It's really cool to see."
When they began their journey, they were in a pink 1983 Dodge Falcon camper van. But when the engine blew and was beyond repair, they gave away even more of their possessions and loaded up a 2003 four-door Chevy Cavalier with the barest of necessities.
"It's very disorganized," Melissa said, "But that's how we live."
We asked, "So, [you have] a couple of baskets of clothes?"
Brad answered, "Yes. We have a ‘his' and a ‘hers' basket."
They have books strewn across the back window ledge; there's a guitar wedged in the back seat, and the trunk serves as the food pantry. Their less-than-luxury sleeping quarters: a basic camping tent from Target. Their dog, Lucy, is loving every minute of this.
So, the question: why do this? They say, why not?
"You know, we figure we each get one life to live and we're going to make the most of it," Brad explained. "And for us, that's not buying all the coolest stuff. It's having the coolest experiences."
They've seen a lot of sights and met a lot of interesting people along the way so far. Melissa has documented the journey with several thousand photos. Living on their savings, doing odd jobs, and helping others along the way keeps them going. For Brad and Melissa, there's no long-term game plan or itinerary. It's all about the adventure.
"My family was a little skeptical at first," Melissa said. "But they're OK now. As long as I call them once a week, they're fine."
We asked, "So, no one has said, ‘Hey, you're nuts?'"
Brad laughed, "Oh, they all said that, including our friends."
Brad and Melissa just left Utah. They're sleeping in their car in Boise tonight, heading for Seattle or wherever the road takes them.
Time on the road: 99 days and counting. Miles put on that Chevy Cavalier: 8,000 plus. And there are no immediate plans to head back home to Ohio for a while yet!
You can follow their travels on their Web site, which is linked to this page.
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com
