The Great American Road Trip » The Project

The Heart of Virginia Goes “Road Tripping”

Dan Portnoy — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:56:32 +0000

Anchorwoman Noreen Turyn from WSET ABC-13 highlighted The Great American Road Trip in Thursday Heart Of Virginia report.

People go on road trips all the time, but not many document them and make a show out of it. Unless of course you’re part of the new media generation. For our Heart of Virginia report, four local guys who set out to tell a story of their weekend trip from Smith Mountain Lake to Durham — just because.

Click here to see the whole report

Click here to see the footage

200+ And Counting But We Haven’t Heard From You

Dan Portnoy — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:34:20 +0000

In just over 24 hours over 200 people have watched the first installment of The Great American Road Trip. The comments and emails have been so great to hear (HUGE thanks from us) but we still want to hear from you. So, if you’ve seen the film (thank you) give us your review (I’ll post it if you let me) via email and if you haven’t…

Click Here to see this weeks webisode

Film should be 100% uploaded within an hour

Dan Portnoy — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 19:57:48 +0000

My apologies for the delay. The podcast feed is updated and Episode 1 is now available or download, just click the links to get the feed through iTunes or your aggregator. If you have any problems please shoot me an email.

If you’re looking to view the film, the episode is uploading right now to VIRB and should be available for viewing within in an hour

First Road Trip Wraps – Durham

Dan Portnoy — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:46:28 +0000

With temperatures nearly the 100 degree mark the crew set out to Durham, NC. for an adventure and we found it. Almost 500 Miles, very little sleep, an angry groundhog and a bunch of great people were the bookends to the first trip. We shot 13 hours of film in a 36 hour time frame, we documented every step of the way and highlight some local hot spots for food and for entertainment. Starting July 3rd we’ll be releasing the film in 5-7 minute shorts that tell the tale of the trip. Production stills, behind the scenes pictures and video podcast to come.

Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project checks in

Dan Portnoy — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:16:08 +0000

I had the pleasure of catching up with Holly Shaffer from the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project yesterday. She was super helpful with helping the project by sending information including a rundown of the events being held on Route 66 (I’ll post them ASAP). Their website has got a ton of info on the attractions that Illinois offers, it’s an exhaustive list and definitely worth a look if you’re traveling Route 66 this year.
Check out the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project Website

It Begins….

Dan Portnoy — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:37:09 +0000

The site is started for an idea that has been in my head for about 4 months – to take the great American road trip. I’m defining that as traveling “the Mother Road” herself Route 66. The idea of getting out on the open road and meeting the people who have staked their livelihood on something that may not fit in a nice neat box is exciting to me. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, entrepreneurs of all kinds traveled to the first road that connected the country and started businesses all along the road. From greasy spoons to unique motels, they grabbed onto life and told it how things were going to be. My thought is to grab 3 other people and travel from Chicago to L.A. on Route 66 in April of 2007. I want to film the whole project and share the adventures that are made with you. To talk with business owners and the individuals who have spent their lives in Americas heartland sounds really exciting.

I wanted to start this project for many reasons, but a big one is that as I was thinking about crafting an adventure, to travel Europe, enjoy the Asian Continent, or climb Machu Pichu. I thought, “What about touring America?” and then I started looking back at some exciting times in this country. Having grown up in the Boston Area and now living in Virginia, I’ve already toured the civil war and revolutionary war battle grounds. So what was left.. THE WEST! Personally, I get stuck on World War II and what my grandparents generation did after the war. This whole generation of people made this country great and started so many things that we take for granted now. That’s why Route 66 stuck out. A somewhat forgotten roadway that is shrouded in nostalgia would be the perfect place for an adventure and the conversations on that journey would leave a man changed.

Here’s to that journey….

Image courtesy Caitlin Schwerin