Spring break in a U-Haul

When the pre-Lenten celebration of Mardi Gras happened to coincide perfectly with UDM's spring break this year, an adventurous group of 26 people, mostly UDM students, took advantage of the timing and embarked on a festive cross-country road trip to New Orleans.Their merry caravan of five vehicles made it to the Big Easy in 19 hours. After the long, arduous drive the travelers were greeted with the comfort of a 26-foot U-Haul, complete with absolutely no amenities, save for wheels and a hard floor, that had been rented for the occasion and parked on the street just outside a public park.

The group stayed in the truck for four days. A nearby hotel room was also reserved so that people could shower. Some slept on the floor and others stretched out in hammocks and in the cab.

"People slept in cars, too," said "Crazy" Nate Jenkins, one of the intrepid 26.

As it turns out, sleeping in a U-Haul is extremely economical. It broke down to a little more than $3.00 a person per night for the stay in the truck.

"That's better than a hotel," said Jenkins.

The whole trip was done with a college-student's budget in mind.

"We drove all the way across the country and did whatever we wanted for a week and it probably cost each person well under $200," said adventurer Brian Greenhoe.

Although the urban campers mostly indulged in a typically collegiate diet of Pringles and peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, they made it a point to try traditional local fare including Cajun-style foods like gumbo and alligator meat.

There was also a report of an individual using an upside-down traffic cone to "bong" a vat of steaming cheese purchased from a street vendor.

Fellow Mardi Gras-goers received the quirky group warmly. Many stopped to snap pictures of the unconventional camp-out. Local authorities were unperturbed and left the U-Haul campers to their own devices and everyone jumped right into the festivities.

"I didn't expect the street party to be so immense," said Greenhoe. "There were so many people you couldn't walk down the streets."

Many group members blended right in, costumed in old marching band jackets and peacock feathers.

New Orleans has a reputation as a musical city, so the whole party entertained locals on a public bus with a free-style rap, during which Patrick Liederbach, the UDM senior who organized the trip, played a starring role.

"Pat's rap was unbelievable," said Greenhoe. "He was practically speaking in tongues."

Liederbach also played a flute during "story-time" and invited a street performer into the U-Haul in the middle of the night to serenade the other campers with "Amazing Grace."

Another street performer, known on You Tube as the "New Orleans Bucket-Man," treated Greenhoe to a humming, bucket-slapping rap.

A tremendous rainstorm, which leaked into the U-Haul, ushered the campers out of New Orleans on Wednesday morning. From there, they drove another 11 hours to a Florida house belonging to one of the traveler's parents.

Several in the group are members of the UDM cross country team and spent the time in Florida taking long runs on the beach.

Weary from the road and the Mardi Gras, everyone relaxed and poked at jellyfish in the sand. A few went to a spring training game.

After a couple of days in the Sunshine State, the caravan strapped their trusty stuffed unicorn to the top of a mini-van and started the 22-hour drive back to Michigan.

Among the souvenirs were a few new tattoos, a couple sunburns, a ton of Mardi Gras beads and a whole lot of fond memories and new friendships.

"The best part was most people didn't know most of the people who were going," said Greenhoe. "We lived together for a week in really close quarters for the high times and the low times. It was the camaraderie. We had a really close bond because of that."

Liederbach agreed.

"I've learned a lot from my formal education but I think the most important lessons in my life have come from traveling," he said. "The road trips we've taken have formed a lot of new friendships, strengthened existing ones and I think have gotten a few people to look at life from a little different angle.