This is bound to be highly subjective since it depends on the road, region, and mood you’re trying to evoke. Take these as suggestions and please offer other worthies.
So, in no particular order . . .
Running On Empty, JACKSON BROWNE Route 66, NAT KING COLE Reach Out (I’ll Be There), THE FOUR TOPS Take It Easy, EAGLES (*check out the actual corner at the town of Winslow, AZ) In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Born To Run, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN I Walk The Line, JOHNNY CASH Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, THE TEMPTATIONS Cinnamon Girl, NEIL YOUNG Graceland, PAUL SIMON Sailin’ Cross The Devil’s Sea, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Roll On Down The Highway, BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE Blue Suede Shoes, CARL PERKINS Good Golly Miss Molly, LITTLE RICHARD (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay, OTIS REDDING Green Onions, BOOKER T. & THE M.G.s Heatwave (Your Love Is Like A), MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS Dancing In The Streets, MARTHA AND THE VANDELLAS Soul Man, SAM & DAVE Highway 61 Revisited, BOB DYLAN Callin’ Baton Rouge, GARTH BROOKS The Bug, MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER Let It Roll, LITTLE FEAT The Way, FASTBALL Born To Be Wild, STEPPENWOLF On The Road Again, WILLIE NELSON Going Up The Country, CANNED HEAT
Our stories and articles appear in Canadian magazines and online.
Spring and fall, we load the van – with everything from guitars to laptops – toss in a thick bundle of maps, several notebooks and roll down the road. We meet great people, gather wonderful story material and then write, write, write. Browse the links to some of our pieces in print:
BIG TRIP #1: ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC: 9,000 km through the Southeast U.S.
Road Tunes: A Six-Week Odyssey Following the Scenic Music Trails of the Southeast U.S., CAA Magazine. Road Tunes
Travels With Rigby is for web surfers who are looking for practical information on frugal RV travel, travelling with your dog (our pooch isRigby), finding irresistible eats and sussing out music destinations. We’ve clocked the miles and visited the sights and these are the best from our travels: the who/what/when/where/why highlights for those that love music, food and the camping life.
You’ll find tips and info on:
Best ways to travel with your dog.
Foods we found irresistible.
Practical ways to travel by small RV.
Campsites and parks we’ve loved.
Planning realistically for gas costs, cell phone coverage, etc.
About us . . .
Travel writers. Foodies. Music lovers. Can’t go anywhere without our dog. Josephine Matyas works full-time as afreelance writer, specializing in travel and food. Craig Jones has got street cred: lots of miles on the road crisscrossing Canada as a professional musician, followed by just as many years tapping away at a computer keyboard.
We’re book authors – our award-winning book on the roots of the blues is Chasing the Blues: A Traveler’s Guide to America’s Music. Find it online or order from your favourite bookstore. For a modest shipping amount, we can also send you a signed copy – just reach out through our contact form.
We write for websites, newspapers and magazines. We also blog on this site when we are on the road. Yes, we are “old school” if that means research, writing and paying attention to grammar, quality and fact checking. But as for the platform – print and digital both.
It’s been an experiment: Taking her expertise (travel writing) and his experience (on the bandstand, teacher and writer), stirring it together and seeing what happens. Add a camper van (a 2007 Roadtrek 210 for those who need the specs), an easy going dog, a file full of maps and a GPS/wireless backup camera nicknamed “Hal” that sometimes toys with us (we prefer the maps).
Several times a year we pack up High Cotton (the Class B RV), take the dog for her trim, top up the gas tank and hit the road for a month or two at a time. We post links to articles we’ve published (seeWords) andblogshort bits and pieces while we are away from Home Base (Ontario,Canada).
