Date: September 29, 2008
A Ride with the Solartaxi from New York City to Boston, Pt. I
As we all know Americans sometimes get easily excited. But I tell you, by hitting the US-streets with the Solartaxi, you learn what real enthusiasm is – and I admit, being part of Louis Palmers world tour for three days, I became infected by the solar virus as well!! After spending a few days in New York City, I decided to join Louis and his Solartaxi on the way from NYC to Boston. We met at “The Solaire”, New Yorks first sustainable skyscraper… but of course I only had eyes for the cute blue car that traveled over 40 000 kilometers around the word. I stepped in and as soon as we hit the road, there were immediately those amazing reactions like people waving on the sidewalks, taxidrivers greeting us with their honk and whenever we had to wait at a red light, people came over to say hello and ask questions. After two days of being Louis’ copilot I was able to moderate a press conference about the Solartaxi;). 
“Yo bro, coooooooooooooooooll solar shit!!!” – a New York dude freaking out about the Solartaxi
Our first station was the UN headquarters at East River where we met the rest of Louis’ team (Thomas, Frank, Club of Pioneers’ camera guy Erik and Laura) to shoot a video with “Dancing Davey” (a freaky guy shooting dance clips at locations all over the world) and the Solartaxi. The first 90 seconds of the clip are especially great, but check it out for yourself;) Dancing Davey rocks the Solartaxi
Then, he had to leave for Boston – but very soon there was already trouble! We hadn’t even left the city when our indicator turned out to be broken. Therefore, we had to bend out of the car and give hand signs whenever we changed lanes, which is an interesting experience in the traffic of NYC. Luckily, we got out of New York with our heads safely on our shoulders and headed for Boston. On lovely Route 1, Louis and I found the time to talk a little about his tour experiences. I was really impressed by his great spirit of adventure and his strong will to take on all the challenges in order to spread his mission around the world. I’m really happy for him that the big media interest in his tour makes up for all the effort put in! Not to forget the public interest! The reactions on the streets in Connecticut weren’t any less enthusiastic than the ones in New York. While we were waiting for the green light somewhere in a little town, a lady in a car beside us pulled down the window and invited us to follow her to the “most beautiful place on earth”. Actually, I thought it was a big mistake to trust a woman saying these words, but Louis didn’t care and followed her on a little way along the coast – and I had to admit that she was not exaggerating! We arrived at a gorgeous little bay, where the lady and her husband had a little weekend home. “We had a little cocktail party here last night,” she told us (I bet she was still a little tipsy), “and we want you to stay for a little while and have another drink with us.” That was very kind but after a little conversation we shot some pictures and had to leave – there were still quite a few of miles left on our way to Boston! 
Idyllic weekend home in New England – notice the World War II vehicle
The evening came and we had to charge our batteries. The solar cells on the hanger of the Solartaxi provide power just for a limited range. When Louis wants to travel longer distances, he can simply plug into the grid which he feeds by a solar power plant on a rooftop in Berne, Switzerland – in fact, it's like paying money into a bank account and withdrawing the money somewhere else. When we stopped to buy something to drink, we met a very kind guy that offered his help immediately. He had bought a little location in the area where he plans to sell Eastern European food. He took us there, we plugged in our car, and then followed him to his home where he invited us for dinner. There, we met his wife and the two daughters, all amazing, kind people with great hospitality who had moved to the US from Poland a couple of years ago. Even some friends of the family dropped by when they heard about our visit and we had a wonderful and entertaining evening. 
Polish hospitality in Connecticut After a couple of hours, the Solartaxi was fully charged and we said goodbye to our kind helpers to continue our way. We drove into the night and after a couple of hours we reached the periphery of Boston where we rented a motel room – just a few hours of sleep before the next big day with the Solartaxi! Check out the Boston part of the story coming soon! Stay tuned!
Our first station was the UN headquarters at East River where we met the rest of Louis’ team (Thomas, Frank, Club of Pioneers’ camera guy Erik and Laura) to shoot a video with “Dancing Davey” (a freaky guy shooting dance clips at locations all over the world) and the Solartaxi. The first 90 seconds of the clip are especially great, but check it out for yourself;)
Then, he had to leave for Boston – but very soon there was already trouble! We hadn’t even left the city when our indicator turned out to be broken. Therefore, we had to bend out of the car and give hand signs whenever we changed lanes, which is an interesting experience in the traffic of NYC. Luckily, we got out of New York with our heads safely on our shoulders and headed for Boston. On lovely Route 1, Louis and I found the time to talk a little about his tour experiences. I was really impressed by his great spirit of adventure and his strong will to take on all the challenges in order to spread his mission around the world. I’m really happy for him that the big media interest in his tour makes up for all the effort put in!
The evening came and we had to charge our batteries. The solar cells on the hanger of the Solartaxi provide power just for a limited range. When Louis wants to travel longer distances, he can simply plug into the grid which he feeds by a solar power plant on a rooftop in Berne, Switzerland – in fact, it's like paying money into a bank account and withdrawing the money somewhere else. When we stopped to buy something to drink, we met a very kind guy that offered his help immediately. He had bought a little location in the area where he plans to sell Eastern European food. He took us there, we plugged in our car, and then followed him to his home where he invited us for dinner. There, we met his wife and the two daughters, all amazing, kind people with great hospitality who had moved to the US from Poland a couple of years ago. Even some friends of the family dropped by when they heard about our visit and we had a wonderful and entertaining evening.
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