The bags are packed, the car is started and the friends are waiting.  An exciting adventure awaits one collegiate golfer and his acquaintances as they leave the comforts of their hometown.

“I caddied all summer and made a bunch of money so I could spend it all across the country,” says JP Kircher, now head golf coach at Piedmont College. “We left Rochester, N.Y and started our two-week adventure.” 

Kircher graduated from Huntingdon College in 2011, where he played on the men’s golf team, winning two All-American titles.  After graduation, Kircher got news that his buddy, Mike Short, was going for his Ph.D at Stanford, and the idea for a journey unfolds.  A road trip in the fall of 2011 from their home of Rochester, New York across America to Stanford, California begins.  Their first stop…Chicago. 

“There’s no cooler way to see the city than from the water,” says Kircher.  “We did a boat tour and learned about Chicago’s unique architecture.”

Kircher and Short head for Vail, Colorado, driving through open plains that seem endless, seeing the flat part of the country.  Until arriving in Vail where the mountains are now endless and everywhere you look is a scene of towering peaks. 

A trek through the mountains followed Vail, as the two companions drive to Phoenix, Arizona.  Adding another passenger on the trip, the two picked up Troop, a friend of Short’s.

“Troop is always up for an adventure,” says Short.  “He was fun to have along for the ride.” 

Arizona provided many different experiences.  Rafting down a river in a tube, surrounded by canyons and cliffs, is something he will remember. 

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”  This tagline describes the friend’s next stop, Las Vegas.  A city known for its nightclubs and gambling, it is a recent college graduate’s paradise. These three travelers enjoyed the experience and lived in the moment here.

“Vegas was a mess, we didn’t do much productive stuff in Vegas,” Kircher says. 

Driving from Las Vegas to Monterey, California involves a lot of adventure.  Riding along the Pacific Coast Highway, twists and turns take breaths away as the car rides along steep edges of cliffs dropping into the Pacific Ocean.  Before heading to San Francisco, Monterey provided new looks at the country.

“We kayaked in the Monterey Bay and saw so much marine life,”  says Kircher.  “The restaurants were so unique and the food was incredible.”

Wrapping up the trip, Kircher, Troop and Short drove through San Francisco where they toured the big city and said there last goodbyes as Short got dropped off at Stanford shortly after. 

“I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else on that trip, and it was an amazing journey across the country with my boys,” says Short.

Kircher reminisced on the trip and talks of the good times he had with some great friends, spending all $4,000 he made caddying the summer before.

“I encourage people to travel and experience other areas of the country,” says Kircher.  “It was probably the coolest memory I’ve had in my life.”