Chapter Three: The Kindness Of Strangers - “Surfing The Interstates”

Chapter One: Thumb Out - “Surfing The Interstates”

* Andre’s dramatic escape from his family’s Westchester estate with just $80 to his name * The traumatic moment that triggers his departure - witnessing domestic violence * First encounters with 1970s hitchhiking culture and the kindness of strangers * A Vietnam veteran’s perspective on draft resistance and the war’s aftermath * Meeting Rainbow and Derek - cosmic hippie lovers heading to get a motorcycle * The beginning of a 4,000-mile journey that will transform a sheltered young man * Why 1973 was the perfect year for disappearing into America’s counterculture underground “Surfing The Interstates”—the first book of a memoir trilogy [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/the-spaces-between]—chronicles a transformative 4,000-mile hitchhiking journey across America in 1973. This coming-of-age memoir follows a 21-year-old’s two-month odyssey from East Coast privilege to West Coast revelation, capturing the last summer when you could truly vanish in America. Click here for table of contents with links to all 16 chapters. [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/my-memoir-triptych] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Andre J de Saint Phalle at substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe [https://substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Chapter Two: Turn On Your Lovelight - “Surfing The Interstates”

* A transformative 1970 Grateful Dead concert at Penn that defined a generation * Pigpen’s final performances and Andre’s mystical connection through a tambourine * A psychedelic encounter with Sara that becomes spiritual and sexual awakening * Gothic cathedral acoustics meeting counterculture communion * How one night of music and acid shaped a young man’s search for transcendence “Surfing The Interstates”—the first book of a memoir trilogy [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/the-spaces-between]—chronicles a transformative 4,000-mile hitchhiking journey across America in 1973. This coming-of-age memoir follows a 21-year-old’s two-month odyssey from East Coast privilege to West Coast revelation, capturing the last summer when you could truly vanish in America. Click here for table of contents with links to all 16 chapters. [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/my-memoir-triptych] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Andre J de Saint Phalle at substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe [https://substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Chapter Three: The Kindness Of Strangers - “Surfing The Interstates”

* A flute player who steers his VW with his knees while performing * A Vietnam veteran’s perspective on draft resistance and road love * Impromptu music sessions with international travelers * The culture clash between road wanderers and college students * Why the “kindness of strangers” was real in 1970s America “Surfing The Interstates”—the first book of a memoir trilogy [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/the-spaces-between]—chronicles a transformative 4,000-mile hitchhiking journey across America in 1973. This coming-of-age memoir follows a 21-year-old’s two-month odyssey from East Coast privilege to West Coast revelation, capturing the last summer when you could truly vanish in America. Click here for table of contents with links to all 16 chapters. [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/my-memoir-triptych] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Andre J de Saint Phalle at substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe [https://substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Chapter Four: The Price Of Paradise - “Surfing The Interstates”

* A ride with wealthy women playing at counterculture in a pristine VW Westfalia * Class tensions between trust fund hippies and authentic road culture * Nederland, Colorado mountain community and its contradictions * How prep school background creates both privilege and alienation * The uncomfortable truth about who could afford to “drop out” in 1973 * Why some paradise always comes with a price tag “Surfing The Interstates”—the first book of a memoir trilogy [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/the-spaces-between]—chronicles a transformative 4,000-mile hitchhiking journey across America in 1973. This coming-of-age memoir follows a 21-year-old’s two-month odyssey from East Coast privilege to West Coast revelation, capturing the last summer when you could truly vanish in America. Click here for table of contents with links to all 16 chapters. [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/my-memoir-triptych] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Andre J de Saint Phalle at substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe [https://substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Chapter Five: The Frequency Of Freedom - “Surfing The Interstates”

* Taking shelter with fellow musicians in a Colorado mountain town * Glen Haven General Store as refuge for traveling troubadours * How canyon acoustics create natural amplification for guitar music * The intersection of hippie travelers and rural Colorado culture * Why some places become magnets for musical wanderers “Surfing The Interstates”—the first book of a memoir trilogy [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/the-spaces-between]—chronicles a transformative 4,000-mile hitchhiking journey across America in 1973. This coming-of-age memoir follows a 21-year-old’s two-month odyssey from East Coast privilege to West Coast revelation, capturing the last summer when you could truly vanish in America. Click here for table of contents with links to all 16 chapters. [https://www.andrejdsp.com/p/my-memoir-triptych] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Andre J de Saint Phalle at substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe [https://substack.andrejdsp.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]