FORT WHITE — Mark Weissenberg says he has felt the heartbeat of America.
Inside his 7-by-14-foot wagon, the 66-year-old Cleveland, Tenn., native lies sideways on top of a memory foam mattress as he fiddles with pillows to support his aching back.
Weissenberg spent most of Friday sleeping, a luxury for him after spending nearly nine and half weeks traveling almost 600 miles by horse and wagon from Tennessee to Florida.
But the trip was well worth it, he said.
“This was my only shot,” he said. “How many more opportunities am I going to have? This is it.”
As a child, Weissenberg grew up idolizing famous Western film stars like John Wayne. He dreamed of one day becoming a cowboy himself, and his yearning only grew.
His wife, Romona, suggested a dude ranch, but Weissenberg refused, insisting he wanted to do something on his own.
And then the idea came to him: a trip to Florida in a horse-drawn wagon to see a side of America he said has been lost.
In November, Weissenberg searched through eBay to find a wagon that would be suitable for his trip. According to his trip journal, he found a $1,100 wagon frame after four hours.
Two months later, the frame from northern Michigan arrived at his home, and the work began.
When Weissenberg told his family about his plan, he was met with mixed emotions.
His wife disapproved of the trip because of safety concerns. But Karen Lambert, 45, Weissenberg’s stepdaughter, was happy for him to follow his dream.
After nearly six months of working with luan wood and Styrofoam — including one rebuild — Weissenberg completed his rig.
“It wasn’t built the best, but it did the job for me,” he said.
Like a small apartment, the wagon was outfitted with an air conditioning unit, Wi-Fi Internet, a small bed, a fridge and a generator.
According to his journal, the wagon and supplies for the trip cost Weissenberg about $16,000.
“This is not your daddy’s wagon,” Weissenberg joked.
Gadgets wouldn’t get him there, though. He also needed horses.
To pull his 3,500-pound caravan, in April Weissenberg bought Sussie and Clara Jo, two 12-year-old Percheron horses, at $3,500 each. Then he was ready.
Before he left, several friends and neighbors visited Weissenberg at his home to wish him farewell.
Rabbi Shaul Perlstein, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Chattanooga, blessed Weissenberg’s wagon and left a note in Hebrew on the driver’s side.
On May 11, Weissenberg left his home in Tennessee for the open road to Ocala.
“I didn’t take a specific route,” he said. “I just figured ‘let’s just go.’”
For the next nine and half weeks, Weissenberg traveled through Georgia and north Florida, stopping in small towns to rest and water his horses.
On average, Sussie and Clara Jo covered 20 to 25 miles a day. Weissenberg used a GPS to keep himself on track.
He also installed a large rear view mirror, flashing lights and a large reflecting triangle to warn drivers at night that he was on the road.
Throughout his trip, Weissenberg met a variety of people as he inched his way through the Georgia backroads.
There was Jack Miller of Barwick, Ga., who let Weissenberg stay at his barn for three days because of the heat; Joe O’Neal of Madison, Fla., who Weissenberg said had the only factory red 1968 Shelby Mustang hidden in his garage; and the children and faculty at Cave Springs Elementary in Cave Springs, Ga.
For each person who met Weissenberg, brought him supplies or took a picture with his wagon, they all wrote encouraging messages or their names on the wagon’s wood frame.
“It’s the idea that Americans still care for one another,” he said. “It’s really uplifting.”
On July 12, Weissenberg ended his trip at a friend’s house just south of Fort White.
Although Ocala was the original destination, Weissenberg said Fort White police officers urged him to reconsider because of safety issues with heavy traffic near High Springs.
Weissenberg said he was almost hit by cars three times while riding to Fort White.
Despite the change in plans, 597 miles by horse and wagon was a “trip of a lifetime,” he said.
Weissenberg sold his horses to a plantation owner in northern Florida. He also plans on taking apart the wagon, varnishing the outside walls and hanging them in his house.
At his friend’s house on Friday, Weissenberg’s wagon was covered with writing.
On the driver side, Perlstein’s Hebrew message from the first day of the trip is now crowded with names and messages, but the translation reflects an enlightening journey.
“As you travel peacefully through the world, you shall leave a peaceful world behind.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
