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Totty on the air at WTLS

Traveling the USA

By Michael Butler

Lifetime Tallassee resident Chuck Totty has made the regular trips to Alabama's bordering states in his five decades on the planet. That all changed recently.

Totty logged 124,500 miles in just over eight months as a transporter from Maine to California.

"Every state has its beauty," Totty said, "but the thing about the west - the adjective that you have to use is majestic. Anywhere in the west is long, endless vistas, rolling hills and big sky."

Totty was able to visit a family with his namesake while in California.

Totty making a stop at Corn Palace in South Dakota

"I met an unrelated Totty on Facebook. He and his wife live in Vacaville. He said stay with us. They took me in. Their children are gourmet chefs. They made homemade raviola. You'd have to go to a five-star (restaurant). It was wonderful.

"Their daughter is a wine maker. Her name is Domenica Totty. She's been on the Food Channel. (They) bring out this magnum bottle and say, 'Chuck you can buy this in the store. Do you know how much this is?' I said probably about $300. This is the one (that) won competition in France. It goes for $2,000.

"You ride the Sonoma and Napa valleys, you're going to see some of the most gorgeous rolling hills. They're one after another."

Totty at one of the nation's most recognizable landmarks, Mount Rushmore

Prior to his trek across the USA, Totty's travels had been limited.

"Nashville, Atlanta, Jackson, Panama City," he joked. "When I hit the west, my mouth stayed open for three days."

By the numbers, Totty put in over 15,000 miles per month on the nation's highways seeing the sights in the 48 contiguous states.

"You meet America," he said. "The people that have made it are so thankful. God is strong especially in the farm lands and cattle ranches. You can't go anywhere without seeing 'Jesus is the Way.' God is strong in middle America."

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