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The Sunshine Express in Images

In May 2011, Roll Bama Roll teamed up with Well That's Cool to bring supplies from across the USA to help the victims of the Tuscaloosa tornado. Here are the images from that journey.

By C.J. Schexnayder
  • May 2011: Bo Hicks stands in what remains of his former Tuscaloosa neighborhood.
  • A Tuscaloosa home blasted by the April 27, 2011 tornado.
  • The Sunshine Express prepares for the trip east in California.
  • California volunteers set the stage for a successful trip.
  • LA television news filming a feature on the tornado relief efforts.
  • Terror is taking a 26-foot-long truck into LA rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon.
  • The Rose Bowl. The Sunshine Express' obligatory first stop.
  • Another important stop, Claude Bell's dinosaurs in Cabazon, California.
  • And, yes, I did have to stop and take this picture as well.
  • I might have been listening to Hank Williams' "Lonesome Whistle." If not, pretend I was.
  • Dallas, Texas. Time to get off the road and back to work.
  • Simply organizing the amount of goods from North Texas donors in North Texas was an enormous task.
  • The volunteers in Dallas did an amazing job unloading and reloading the truck.
  • Late Spring in Ruston, Louisiana means peach Icees.
  • Vicksburg, Mississippi. We were concerned the high water would force a long detour but, luckily, it didn't happen.
  • Unloading in Tuscaloosa. The fact there were no clothes in this load was a huge relief.
  • Loading up goods from First Wesleyan Baptist Church to take to Jasper.
  • It was a long tough trip but easily one of the most rewarding ones of my life.

This gallery is a collection of images I took during the 2,000 mile trip from Los Angeles, California to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in May 2011 as part of the Sunshine Express relief effort for the victims of the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. It was a long arduous journey that succeeded due to the contributions of dozens of people concerned about those whose lives were affected by the disaster.

You can find more photos of the conclusion of the Sunshine Express' journey at the website of photographer David A. Smith.

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