LAGUNA BEACH : Kids to Track Truck Around the World

Frustrated that many young people know little about geography--and looking for a little adventure himself--a Laguna Beach man will leave this month in his pickup truck “Bubba” on a round-the-world trip that Irvine schoolchildren will monitor via computer.

The journey will begin as retired airline pilot Roger Williams, 57, heads south for Mexico and then travels through Central and South America. As his adventure progresses, students at Los Naranjos Elementary School will track it on a huge map Williams has donated to the school.

Williams, who is divorced, does not know how many countries he will visit, but he expects to cover at least 40,000 miles in three years.

Williams, a photo reconnaissance pilot in the Vietnam War, has spent about $25,000 on the project--$21,000 of that on Bubba, a 1982 Dodge that he bought in Texas in 1990 for $3,600.

The truck has a new turbo diesel engine, and Williams has added some space to the camper. The truck will boast a 37-gallon auxiliary gas tank, which is expected to give Williams about 1,200 miles of travel without refueling.

Williams will carry with him a spare alternator, starter, water pump, fuel injector pump, six injectors and two spare tires.

“I built it; I can fix it,” said Williams, who had to get a series of shots to fight diseases such as yellow fever, meningitis, cholera and typhoid.

He also will take a computer so he can communicate with the students.

Williams said he will pay an Irvine company to accept information from his computer, pass it to the school and then reverse the process. The children’s questions will be condensed and forwarded to Williams to help him plan his itinerary a week or two in advance, he said.

The idea for the adventure began when Williams was watching a television show on the Argentine coastline and wanted to see it.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t I just go ahead and do the whole world?’ ” he said. “I’m kind of a geography nut anyway.”

“I think Roger’s goal to have kids understand more about the world around them and to have more understanding of the fundamentals of geography is a goal we’ve talked about in school for a long time,” said Los Naranjos Principal Bruce Baron.

While Williams winds his way across the planet--shipping Bubba from continent to continent--a large map will be on permanent display in the school’s media center. As the students get letters, computer messages and photos from Williams, they will track his journey with pins, yarn and arrows.

Since moving to California in 1990, Williams said, he has spent most of his time fishing, golfing and rebuilding engines.

“I’m ready to do something that means something again,” said Williams. “Not that playing golf and fishing don’t mean something.”