On May 18, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson agreed to a $50 wager (about $1,400 today) to prove that a four-wheeled machine could be driven across the country. He accepted even though at the age of 31 he did not own a car, had practically no experience driving, and had no maps to follow.

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On May 23, along with a young mechanic, Sewell K Crocker, Jackson departed from San Francisco in a used, 2-cylinder, 20hp Winton touring car that he dubbed "The Vermont' after his beloved home state.

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Somewhere near Caldwell, Idaho, Jackson and Crocker obtained a dog, a Pit Bull named Bud. Though there were rumors about how the dog was acquired, in a letter to his wife, Jackson said a man sold him the dog for $15 (about $420 today).

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It turned out that the dusty alkali flats the travelers encountered would bother Bud's eyes so much (The Vermont had neither a roof nor windshield) that Jackson eventually fitted him with a pair of goggles. Bud was an instant celebrity and total natural with local reporters and photographers.

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On July 26, the trio arrived in New York City making Bud the first pup to successfully complete a transcontinental American road trip.

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Today, Bud's American Pub celebrates casual, contemporary American cuisine inspired by America's greatest adventure: the cross-country road trip.