Luckily, my doll of a college roommate, Jess of Animated Cardigan, has agreed to embark on this trip with me and my two cats (poor babies). We've been on a few road trips together in the past and she's a great travel companion, so I'm super psyched for her to be my accomplice.
We don't have all the details hammered out yet, but it looks like I'll be joining her in South Carolina shortly after the new year and then we'll predominately follow 40 through the mid-west, stopping to see the sights and ticking off lots of states, then hop on the Pacific Coast Highway once we're in California and land in San Francisco a few days before I have to start work.
As important as it is to take care of the goals in life that make us more responsible, healthy, and put together people, it's just as important to make headway towards goals that are fun and expose you to new experiences. Right? Right.
Have you ever taken a cross country road trip? Do you have any tips or suggested stops for us?
SO.
ReplyDeleteEXCITED.
Me too, me too!
DeleteYay! Muzzy is a fantastic travel companion. As are you, Sarah. Y'all gonna have so much fun! Take lots of pictures and text me and make me jealous, please!
ReplyDeleteHaha will do! :-)
DeletePCH is GORGEOUS!!! Hurry up and get to it!
ReplyDeleteHighly recommend taking a night in Nashville and try and get into the Bluebird Cafe. It's amazing. Don't hang out too long in Memphis. Just long enough to grab some BBQ (if you're a fan) and see Graceland. We found it totally worth it. Are y'all planning on cutting through Vegas then up? If not I recommend it.
PCH is one of the top things I'm looking forward to. The pictures I've seen are jaw dropping!
DeleteWe're actually going to dip down into Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi instead of going straight through Tennessee since I've never been to Alabama and Mississippi and I want to cross them off the list. Nashville is a great city though.
Our Memphis to do list is exactly what you're recommending, so it'll be a quickie haha.
We're not sure about Vegas yet. We are definitely going to stop and see the Hoover Dam, so we're trying to decide if we should go the little extra bit to explore Vegas too. If we have time, I think we'll definitely do it.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and especially your intelligence. I'm a late 40s DOH (deceased). Yes, I drove from Los Angeles to graduate school in New York, twice. It was just me and my little love bird Pooter, whose tall round cage was seat-belted into the front seat of the car. I would cover his cage with a towel when the thunderstorms got really loud and scary (as I drove cross-country in late August, thunderstorm season in the southwest. My mom was alive at the time and even though she was a T5 hoarder, when you were out of the house she was a great mom. We didn't have cell phones in those days. I had a CB radio in case of emergencies, but I never needed to use it. This is what I would do:
1. Make sure your car is in very good repair. Take it to the shop, tell them you are driving cross country, and have hoses that look like they may wear out in the next several months replaced. Make sure your tires are in really, really good shape.
2. Print out a Trip Tik from AAA. If they are like they were back then, they will show you the miles between gas stations. Invaluable.
3. Select a destination every morning, make hotel or motel reservations, and let your friends and family (those you are in touch with) know when and where to expect you that night. DON'T try to push yourself beyond your daily goal in order to "make better time." I averaged, if I recall, 500 miles a day. I think my longest day was nearly 600 miles or maybe closer to 700 miles and it was very difficult.
4. Sadly, you need to unpack as much in your car as you can at night because your car, with all of your belongings, will look like and be a really good target.
5. Use distilled water for the kitties if they are driving with you. Don't use local water. I made sure Pooter's water was consistent and bottled.
6. My recollection is that Union 76 truck stops had the nicest bathrooms. Big old truck stops tend to be a bit nicer from my recent, shorter trips.
7. Stay in the nicest motels you can afford, please. Nothing without a recognizable logo or commercial jingle, at the least. There is a Holiday Inn in Amarillo, right of the 40, with an indoor pool and room service. That was always a bit of a treat.
8. Hit the road as early in the morning as you can, and off the road as early at night as you can. Daylight is your friend.
Have fun. America is actually quite beautiful and you don't get a true sense of it until you drive across it.
Suzanne
Thank you so much for your advice, Suzanne and I apologize for not replying sooner! We took much of your advice and didn't run into any problems. It really was a beautiful trip!
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