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So it's a new year, and as I always do when a new year and, more importantly, a new semester comes along, I start to look to summer. Last summer, as some of you may remember, I made plans to hike the Appalachian Trail. I didn't manage to do the whole thing, settling instead for the state of Maine. But that's irrelevant. What's important is the future - Summer '07!
To be redundant, I'm trying to plan a road trip. My first choice was to go to Europe and hang out there, but I don't think I'll be able to swing that monetarily. So I'm exploring the possibilities of a road trip here, in the US. And I was wondering if any jatraqueros had any tips for me?
I'm looking at maybe around 3 weeks out. Hopefully I'll have 2 or 3 (or 4) companions, but that's up in the air. Obviously, money is a major concern. Any tips on how to be cheap would be appreciated. But I also want it to be a great experience, so any "must-see" suggestions are welcome as well. I'm in Florida right now, but the country is my oyster - No distance is too far. Or maybe it is? I don't know. I'm new at this. So any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I would recommend staying on the East Coast and moving North. There's so much more to see for the amount driven. If you go that route, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. have tons of free things to see that are pretty neat. As for sleeping arrangements, I'd look into buying a membership with Hostelling International. The rural hostels tend to be nicer than the urban ones. Good luck and have fun!
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Stop often to use the bathroom- you never know when you may get another chance, especially in the Plains states. Keep yourself hydrated, too.
If you feel up to QUITE a drive, I'd recommend seeing some of the more famous National Parks- Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon. If you don't want to go that fr, and plan on staying further east, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky offers some really interesting tours- just book in advance. They even have tours where you get equipped with grappeling equipment- which if you're into hiking, you'd probably like.
If you're a AAA member, TipTicks are awesome- they plan out everything for you, like a very high-tech version of mapquest. That's what we did when we drove to Yellowstone(from Ohio) this summer.
Posts: 1591 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Funny you should mention a road trip, I was planning on starting my own thread here soon to talk about road trips.
My friends and I next August are driving from Detroit down the eastern seaboard to Disneyworld, and then coming back through TN and KY (hitting Mammoth Cave National Park) to Detroit. We too wanted to go to Europe, but we're camping through the whole trip, which is even cheaper than hostels. Camping is the main way we're cheaping up the trip, that and making sure the majority of the stuff we do is free, like seeing memorials in DC. We're also going to run up the steps of that building in Philadelphia like Rocky and film it so we can make little movies of it.
I'm going to AAA later this week to make reservations for everything. Let me know how it goes Dr S. But I think the first thing to do is decide where you want to go, what is your destination? Ours is Disneyworld, but then we planned everything around how to get there, and the fun along the way. Pick a big destination, then see what you can do on the way.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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New Orleans is both drivable and scenic. Plus I know of a few hatrackers you could probably crash with.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I was hoping to crash with a Hatracker or two over my trip, but I'm bringing three friends with me, and that'd be a bit of an imposition on anyone.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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That was directed at Dr. S, but honestly if you came through here, Lyr, I could put up the whole crew at my (as yet uninhabited) apt. Provided no one minds uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by El JT de Spang: That was directed at Dr. S, but honestly if you came through here, Lyr, I could put up the whole crew at my (as yet uninhabited) apt. Provided no one minds uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.
You're in NOLA?
Sorry I know it was directed at Dr. S, I was just jumping on the topic as it came up
The furthest west we were PLANNING to go during our trip was Atlanta, but we DO have a friend that's working for some chemical company over the summer in Baton Rouge, so it's a possibility, but we haven't really worked it out yet. Thanks for the offer.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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This must be road-trip-planning season. I'm planning on taking my parents on a road trip to Yellowstone, hopefully at the end of May/beginning of June.
I'm planning on taking them through South Dakota to see stuff on the way there (Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, probably a few Native American reservations/cultural sites, etc.) and then swinging south to go through Colorado on the way back, and possibly down to Salt Lake City if we have time (but that's not too likely). I'm thinking the longest we'd have is two weeks for the whole trip. More than that and there's a good chance we'll kill each other.
Something that might be worth looking into for my fellow road-trippers is the Student Advantage card. I already had one, so I don't know if I would have gotten one just for this trip, but they do give you 15% off at Choice Hotels, which I believe also regularly runs a "stay twice, get a free night" promotion. Granted, that's mainly of interest to me because I know my parents wouldn't be comfortable staying at hostels and/or crashing at people's houses, and definitely not camping, but that's really the only cheap tip I've got.
Oh wait, I lied - check rest areas for free state highway maps and brochures on cool things to do in the area. I don't think every state gives away maps, but some of them do. A lot of the brochures will be for tourist traps, but a few of them will be for genuinely interesting things that you might not have heard about otherwise.
And I'm a big fan of scenic driving, so I'm going to try and route our trip through as many scenic byways as possible. (They also give out free maps, btw.)
Edit: And I [heart] Rand McNally's online road trip planner. It's not perfect, but I haven't yet been able to find one that works better.
Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I want a road trip to NOLA -- just so I can crash at JT's place and hear him sing a song with his guitar! Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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