sparklegem

Fodorites, I truly need your help. I am trying to plan a road trip from Los Angeles to Florida and back. I have never attempted a road trip this long and have really only taken several day road trips as child. I will be traveling with my friend and my daughter who is twelve. We will be traveling in my friend's new SUV. My husband will joining us in New Orleans, where we can stay for several days. We will stay two weeks in Florida before making our return trip. We plan to visit some Tiki establishments along the way in:

Scottsdale (we can stay with family there)
Tucson
Dallas
Atlanta
(and quite a few in Florida, but we can do that during our two weeks there)

We also want to visit:
Paris, TX
New Mexico
and possibly the Grand Canyon (we have not been there)

I had laid things out along mapquest and referenced Fodor's and Frommer's online (and Roadside America!!) but the trip did not really seem to make sense and I knew that I needed some help. Then, I did a search here, on road trips, and realized that I really needed help!! Those road trips posts are amazing! I want to have trip like that!!

Here are some things that we like:
quaint little towns, (but do not need to see a time capsule Western town, we have that near us)
Kitschy things from the 1950's and 1960's
nature hikes
amazing landscapes
good ethnic food
vintage hotels
vintage clothing and furnishing stores
Elvis
cacti
animals

How much driving should we do in a day? I was thinking of five to six hours, but did not know what was best.

Please help me pull together one of those great trips! I just have no idea where to start and how to know what little towns are the ones that we should stay in (I had considered: Brisbee, Marfa, Austin, the Layfayette area, but I am not committed to those towns) and where to drive the little roads and what to stop and see.

Wayne

I've had the privilege (or perhaps the necessity) of driving between those end points a few times. I will come back later with some recommendations after I pull up my own history on the route.

sparklegem

Thank you so much, Wayne!! I can't wait to learn your recommendations!

RedRock

How many times are you going to post the same thing.

sparklegem

Sorry,
I was trying to post for the states that I would be driving through and the site would only allow me to select five at a time. Do you have a suggestion?

RedRock

They all show up on the US forum doesn't matter what state its posted in.

sparklegem

Is there a way to delete or combine the posts? It has been a long time since I was on this board and at that time there was not a tag feature.

RedRock

No need to worry or to delete. Just stick with one thread and let the others age off. That way you wont have to check all three threads for your information.

Wayne

As I go through my past drives, some questions/comments arise about your plans:
-How many days are you planning to allow for this trip? With some of your objectives, this could turn into a long drive.
-You already want to spend a few days in New Orleans. If your final destination is Florida, obviously this stop detracts from your schedule.
-If you are planning to go to Atlanta, that is a good bit out of the way for a trip to Florida. Do you have time for that?
-If I try to calculate some approximate trip times and include all the things you want to do and several of the places you want to stop, I come up with an approximate total travel time of about 2 weeks to get from L.A. to the Florida panhandle.

Given those issues, it might be premature for me to make a lot of recommendations. You probably need to set a time limit on the overall drive and select a firm end point. You also probably need to narrow those desired diversions down to a manageable few unless you indeed have lots of time.

RedRock

With all the stops you have contemplated you need a good set of paper maps of the states you are planning to visit and go thru... If you are a member of AAA or another motor club they can provide them. If you are not then now would be a good time to join. If AAA make sure you get their Tour Books of the states you plan to visit. We have found on long long road trips the computer mapping services are lacking and will often take you out of your way by trying to keep you on the Interstate highway... We take road trips yearly, some in excess of 10K miles, and have been doing so for 25+ years. This is the way we travel, sometimes we leave a lot to chance... Don't expect to travel all Interstate highways. Sometimes the older US highways are just as fast and better roads. With less traffic as well.. When you drive them you actually get to see something besides the lug nuts of the 18 wheeler besides you. To get started get a 2009 Rand McNally Road Atlas from your local WalMart, the cost is $5.97 and it will pay you back many times over when you travel. Don't be afraid to explore when you are out there on our highways and byways.

sparklegem

Thank you, Wayne and RedRock. You both have great advice.

Wayne, thank you so much for your help. This is what I have been thinking of so far (please feet free to make suggestions, adjust or tell me that something does not make sense):

Day One drive to Palm Springs are for a picnic lunch and hike. Continue to Scottsdale for Happy hour at Trader Vic's and stay with family.

Day Two Drive to Tucson for lunch at the Kon Tiki Lounge. (now here is where I am having second thoughts) continue on to Brizbee, AZ to stay at The Shady Dell and have dinner in Brizbee. (I was think that there may somewhere amazing to stop between Tucson and Austin instead of going to Brizbee and Marfa. I really have no idea how much fun those two places will be...)

Day Three drive to Marfa TX. Stay two nights. Go to the Chinati FOundation and go to see the Marfa Lights.

Day Five drive to the Texas Hill country near Austin. Stay the night in a cabin and eat Bar B Q.

Day Six Get a late start and head to Austin for some vintage shopping and lunch. Drive to the Lafayette area to spend the night. (Could really use some suggestions for this part)

Day Seven explore the Lafayette area (?) and go into New Orleans. Spend four nights in New Orleans.

Then, take two days to drive to Bradenton Florida from New Orleans. Would like a nice place to stop for the night.

Spend two weeks in Florida.

Drive to Dallas from Bradenton, stopping for one night (I do not know where).

Then we want to go to New Mexico and to see the Grand Canyon. I really haven't gotten this far, but sure could use some help!!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!!

P.S. RedRock, thank you for the map suggestions! My parents may be able to help me out with the AAA Maps. I will get the Atlas.

How long do you drive each day on your road trips?

I thought that I would try to keep it around six hours. Then we could arrive in the afternoon, get out and explore where we are stopping for the night. Does that sounds like a good plan?

cferrb

You might want to get a wall map of the U.S. and put it up on the wall. Buy some small Post-It notes and use them to mark the places that you are thinking of. You'll see distances and things that are clustered together or too far apart.

I assume that you have by now realized that the Grand Canyon is not in New Mexico. Monument Valley and the Four Corners area is spectacular, although remote. The Grand Canyon is good for a day's detour off Highway 40. Flagstaff is a pretty easy place to stay on the way in or out of the Grand Canyon.

Orlando_Vic

sparklegem,

RE: AAA
Consider joining if you are not already a member! There are other benefits beside the "free" maps which you might be able to get from your parents.

You are traveling across some lonely and desolate parts of the country. What happens if you have a mechanical breakdown?

You are driving a vehicle that is not yours and you and your 12-year old daughter will be the <u>only</u> passengers. Do you feel comfortable with that scenario? It's not such a far fetched idea. It happened to us several years ago in a <u>very</u> small town in New Mexico.

AAA can also give you some excellent trip planning assistance with information on some of the things you hope to see along the way.

Think about it!

RedRock

>>How long do you drive each day on your road trips?

I thought that I would try to keep it around six hours.<<

Its a long way from LA to Florida.

Six hours of driving will take at least 8+ hours on the road. You do plan on Pit Stops, stretches, eating and gas don't you? All those take time.

We normally plan on 10-12 hours a day depending on stops.. Some days we may drive 100 miles and others 500+. Depends....

When you join CAA/AAA don't forget the Tour Books for all the states. We more than get our moneys worth from the AAA Maps, Tour Books and the "Show Your Card and Save" program, ask about that. The road service is there but you hope to never have to use it.

sparklegem

Cferrb,
I really like your idea of a wall map with sticky notes! I do know know that the Grand Canyon is not in New Mexico. I meant that we want to visit New Mexico and then go to the Grand Canyon. I would really like to go to Monument Valley, too! Thank you for your help!

Hi Orlando Vic,

We have towing and other benefits through our credit card and so I do not think that we will be joining AAA (but I know that my parents really like their AAA member ship). We will be traveling with our friend in her new SUV and I am sure that she has all the coverage possible. My husband will also be traveling with us for a lot of the time. I have traveled to many parts of the world by myself for many months at a time and feel very comfortable with the small group that we will have on this road trip. I appreciate your concern. I would not make this trip with just my daughter, although we have traveled together in much more remote areas.

Do you have any suggestions for a place to stop between Bradenton and Dallas?

Orlando_Vic

Dallas to Bradenton is approximately 1190 miles. Pensacola is 648 miles from Dallas. If you want to drive that far in one day, you could stop there. Otherwise, you could stop in Mobile, AL (585 miles from Dallas).

sparklegem

Thank you, Orlando Vic!

Wayne

It appears that several of your legs in this travel plan are a bit longer than you might have expected. The first leg, from L.A. to Phoenix, is about 370 miles, which I suspect you already know. Add to that at least an hour for lunch, perhaps a half hour or more for a hike, and another hour total for a few rest stops on the way, and you are looking at an 8-9 hour trip. I don't know if you had planned to be traveling that long a time, but this is what you are facing on the first day. Based on that amount of time, I would suggest you don't have much time for other stops on the way. Later on, some of the legs get even worse.

On the second day, you might consider a stop at Picacho Peak state park, and the Saguaro National Monument. I assume you are referring to Bisbee, AZ. The drive to Bisbee is quite scenic, but otherwise there isn't much there. Given your plan, I would put your trip time at about 8 hours total.

From Bisbee,your trip to Marfa looks to be another 8 hours or more. If it were shorter, or if you wanted to stop somewhere else, you might find White Sands to be very interesting, to you and to younger folks.

Your trip from Marfa to Austin looks to me like 9-10 hours. If you want to stop at a very nice hill country spot west of Austin, stay in Fredericksburg -- probably the nicest of all the hill country towns. That would make your trip from Marfa about an hour shorter.

From the Austin area to Lafayette area will be 7 hours total time by my estimate, plus your shopping time. If you have time around Austin, Lake Travis is very scenic. Georgetown north of Austin is a very nice small town with a charming ambience and lots of neat shops. With your plan, I think this could end up as a very long leg since shopping is never a quick task.

In the hill country and east of Austin, you might want to drop into any of the many small towns along the way. There is nothing of great significance that I know of, but you will see lots of signs about local attractions.

On the way to Lafayette, you might want to stop short in Lake Charles, Jennings, or Crowley. Otherwise your trip into Lafayette will be about 8-9 hours. You will be in Cajun country as soon as you get into Louisiana, and you will be able to stop anywhere for lunch, even the crummy looking places, and you will have a great lunch. There is no bad food in Louisiana. There's a nice Cajun history museum in Lafayette, and in the evening you might want to find some Cajun entertainment. East of Lafayette is a typical but somewhat touristy Cajun town -- Breaux Bridge -- which is worth a 2-3 hour stop. Or if you can make it on this leg, stay in B.B. instead of Lafayette.

Well, the New Orleans leg is certainly not very bad -- probably only 4 hours total. Once in the outskirts of N.O. you will probably find more traffic, and you should avoid the busy afternoon work time hours from about 4 pm to 6 pm. I won't give any advice on N.O.-- there's plenty on this forum already. Just see and eat all you can.

Between N.O. and Bradenton, I have a couple of favorite overnight stops. For a great motel, try the Hampton Inn on the east side of Mobile Bay, overlooking the bay with beautiful sunsets over the bay. If you want to go farther, old downtown Pensacola has lots of places to stay, including a few good B&B's. A place to enjoy along the way is Bayou LaBatre, where some of the film "Forrest Gump" was made. If you stop there for a lunch or dinner, I can recommend a place but I will have to give you directions. Also the Fish House on the bay in downtown Pensacola is a great place for dinner.

From Pensacola to Bradenton will be about a total of 6 hours, and about an hour longer if you stay overnight at the Hampton on Mobile Bay. I usually drive on I-10 through Tallahassee to about 15 miles or so east of Tallahassee, then go south on US19, which is almost traffic free and goes through some typical small Florida towns. You could stop for a lunch around the Suwannee River area, in a place called the Fish House. There are other such spots along the route. Only problem is that there is only one rest stop in a distance of about 120 miles. You will want to rejoin US 75 by taking US27 to Ocala at Chiefland, FL, then follow I-95 on to Bradenton.

I would worry about the amount of time for each of the legs of your trip. Many of them are quite a stretch and will tax you even with driving help. There will be little time to enjoy anything along most of your route. You can drive like crazy and beat these times, but if you are an average driver these long segments will probably be a bit taxing.

I will stop for now and wait for further comments from you.

sparklegem

Thank you so much for all the amazing advice!! I, too, am worried about driving too much. I figured that we would get up early and drive for a few hours, have lunch and drive a few more. That would put us into where we would be stopping by late afternoon. Our first day we plan to leave very early and only stop for lunch and a hike and of course restrooms. We can see that area more easily another time.

I just spoke to my friend's husband, who has driven the CA- FL trip many times, and he says that he usually drives nine(!!) hours a day. That is not the kind of trip that we are hoping for. I guess it is different for each person.

I have changed our plans a bit. We are now going to go to Carlsbad from Brisbee and go to the caverns the next morning. Then Marfa for two nights and we have decided to stay two nights in Driftwood so that we can have a shopping day in Austin and not have do that long drive all in the same day.

I will look up your suggestions for the Lafayette area and for the NOLA to Bradenton leg.

Thank you so much for your suggestions!