Fraggle

Has anyone driven across the country? What route did you take? How old were you? What kind of car was it? I'm tinkering with the idea myself and I'm contemplating the options. I'd be coming from Virginia and I'd like to end in New York or vice versa. Any thoughts?

rkkwan

I was a truck driver for 2.5 years, and had done cross-country several times in a big rig. I've also driven a 95 Integra GS-R one-way from Rhode Island to Seattle; and roundtrip in a mildly modified 1998 Legacy GT from Connecticut to California to do time trial racing.

I've done I-10, 20, 30, 40, 70, 80 & 90 across the country. What I haven't driven is I-94 across the Northern plains and I-84 between Salt Lake City and Portland, OR. Otherwise, I've driven it most.

Are you thinking about driving from Virginia to the west coast and then back to NY? How much time do you have?

rkkwan

Oops... I shouldn't have put down I-30. That's just a short interstate between Dallas and Little Rock, not a cross-country route. Sorry.

birgator

Took 3 months out and left Atlanta in August a few years back, home to PA in October by way of Seattle, SF, Albuquerque etc. Drove an old Astro van which performed miraculously even on top of the highest peak in Yellowstone. I was in my late fifties at the time, and traveled by myself.

Went from Atlanta to Kentucky, to Chicago, to Milwaukee, to Minneapolis, to South Dakota, to Montana, to Idaho, to Seattle, down the coast through Oregon, San Francisco, Yellowstone, Santa Fe, St. Louis where I ran out of time and headed directly back to central PA. Stopped at various flea markets along the way (brought a load -- that's why the van) and pretty much bought and sold my way through the states.


Ended up staying a lot at youth hostels where ever I could find one -- some excellent locations, the most memorable of which was probably Crescent City, CA -- overlooking the beach! A great option if you're not fussy; staying in motels by yourself gets expensive. And you meet the mnost interesting people, can do laundry, check email, cook etc.

Not for everyone -- but it was a fabulous trip and one that didn't break the bank either. If you like to truly travel, I'd highly recommend it.

B/

Fraggle

I was thinking of driving from VA to the west coast and back. I'm wondering how long that would take really--- and whether I'd be better off waiting until I have a newish car. My current car has a lot of miles on it and probably isn't very reliable. I'd really like to drive up the coast of california, oregon, and washington.. I know that's a long way.. but as an east coaster I have no clue about the time of that, etc.
This is a trip for the future sometime when I'm next between jobs, etc. I knew of someone who's brother once set off with a packed car with the intent to keep driving until he got somewhere that he didn't want to leave. He started in Florida--- Was leaving San Francisco and looked in his rearview mirror and decided to turn around. He's been there for 20 years now... cool story?
Also... how safe would it be for me to do this alone as a female---
How do you pass the time on the road?

birgator

I am a female, and didn't have a problem or feel unsafe anywhere I went. Passed the time on the road with a huge stack of books on tape (or CDs) -- Steinbeck never was better than in California. Check your local library or stop at any Cracker Barrel (selection is usually not great, but in a pinch, it comes out to a couple of bucks per book) to pick up and return/exchange.

How long? Depends what you want to do on the way, if anything -- five days if you just want to get there without killing yourself. I'd allow at least a week or two for driving down the coast. Lots to see and experience.

New car, old car ... as long as it's in good driving condition -- I had 240,000 on the Astro when I left and passed plenty of disabled late model cars along the way.

B/

rkkwan

- Who long would it take?

You can check mileage on a map, or use mapquest.com or the new maps.google.com that I like a lot. In my opinion, driving solo 500 miles a day is pretty easy. You're talking about 8 hours actually driving, so you have time to eat, find a good place to stay, and stop in at whatever attractions you find. If you're in a hurry, then 700 solo miles a day is the most I'd recommend - more than that you'll likely be fatiqued.

And that's freeway or rural highway miles. If you're driving along the California coast on Hwy 1, then that's a lot longer.

- Old car & safety

There's nothing particularly unsafe about a female traveling solo. Just use common sense. Find decent motels to stay, and do not use the highway rest areas after dark. Go to a gas station or truckstop instead. As for the old car, it's basically about money and time. If your car break down in the rural west, you may be 20-30 miles, (or even 100 miles in UT and NV) from any service station. Other travellers and truckers will stop and help you, but a tow will be very expensive and time consuming. Those are the risks.

Chele60

The last time I did a long road trip was back in 1976. I went with my parents from California to Wisconsin for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. I was 16 at the time - in fact, had just gotten my license, so it was an experience! My family (3 of us) drove in a 1973 Chevy Nova, sans air conditioning in August.

Dad was more intent on arriving, so we shot through in 3 days. Headed west to Las Vegas, then north to Salt Lake. Picked up 80 (I think??) through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illonois. Then shot up to Wisconson. No stopping, no sightseeing.

Return trip was also focused. However, we drove south through Illinois, crossed into Missouri and into Oklahoma. (We were taking the route my parents did when we came to California) Crossed through the Texas panhandle and through New Mexico into Arizona. Only sightseeing on the trip happened in Arizone - Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Then onto California.

My dad had really scoped out how many miles he could cover in one (roughly) 12 hour day, with 3 drivers at the wheel no more than 2 hours.

I loved the road trip on the way out. I got lots of driving time, so I was thrilled! The drive home was less fun. I was actually tired of driving, no air conditioning in hot weather was uncomfortable, and we were all typically grumpy at one another. Well, it didn't help that my dad insisted we all get up at 4am so we could be on the road by 5!

But, I still remember the trip fondly. I got to see quite a bit of the Western US and all the really bad memories have faded. I always like a good road trip, but I found I don't do well if they are overly long. I don't think we ever felt unsafe the entire trip, except when we spent the night in Gallup, New Mexico. Even having something wrong with the car after limping home, I doubt we questioned we were in danger.

Perhaps you might want to take a shorter trip first to see if you would like it? It would be terrible to plan a nice long trip, only to discover part way out that it isn't something you enjoy.

Ozarksbill

Gosh, how many of us can remember trips across the U.S. We've done sightseeing with our kids and I recall the days when I was a kid riding in a car without airconditioning. My advice is to concentrate on what appeals to you, like historic sights, museums, parks, battlegrounds, country roads, festivals. How about dropping in on frinds? You need some sense of destiny before routing. Yeah, a reliable car would be nice!

Ozarks Bill

J_Correa

One of my favorite things is to drive down the highway on a hot day with all the windows rolled down

dusty56438

Here is a nice website that lists and maps all of the U.S. Scenic Byways. You can click on a link to get a free map.
www.byways.org

Fraggle

Chele60--- wow.. sounds like quite the trip! I'm sure many of us can't imagine taking that trip with our parents when we were 16 (or with our teenage kids now) but I'm sure there were some real moments of hilarity.
Thanks for the map too dusty..
Windows down--- always! A nice summer day is the one time when I can pretend that I don't use air conditioning by choice (I have never had a car with reliable air conditioning)

mamajo

In '92 my DH & I drove from SW FL, up I-75 to I-10 and across to I-5 to Upland CA, where we spent our 50th anniversary with friends. Left there and went up 101 and crossed over just south of San Francisco to I-5, up I-5 then up to Klamath Falls OR for a week in a timeshare. From there we drove to Leavenworth WA, spending another timeshare week. From there we took the Cascade Loop to Everett, on to Mt. Vernon where we spent a few days with my cousin. From Mt. Vernon we headed up to Whistler BC for a few days, then back down to Blaine WA for another week in a timeshare. Back on I-5 to I-90 to Yellowstone NP. From there we took RT 14 across the Big Horn Mountains & picked up I-90 again and followed it to I-29, where we dropped south to stop & visit friends near Watertown SD. From there we got back on I-29 to I-90/94 and followed that to I-39 to Illinois where we stopped to see family. We took I-57 to I-24 to I-75 and followed that back to SW FL.

It was 10,000 miles and took us 6 weeks (but remember 3 weeks in timeshares). We spent too much time in the timeshare areas and not nearly enough in Yellowstone, nor did we allow time to stop in some other areas along the way that I would have liked to spent more time in. DH makes ALL motel reservations before we leave home, leaving no room for extra exploring

Other times we have taken I-70 or I-40 or I-80 across from SW OH where we used to live. On that trip we went through the last 3 states we needed to have been in all 50 of them.

travelenthusiast

Great question! When I was 22 years old I drove (well mostly I was the passenger) across country with a girl whose Dad gave her his car. She just had to drive it from PA to Seattle Washington. The car was a stick shift and I "learned" how to drive a stick just for the trip. I only drove once for a few hours. I've never driven a stick shift since. LOL! We drove Rt 80 across through PA, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We drove all day and stayed overnight in South Bend, Indiana. Then drove to see her family in Nebraska. Then we went to South Dakota and saw the Black Hills/Mount Rushmore area. We drove past a rock formation that was in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We also saw Wall Drug. It is a roadside tourist trap but it was fun. I hope you have a great time on your trip!

eileenleft

JUST GO! You won't be sorry. Random thoughts ahead:
Make sure the car is roadworthy. Pick out some must-see sights-years ago college roommate & I did Pa-Ca and ours were Badlands and Yellowstone(based on our 4th grade geography class remembrances) we also had to stop in Cody Wy because of Buffalo Bill?!

Get the listing of American hostels -there are some good ones with great views and they're a good way to talk to people after a day by yourself.

Crash with friends or relatives, even if you haven't seen them for a long time.They'll welcome you for a night.

Take the list of NPR stations with you because the stories(Garrison Keillor, This American Life) pass the time well. Check out roadside attractions.com for interesting must-sees. Have a current road atlas with you.

Oooh, just thinking about it makes me want to jump in the car...Actually it's my dream to outfit a pick-up truck with a bed & stove in the back and travel the continent. My kids think Mom's crazy...

justme22

do it. it's the only way to get a feel for the plains vs the prairy, also just how big the rockies are.

went from nj to monterrey back in the mid eigthies, in my little mazda 323 hatchback, 1/2 camped and motels - 3 weeks. went out route 70 headed to rocky mountain national park used route 6 thru nevada and came in thru ca at yosemite.

never felt unsafe,(i was by myself and am female) some long stretches of road though. i also drove from nj to phoenix on 40 and 50? wouldn't do that again! i am not counting the times my family did it in our old country squire station wagon! i would also take more than 3 weeks if i did do it again.

justme22

i can't spell to save my life PRAIRIE sorry (did i get it right this time?) is there a spell check?

kodi

Wow, what a great idea!! GO for it.
Although you could drive 500 miles a day, I'd be more inclined to build in more time for stopping along the way. If you are doing such a big trip, you want to be sure to have the time to stop and see the things that interest you. YOu don't want to say later, " oh, I wish I'd stopped there".

When I'm driving alone, I'm very aware of my surroundings. I always pay at the pump and don't waste any time at gas stations. I try not to leave my car at all. If I need washrooms, I will stop at Cracker Barrels or somewhere like that.

Birgator, what a trip! Good for you. I'm not sure I would have attempted it with that kind of milage on a vehicle, but I think it's great that you did it.
It sounds like a wonderful way to see the country.