During those existential teenage years, I really wanted an escape. I needed a distraction, a new place, somewhere I had not seen before. A cinematic road trip through the vast United States sounded like just the remedy for my adolescent blues. Once we decided to do this, I got to planning the trip. I started planning the trip searching on the clustered internet for places to go and ways to save money. I talked with people who had previously done road trips looking for bits of wisdom.
Some of the tips are based on saving money, and losing comfort. If you aren't broke teenagers like we were, then you can skip out on some of these cost avoiding tips. However, I do recommend you try and get yourself out of your comfort zone by doing something a bit unnatural to shake things up a bit in your life.
1. Chose Your Group Wisely
These are the people you will be crammed in the car with you, driving countless hours for a weekend, two weeks, or one month. You would get annoyed with anyone spending that much time together. However, I recommend that you choose friends (not some you just met) who are worth the annoying moments for all the other good times you will have on the trip. This choice is a personal one and depends completely on the person choosing, but I advise you to spend some time thinking over it.
Case and point.
2. Plan Ahead
This tip completely depends on how much time you have for your trip. When we first started out doing weekend trips, I tried to cram in as much stuff as possible due to the limited time. If you're a weekend warrior like we used to be, then I recommend micro-managing your time. Although it's not ideal and you may not have as much time to savor the view or stare off philosophically, you get you're money's worth of exposure to new areas and environments.
When you start adding more time, say a week or two, you can allow some time windows for open exploration of the area and towns you pass along the way. Spend time driving the scenic backroads versus the monotonous interstates. Spark up a conversation with the locals in a hole-in-the-wall diner. If you have time yet, and want to see it all, then micro-manage away.
First, I found the places we wanted to visit. Next, I determined around how much time each hike or stop would take, when we should be there, and when we should leave. Then, I used Google maps to find the time the drive takes, then do the next destination and so on. I wrote this all down on a couple sheets of paper and brought them along as a guide for the trip.
3. Do The Research
With the internet, most of the world (especially our country) has been mapped out for you by the legion of travelers just like you. The number of blogs and informative websites about destinations in the US are nearly infinite. Yet this is the place where most people fall short in their plans and usually end up with an unsatisfying trip, or even worse, fail to go on the trip.
There are plenty of parks that are completely free to enter and hike. Some of the national parks have a fee but are nothing on par with a day at an amusement park. Go to the amusement park if you can but remember there are worthwhile places seeing without paying a price.
Free flowers!
Do yourself a favor and use the internet to your advantage. First pick the states you wish to visit. Then google simple things about these states such as "Top destinations in (insert your state here)," "Most Beautiful places in Utah," "Best hikes in New Hampshire," or other types of these varieties. You will be given a plethora of sites that link to others. Use these to your benefit. There truly are beautiful places everywhere.
Yelp is a great social media to find authentic diners and hole-in-the-walls serving food from the area. Try some barbecue in Alabama with its famous white barbecue sauce, the creole seafood in New Orleans, or a nice gator tail in Florida.
Gator Tail...? Tastes like chicken!
4. Go Camping!
Lets face it, we live a time and age where real adventure is getting harder and harder to experience. Camping provides the back-to-nature experience and adventure that is absent in most people's lives. You still get to have some comforts and amenities in an environment we rarely see. Instead of spending 30 bucks on a meal, get a pack of hotdogs and spark up a fire. After the meal is finished, spend time around the fire recalling moments of the trip, enjoying the stars above, and the friends around you. Also, you get to save considerable amounts of money versus a hotel or that creepy motel slouching on the side of the road.
Yeah, I'm talking about you.
If you do plan to camp, bring whatever comforts you feel are necessary without getting in the way of the experience. Tent, sleeping bag, pocket knife, lighter, flashlight, etc. Also, I would book a couple days ahead for some of the more popular sites to ensure you have a place to stay.
On our big roadtrip, we packed our itinerary to the brim. To maximize the time, we would drive well into the night for the following morning's destination. Once we got there during the night, we would find a parking spot at a rest-stop, hotel, or hospital nearby and sleep in the car.
The sun serves as the perfect alarm clock when you sleep in your car because it comes with no snooze button and is always consistent. This saves even more money then camping, although you don't get the sites. I am not recommending sleeping in the car, since it "can" be dangerous, but if you do, be smart about it. Keep an eye out and chose a smart stop. Hospitals and hotel seemed to be the safest place.
I agree with Dwight on this one. Stay away!
5. Drive With Some Good Tunes!
I remember on one of our trips we were doing the 24 hour drive from Florida to Boston straight through. We left Florida around 7p.m. Once it got to be about 1 a.m. we were somewhere in South Carolina and the radio would not come in...for the next five hours. I bet there wasn't much to listen to around this time anyways but I was relying on this music to get my through the drive!
I remember on one of our trips we were doing the 24 hour drive from Florida to Boston straight through. We left Florida around 7p.m. Once it got to be about 1 a.m. we were somewhere in South Carolina and the radio would not come in...for the next five hours. I bet there wasn't much to listen to around this time anyways but I was relying on this music to get my through the drive!
We had taken my car this time which is a very run down Nissan Altima from the dinosaur days. The car stereo does not have an auxiliary jack or USB outlet to plug in an iPod or Mp3. All we had was Elvis Presley's greatest hits on a CD. It got old way too fast. Lucky for everyone in the car, the radio started coming in and awoke me up from a sleep facilitated by "Jailhouse Rock" being on repeat for the 23rd time.
We lost our enthusiasm much sooner...
I recommend making a playlist because the radio can be very sketchy, or even non-existent in some places. Yet music provides life to the drive. Some of the most memorable moments I have are driving through the deserts of Oklahoma and New Mexico listening to some of my favorite tunes. Another time, we were driving on the Natchez Trace Parkway which is a 444 mile drive of rolling hills through the densely green, scenic forest. I turned on an ambient trance track and we all just silently rode these waves of euphoria.
6. Bring a GPS
Preferably one with an accent to add some authenticity to your trip. On a more serious note, a GPS is incredibly handy with a planned trip. Ask your mom for one, you friend, or even your friend's mom (use those connections!). The reason I stress a GPS device is because some of the most exotic, beautiful, and obscure destinations do not have an official address. Instead, the coordinates for some of these places have been posted on travel and hiking blogs. These are much more reliable. Just make sure your GPS has the option to plug in these coordinates. This can be a bit more work than visiting the more well-known and conventional parks. However, I have find some of the best landscapes using the coordinates to find some hidden places.
For example:
Big rocks.
Cave inside the rocks.
Waterfall inside the cave!
Attempting to leave the cave.
The remains...
7. Purchase Your Own Food
You guys are true adventures, riding off into the lonely light with only your headlights to guide you and that annoying Australian woman trapped inside your GPS chirping about upcoming exits, right turns, and left turns. (When she tells me I need to make U-turn because I messed up is where I draw the line in our relationship!)
Okay now that I'm done venting, I can tell you that unless it is a genuine local restaurant, I would not stop there to eat. Nothing brings you back to the feelings of routine, monotony, and boredom like a good ol' fashioned meal at Chli's or a fast food joint. Instead, buy bulk at a Wal-Mart or ALDI. Pick up granola bars, power bars, fruit cups, dried fruit, trail mix, a pack of multi-vitamins, some junk food to snack on, pudding, energy drinks for the a.m. drives, canned meats and fish (if you're daring), and most importantly, WATER. You can use the shopping bags as trash bags for your car. Bring a backpack for the long hikes and with some of the food and liquids packed inside.
You're missing out!
8. Choose The Right Gear
On one of our weekend trips, a girl we know wanted to come along who had not been hiking before. Once we got to our first hike, she pulled out her mom's Victoria Secret boots. We all gave each other the look, knowing how this would turn out.
Ten minutes into the hikes the sole of the boot came completely off. We had to buy another pair after the hike which gave her massive blisters on her heel because they had not been worn in properly. You don't need to buy the most expensive stuff. I managed to get around 350 miles of rough hiking out of a comfy pair of hiking boots from Wal-Mart.
I know I got exceptionally lucky here but there are much cheaper options than those $200 pair of L.L Bean boots. Look around your local Sport's Good shops or even thrift stores to save an extra buck. Get yourself something durable that also fits well. Don't forget the sunscreen, sunglasses, and bug spray for those sensitive souls.
9. Have Someone Check Out Your Car
For all the obvious reasons. Change the oil and have the fluids checked out. Bring jumper cables with you. Having someone with you who can change a flat tire is always handy. Fix-A-Flat is a priceless invention! Check with your insurance company about their towing policies ahead of time so you are aware of their policies. If someone in the car has a triple AAA card, even better.
10. Most Importantly, Bring a Hat!
You know you wanna.
I hope this list makes your dreams of taking a roadtrip easier to achieve. You really can travel on a budget yet still do it right. Be adventurous and get out there onto the open road. Only then you'll realize why road trips are a necessity in life and why they have become a pastime.
Chase it!
Stay Traveling My Friends
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