Paul’s recent posts have gotten me thinking about taking a road trip of my own, and I’m sure a lot of you guys are on the same page. Choosing when and where to go, however, is a harder decision. Is the gorgeous desolation of the high plains calling your name? Or perhaps the winding mountain roads connecting small Appalachian towns?
This summer, any long trip I take will be to New England to visit an old friend who’s recently become a Mainer. Such an excursion will definitely involve drives up and down the cool, breezy coastline in her 1985 300D, sunroof wide open.
Time and work limit many of our choices and I personally can choose one long vacation and one only. That doesn’t mean, however, that I won’t make shorter excursions around southern Indiana, maybe even to southern Illinois, through Kentucky, or even Tennessee. I’ve never seen a tornado, and I’m determined to make it happen (from a safe distance, of course).
A lot of us, however, will just want to go any place that traffic’s light and speed limit enforcement, lax. Many of you, no doubt, know where that can be easily accomplished. If you have people in your life who support such behavior, consider yourselves lucky. A big part of any trip is the company you bring along, and that’s possibly truest for road trips, where hours are spent in close proximity.
Remember most of all that taking a road trip is a privilege. There are people out there married to partners who don’t find the idea of a road trip appealing, who’ll always be looking at the speedometer and who won’t want to veer off the interstate. And there are even more who won’t have the chance to leave work for long enough to go very far. Think of all those people when you’re out there over the next few months and remember not to play it too safe: go where you’re told is sketchy and be quick about it. Inquiring minds at CC want to know what form your road trip urge is taking, so please share with us where you plan to go, where you’ve gone in the past, and what you’ve seen. Remember to be wild while you’re out there.
I did a 600km trip on Tuesday last to get my daughters teeth looked at and have to go back again soon saw nothing of any great interest motoring wise to shoot but theres always next time.
In March I did the Full Monty road trip, from Detroit to California and back. On the westward leg I veered south to avoid possible snowstorms, and followed most of Route 66. I loved Tucumcari, New Mexico, a town that has no other raison d’etre than a stopover point on 66: “Tucumcari Tonight!” Still some classic motels in operation, others in ruins, and the whole town has an incomparable Mid-Century patina. Three weeks later, on the return trip, I traced the old Transcontinental railroad, and finally visited Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska. It’s off the beaten path of I-80, but Alliance is worth the 100-mile detour. Also, it allows you to see Scott’s Bluff and the bizarre landscape of the Nebraska Sandhills. Another place not to miss: Council Bluffs, Iowa, and its unique “Squirrel Cage” jail:
http://www.thehistoricalsociety.org/jail.htm
My ride? A mundane but efficient 2012 Chevy Sonic. I wanted to take my ’64 Corvair to celebrate its 50th birthday, but I chickened out at the last minute. It was probably a wise decision.
In Indiana, State Road 62 and State Road 66 in the Ohio River counties are an outright blast. I also like US 50 across the entire state of Indiana; be sure to not follow the bypasses around the towns.
My partner’s family all live in Indianapolis, more specifically, Greenfield. He visits once or twice a year, I tagged along three years ago for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary (which they held at the Chicken Pot Pie place in Broadripple, which I know you have written about). Having never been to Indiana, I coerced them to take me (in our rented Ford Explorer, which btw, was a nice road car) down to the Ohio River counties, over the river into Kentucky (and the locks along the river, can’t remember their name, but really cool). We traveled southerly from Greenfield on all the backwoods routes, stopping in numerous little roadside communities, checking out the county courthouses, and whatever else caught our interest. Really a cool trip, I loved the rolling fields and abandoned barns and dinky roadside cemeteries with their tilting headstones. Indiana is one GREEN state! Fascinating stuff, not what you see from the Southern California freeways, for sure. BTW, Iove your blog, all the out of the way places and abandoned byways that you chronicle really capture my attention. Hope to get back one of these days and see more.
If you have never done so the next time you are on Indiana 62 you should stop at the Overlook restaurant in Leavenworth. The food is pretty good but the view is spectacular. The restaurant is built on a bluff and looks out over a bend in the Ohio River. Few things are better than a leisurely lunch watching the river drift by. If you do go on a weekend you should be prepared to wait, it isn’t a very big place and the staff is not generally in a hurry.
I recently did one from northern Virginia to Atlanta through the mountains, then back on the interstate through Raleigh/Durham and Richmond, using the 1986 Olds Custom Cruiser. It was partly a test of how the old wagon would hold up on a long trip, and partly an excuse to visit sites like Appomattox Court House on the way to visit friends in Atlanta. A write-up will follow in June after post-trip repair issues (none of them serious) are completely resolved.
I almost did not find a room to rent in Portland , OR since my current residence is up for sale so I contemplated reluctantly driving back to Central New York. I am going to school in Vancouver, WA this Fall so I would have had to drive back in a few months and get student housing.
I am thinking of going to Nevada later this year for their sesquicentennial and looping up through Montana before going back to Portland.
I’m moving to Vancouver next month. 2200 miles from Little Rock to Vancouver. Yes, I’m taking pictures and will write it up if the powers that be will accept it.
Safe travels and it is nice here.
I’ve never taken a true “roadtrip” since I’ve been driving. The one and only time my family took a long cartrip was from home (Massachusetts) to Washington D.C. when I was nine. On the way home I had the stomach flu, so I didn’t see much.
I’ve always wanted to drive through the Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona to be exact). The scenery looks amazing, although it would probably get boring quickly. How many mesas can one really look at?
Based on your last question, you probably wouldn’t like it.
I wonder if it’s in part a generational thing. We didn’t grow up in a plugged-in on-line world, and it still feels good to get away from that for a while.
I don’t know, I can’t say I was exactly thrilled when my parents first told me we’d be driving and not flying to Denver every summer, and the state of Nebraska is the very definition of BORING in terms of scenery, yet I quickly changed my tune once we did it, so don’t let pessimism hold you back. I grew up largely with technology(though not nearly as much as those ten years younger than me) and I’ve always felt burdened by it. Who knows, maybe there will be a generational backlash one of these days.
Let’s hope there’s a generational backlash. Having grown up with tech myself, I still think there’s nothing like a good roadtrip. Finding the appropriate company is a different matter. Among my friends, all of whom I love dearly, only one or two are into the idea of a road trip. I *NEED* someone who’ll veer off the freeway on a whim, who’ll camp out in random spots, who’ll have deep, unguarded discussions, etc.
I’ll concede that I might get bored without company, and while that may be indirectly related to tech in terms of the need for constant stimulation, I’m sure there were ppl who felt as I do before the internet was a thing. I’m also sure that some ppl hated road trips before tech. So no, it’s not a generational thing.
I would like to go on my own road trip, but regrettably lack the magic plastic fantastic card that says it is legal for me to drive…Sigh…
A timely question indeed. I really have the urge to just get in my car and GO wherever the road takes me. A nice drive down the Washington coast and over the bridge and into Astoria might be just what the doctor ordered.
I covered in these very web pages our trip out West in 2012 – we took the Northern route (including a swing into Canada). We’re noodling another Western trip for next year, but on the Southern route this time, perhaps swinging down into Mexico…
The vast majority of our longer trips have been to visit friends or family, from Maine to Florida to Texas and most States in-between. Some of the trips would definitely fall under the EPIC heading, others were just a lot of mindless interstate driving.
I’ve never done a trip where I just, on the spur of the moment, packed a few clothes and headed out for unknown adventure. Might be fun to try one day. When I get the ’62 and ’63 Beetles done (ETA TBD), we’re (wife and sons) planning to take a week off and drive Route 66.
I am SO ready for a road trip. We have had such a rough winter (and spring- 37 degrees on May 15th? Really?) it seems everyone is restless around here. Including me.
I love to camp; my family wants nothing to do with it. So, we have a deal- I take a couple of 3 day camping trips solo, no more than 2-300 miles from home. The rest of my vacation time is spent with the family unit.
This year I am going to try motorcycle camping. Just bought a new (to me) bike, and it’s something I have had on my long-term to-do list.
Now waiting for some motorcycle friendly weather…
We started our spring road trip on monday, driving from Vancouver BC to Seattle. Tomorrow its east on US2 to Wenatchee with a few stops along the way. Sunday its up to Grand Coulee Dam with a stop at Dry Falls. Monday, down through Spokane and Coeur d’alene and then north for 2 nights in Sandpoint Id. Back north into Canada through Cranbrook and up the Rocky Mountain Trench to Golden BC to visit friends for 4 days and then west on the Trans Canada back to Vancouver…may stop for a night on the way home somewhere. Were driving a 13 Golf diesel 6 spd man…trying to do 1 tank of fuel from Vancouver to Cranbrook…see if we can make it! Lots of 2 lane roads and we hope not too much traffic.
A person needs a road trip every once in a while. Growing up, we never flew; in the 42 states and two provinces I have visited, I was in a car for the trip to every one of them.
Any length is welcomed, with the longest being to out to Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. The longest since being married was to Oregon in 2010.
At this time, I have had a hankering to head down to the southern portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Route 66 is still on my radar; my frequent business related trips to towns bisected by Route 66 is only fanning the flames of desire.
+1
Flying is just awful, unless you’re going very, very far. There are hassles, delays, inspections, restricted movement. It’s not like the days where you could hop on Pan-Am without a delay or detailed inspection and walk in an upstairs lounge.
In a car, you can take turns driving, stop when and where you want, not face delays or security inspection and be on your own schedule. And you see so much more.
I personally want to see: Ozarks; High Plains; Deep South; Painted Desert.
Ditto on flying. I’ve pretty much decided if I can drive there in 5 hours or less, it’s a wash time-wise and much less frustration to drive. Minneapolis is a special case at 7.5 hours: I’ve already decided I’ll drive it next time. Every. Single. Time. I fly there, we get delayed and spend an extra hour circling until weather/traffic/locusts/plague or whatever clears up.
If you are thinking Ozarks, let me know as I’ve seen a lot of it over time and can point you to some nice areas.
If you do Southern Illinois, do go to the Garden of the Gods.
When I hear Ozarks, I think northern Arkansas. Do get a taste of Highway 7 from Harrison to Arkadelphia. The Arkansas Nurburgring.
My family used to roadtrip from Chicago to Florida and Chicago to Denver every year, we rarely flew in part since we brought our dog along and in part because of the hassle. I loved those roadtrips, hated flying, I still hate flying! F*** airlines!
The drive is the big part of the experience to me, and it makes the destination all the more special. I can’t explain it but I just don’t feel like I get anywhere after flying, it’s like I started playing a video game once I make my destination — “well now I’m in florida, yay”, then I fly back and “well now I’m in Illinois again, ok”. I get there from a drive though it’s like I had an experience within the experience, and once I do make the destination I feel like I really am there, I could stay there forever if I wanted to, no two way tickets, no schedules, nothing. Well worth some dull scenery on the way(two days of dull nature still beats 2 hours of the back of a dirty airplane seat)
Well it’s been few years (2008) since our last real road trip, 7k miles from San Diego to Yellowstone to Mt Rushmore to Niagara Falls to NYC including old Yankee stadium, to Philly to St Louis to Carlsbad Caverns to Tucson and home to San Diego, with 3 kids under 12 and Huck Finn on CD.
This year I have a train trip on the Southwest Chief in June to New Mexico – almost a road trip – and then a trip to visit colleges with #1 son, from Boston to upstate NY to NYC to Philly and down to UNC.
At this time I am not looking for the big long rad trip. I have done too many trips from Iowa to North Carolina. I know the route without using a map.
I enjoy the smaller trips. The last one was in March from central Iowa to Omaha, Nebraska. It was the last rip with the Windstar. Just me and my wife getting away for 2 days. We did the Zoo, the Air and Space museum just west of Omaha and of course down town. We visited the Joslyn Art Museum. I gave this one some special attention:
I’ve been itching to drive to California on a whim(from Chicago), I’ve given no particular thought as to what to do once I got there(or where specifically “there” would be) so that little detail has stopped me lol but damn do I want to do it, I haven’t done any long trips since 2006 since my family last drove to Tampa.
There are times when I’m driving around town here in Indiana, and I think: “You know, I COULD just drive to California right now.” Reality soon sets in, but the urge is always there.
Haha, yup. If I was more impulsive I’d do it but that pesky reality always sets in to spoils the party!
Talking about road trips, if one would to go on a ten weeks round trip from San Diego to Boston and back. Two people, four suitcases, top speed unimportant as where can you go 130+mph? Mostly scenic drive with occasion speed stuff. Top down would be nice but not a must. Reliability, speed and comfort Assuming $ is no object, what would you pick to use for this trip?
Currently in garage:
FJ Cruiser – range too short and lack power.
SC430 – lack trunk space and and exactly fun to drive.
C240 wagon – ummm, luggage too exposed.
C240 wagon. Nothing is like a Benz on the open road and, despite my carping about the W202 (which still had great highway manners), the W203s I’ve experienced feel well-isolated from road and wind noise and stable at high speeds. Just bring along a blanket or sheet for the exposed luggage.
The trip will take place in 2016 years for kid’s graduation. My W203 wagon is 10 years old now and 100k+ miles, it’s still very comfortable and competent but small problems are creeping up. It might be a bit too old for the trip in 2 years time.
Rent a Lincoln.
Mustang convertible. Newish if you want to afford it, otherwise a Fox-gen with the 5.0
If you can shrink the suitcases a Miata is great. Not relaxing to drive but still a great road trip car.
But honestly, it almost doesn’t matter – that trip could be awesome in almost anything!
Last year we set out to go east until there was no more east. Took 7-1/2 weeks for our epic family road trip: Calgary to Cape Spear (St John’s, Newfoundland) and back. 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog in a 2006 Sequoia and 24 foot trailer. 8 provinces, 5 states, 16,000 km, and 10 whales. Did I say EPIC?
This year, west coast. Much closer. It’ll be a while before I want to do a trip that big again.
I’m currently in Tasmania, if pressed you could drive from the ferry terminal to Hobart in2.5 hours or you could spend a month exploring the state, there is a lot of history here plus some extaordinary natural beauty.
I am going to a couple of race tracks plus we have a couple of days to explore plus visit friends. Not bad for 2 days’ holidays.
At Easter did a 1000 mile round trip to Bathurst at a relaxed pace in 50 yo cars, also a lot of fun.
I’m from the mainland, but love Tasmania. So much different scenery in such a small place! We’ve been there three times in thirty years, but I can never get enough!
Hopefully about a week long road trip in June for the Pearl Jam concert in Berlin . From Croatia with stops in Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, Dresden …
Would love to take one of my big cruisers cross country from NYC to SF, or the back way down the coast to Palm Beach. One of these days.
Haven’t enjoyed flying. All the perqs that existed before I was born are no longer. I’d get little out of it. I’m not one for camping as much as staying at any random “lodging” on the trip be that a dive or fancy; whatever comes along. One day it might have a picket fence, the next a neon sign. All America.
I just got back from one last week. Nice little jaunt up to Minocqua, Wisconsin where this summer my GF will be doing a 6-week practicum for her Master’s in Public Health. She had to attend some meetings and orientation at the tribal offices from which she’ll be working. I got to tag along and make a true road trip out of it.
In addition to seeing semi-frozen lakes in May and drinking my share of New Glarus’ finest, I also crossed out a longstanding bucket list item with a side trip to the tiny burg of Gleason, WI. Why Gleason? Because it was where my all-time favorite bad movie was made in 1975 (MST3K fans will know The Giant Spider Invasion very well)…..
Unfortunately due to work commitments I had to fly home out of Rhinelander, WI via Minneapolis. The airplane geek in me was loving the prospect of my first ride in a Delta MD-90 on the MSP-STL leg, not to mention that it was out of the G Concourse at MSP. (famous for its iPads at nearly every seat in the waiting area) In the end I still would preferred being in the mighty Forester for another 500+ miles home.
The next trip we’ve been tossing around involves a three or four day weekend to check out the architecture of Columbus, Indiana followed by some time in Indy.
Point car, go. All I want to do is drive to somewhere else.
(embed fail, artist in the above is one of the two Mighty Car Mods fellows).
Just returned from my last road trip. Drove from Cleveland to Daytona Beach, and I was determined to stay on the two lanes for as long as I could. Took Rt 250 from Ohio through West Virginia to Virginia — the stretch at the WV/VA border is one of the most fun roads I’ve driven in a long time. It goes up, over, and down five different mountain ridges like a roller coaster.
Day two I hit the Blue Ridge parkway before heading to the interstate, with a side excursion on Rt 321 in S. Carolina for a few hours. All in all, spent 15 out of 22 hours on the back roads, with my reliable companion ( was sunburnt before I even got to FLA!):
Can I bring my MX5 too?
3 trips stand out – from the UK, across to France and down through western France staying near Biarritz, and then into north east Spain and the Basque country.
The second is from the UK across to Belgium and then across Germany, 3 years after reunification, to old the East Germany, getting as far as Leipzig. Quite a contrast to the west of Germany. We came back through Cobourg in northern Bavaria
And the other from the UK, down eastern France to Mulhouse, across Switzerland to Salzburg and then into the Salzgammergut in Austria. Back home the same way, arriving on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral.
The cars? An Austin Metro 1.3 for the first and a pair of Renault 19 1.4 for the others..
Nice comments ~
Last month my brother and I drove from L.A. to Bellingham , Wa. and back in his ’81 Mercedes 300SD , over 400,000 miles on it and no AC , we had a great time mostly , took the ferry to Port Townsend and back , visited some rural Oregon junkyards where I scored some choice vintage British car parts .
As mentioned , you shouldn’t be in any rush and the smaller roads are better , we took Rt. 99 up and it’s no longer the two laner I remember and loved .
Having good company is very important ! .
This past weekend was 600 miles in two days , all on narrow farm to market back roads in Cal. in my Mighty Metropolitan , mostly flat out .
-Nate