Cross-Country By Car

In a couple of months I plan to take about 8 days off and just get in my car and drive. Somewhere. Have any of you ever done this?

I’m not particularly interested in travelling on the interstates, but I would like to see some small towns, and spend the nights in some nice B&B’s and spend the evening hours strolling down the sidewalks or maybe having a brewskie or two in a bar.

So if I give you my starting destination (near Atlanta), would y’all give me some suggestions?

Thanks

Quasi (who’s got that ol’ “travellin’ bone”) :slight_smile:

The only cross-country driving I’ve done has been New York to Mississippi/Texas (or Texas/Mississippi to New York) in 2 days, on the interstates, three times. So I can’t help you now.

But what you want to do is pretty much what Gunslinger and I plan to do on our honeymoon, so I’ll be watching this thread for helpful hints. :slight_smile:

look up US 1 - or whatever is left of it - the old east coast highway.

Given the time of year you are looking at: HEAD NORTH!

(i remember GA humidity - gaaaaa)

Or - go check out the Everglades, and hit Key West - try snorlking.

most small towns are the same - if you ‘fit’, you have no problems.
if you don’t, expect a police escort (a guy with a ponytail, Darwin fish, and CA plates gets attention in some locales, not others)

[sub]But We All Shine On…[/sub]

I went to www.freetrip.com and entered my beginning destination and my ending destination. (I chose DC). I also put in that I favored US Highway 1. What I got were driving directions, time and B&B’s along the way.

I doubt that I’ll go all the way to DC, but as Happy suggested Highway 1 is a nice alternative to interstates. Using freetrip.com may be a good suggestion for you and your fiance, racinchikki.

It’s gonna be fun not having a real itinerary, and just drivin’.

Thanks for the suggestion, HappyHeathen

Quasi

I drove the States for about 9 months once… just for fun.

As I went through the South, I went from New Orleans to Atlanta in one day. Then I went from Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains in one day, where I stayed in a youth hostel. Then, I went to DC in a day. I took interstates.

Eight days is not much time to travel the vast US.

If you are taking the slow back roads and sightseeing along the way, I would consider making either New Orleans (to the west) or DC (to the north) your turn-around destinations, assuming you want to see big cities.

New Orleans and DC are both a lot of fun. The drive from NO to Atl via Mobile and Birgmingham is very nicely forested with rolling hills and gentle curves. Very scenic! The swamplands of Louisiana are also very nice. The drive from Atl to the Smokys was also very nice.

I can’t say that I recall the drive from the Smokys to DC. That must say something.

The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful if you are into forests and whatnot.

Birmingham, AL seemed to be a nice little city.

Places I would love to see but didn’t include Savannah, GA and Charlston, SC.

As far as Florida goes, I hear its just like SoCal plus a heavy dose of humidity. Being from SoCal, I decided not to go to Florida.

I drove this section in late March, so the weather in the South was nice. However, since you appear to be going in the warmer month of May or so, I would lean toward heading north instead of west, as happyheathen has suggested.

RANDOM TIPS:

  1. HAVE FUN!
  2. You may want to get AAA and a cell phone if you don’t have them already.
  3. Be sure to talk to strangers (like Opal!), but be safe about it!
  4. Have some tapes and/or CD’s handy.
  5. Keep right except to pass.
  6. Be sure to drive a “loop” so you don’t see the same stuff heading back that you saw on the way out.
  7. Don’t carry too much cash on your person, consider travelers cheques or relying on a debit/credit card… you may want to hide a small emergency cash stash in you car somewhere ($50 or $100) for bribing cops… I mean for a tow truck or something.
  8. HAVE FUN!

The road trip idea is GREAT!

Traveling the open road with no fixed schedule was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Keep a travel journal or take notes and turn it into a travel journal as soon as you get home, while the memories are fresh.

When I go back and read my journal, I can relive the memories.

OH, MAN!

TAKE ME WITH YOU!

…thanks for the post and the tips, but I’m kinda looking forward to the smaller towns, and rubbing shoulders, as it were, with some “workin’ folks”, so New Orleans (been there) and Birmingham (drove through there) and Savannah (been there, too) are not my itinerary this time.

Something I didn’t mention before: This is a catharsis for me. I work nights in a hospital, and although I really enjoy taking care of sick folks, I need a little time for me and with some people who aren’t sick. I think I can find them on the road, in a bar, a diner, or in a B&B parlor. In short, I need a little time in the sunshine, and even though I don’t have to be bosom buddies with the people I meet, I think it’ll be nice just to be among them. I’d like to try, anyway.

It’s my own Travels With Charlie, I suppose.:wink:
Quasimodem

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful ride in and of itself. But taking the time to see the waterfalls makes it that much better. A few links to help you find some.

http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/brp1.htm

http://www.mountainparadisefound.com/

http://www.gorp.com/gorp/publishers/MENASHA/waterfalls.htm
I don’t know if you are a history buff or not. But as you get up to the upper end of the parkway there are many Civil War battlefields that would love for you to visit.

Then you could drive over to the coast and take US 1 home.

I’m sure you will have a blast, Quasimodem. I had a month off between college and the military, and did the same thing, only with no destination in mind. I traveled all of what used to be called “blue roads” (smaller highways), and really enjoyed getting up in the morning, looking at the map, and saying, “umm, I think…west today!” If it’s warm enough, you might want to consider camping along the way. You really get to talk to a lot of people that way, and have deeper conversations. Enjoy!

Something I learned. Figure out how much money you’ll need, and then double it! Take twice as much along just in case. That’s what I did and hoo man was it lucky I did. All in travelors checks though. Although I guess it’s less important if you have credit cards.

Something I learned. Figure out how much money you’ll need, and then double it! Take twice as much along just in case. That’s what I did and hoo man was it lucky I did. All in travelors checks though. Although I guess it’s less important if you have credit cards. Two blown tires, a busted water pump. And a hose just about to burst before we got home. Good thing my dad knew his way around a car. We replaced that water pump right there at a strip mall on the Georgia coast.

Me and my dad wanted to do a little trip from Kansas to Atlanta, Georgia and back. Left with $1400 and came back with … wait for it … 12¢ (wow, can’t believe I remembered the code for the ¢ sign).

AAA road maps beat the pants of Rand McNaly.

Oh, and if you find yourself in Texas on Highway 82 at two in the morning you might want to bypass the rest stops. Ho man, they have no lights and all we could talk about were escaped convicts and the like. Scared the *%$ out of us.

Ooh ooh, if something suddenly strikes your fancy don’t be afraid to make it into a game. We had days of fun taking turns nameing all the words we could think of that ended in -ly, without repeats.

I’m jealous.

Hey, this is the second thread like this. There was one from about last May or so about a doper going on a road trip. I was jealous then, I’m jealous now. pout I’d try and catch a few spring training games. But I love baseball.

My suggestion is to drive out to the Austin, TX/San Antonio, TX area as fast as possible and spend your time out there then return possibly a different route. There are plenty of backroad attractions and the back roads aren’t curvy, so you can get from spot to spot fast and still see the sights. Here is some info:

Gruene, TX http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/GG/hng38.html

Fredericksburg, TX http://www.fredericksburg-texas.com/
http://www.fredericksburg-lodging.com/

Austin, TX. http://www.citibay.com/citibay/attractiions/austin/austin.shtml

San Antonio, TX Things to Do in San Antonio | Visit San Antonio

New Braunfels, TX New Braunfels | Tour Texas

I’m from Mississippi, so I’m not pushing local sights. We spent a week out there last summer and really enjoyed it. :cool: