<hijack> As a Chicagoan, I have to say - hey! 
But I noticed your location field - the friend we stayed with is in Lynn. 
</hijack>
My husband and I fortunately got to share the same car and thus the driving duty, but we actually finished our vacation saying 'that wasn’t so bad, let’s drive to ____ next!" Nothing west of the Mississippi/Rockies for road trips yet, though.
Hee! No, we always go through the panhandle. We used to like to stop in Shamrock, but on our last trip, we found out that the best steakhouse evah…was no more. Like Bob Greene once said, “Never travel for food.”
When Mr Glot, our then 7-mo old son, doberman pinscher and cat caravaned it U-Haul style across country ‘bout 8 years ago, we took advantage of CB radios not only to keep in contact with each other but also to clue in to truck drivers’ traffic advice. That really helped avoid current congestion/accidents/road hazards on our planned route, and when we needed a new tarp at the last second, a helpful trucker told us where to find the nearest Wally World.
Anyway just don’t let yourself lull into ‘highway hypnosis’ and you’ll be fine. Have fun!
-Polly Glot, aka “Mrs East Bound U Haul”
When we moved out to AZ, we drove from Albany, NY to Phoenix in five days, pulling a utility trailer. Once we got down to NC, we got on I-40 and took it all the way to Flagstaff. I assume that is the route you will take, and hey, it is a breeze. Just keep a-going.
I strongly advise a GPS. Not only does it tell you where you are, when to turn and where, but it will tell you exactly how far the next rest area is, what exit to get gas, food or motels, highway construction, and other really helpful stuff.
We didn’t have it on the way out, but did get the AAA Triptik. If you belong, these are really helpful, as they give all of the above info in a little, multi-page folder. Study it before and at every stop.
I also agree about stopping every 2-3 hours to walk around the car, stretch, and get the circulation going. I assume you have cruise control, so set it at 5 mph over the limit and rest your legs. Actually, in most places you will be OK at 9 mph over.
Thw walkie-talkies are also a very good idea, as there may be some places you can’t get cell phone reception, and besides, you will run up a huge phone bill if you are talking all the time. The walkie-talkies are not that expensive, and can really be helpful in an emergency. Like suddenly having to take a potty break at the next rest area.
I used to have both a CD radio and a fuzz-buster, and it was like having diplomatic immunity.
Maybe not - they may well be going across the panhandle, in which case while it’s a few hours, it’s not endless by any stretch of the imagination (we crossed that on I-40 in less than a day in 1985 - IIRC we stayed the night before in Albuquerque and the night after in OKC).
if you’re worried about being lonely, just pick up a hitch-hiker
as for the GPS, amazon has a few on sale very cheap atm:
Well, you’re not really driving alone. You’re in the car alone, but your husband is in a car (ideally) leading the way for you. My suggestion is to have your routes carefully mapped out, so that if you get split up for whatever reason, you can still both arrive at the same stopping point to reconnect again. By all means stay in touch by phone or walkie-talkie or signal light, whatever. It would also help your comfort level if you break the trip up into smaller segments with stopping points for you and hubby to regularly connect for coffee, restroom breaks, refueling, etc. I’ve done the cross-country trip more than once and it’s actually quite relaxing to be on the open road for long stretches. Most of the time you’ll be on the same road for some time. You can’t get lost during those times.
You’ll be fine. We’ve been on the road for going on four months now, on every kind of road you can imagine: freeways, US highways, county roads, mountain passes, city interchanges, you name it. And we’re doing it in a 28’ motorhome, towing a car.
The cities can be tricky, but here’s the key: study your maps. If you’re coming up to a large city, stop somewhere and study how you’re going to navigate it. Once you’re in it, it’s too late for that shite. Re-reading the planned route every morning and at every rest stop has kept us out of most trouble these past months, so your trip should be a piece of cake.
That’s nicer at least. Seems you couldn’t take much advantage of the higher speed limit when you’re forever slowing and fumbling for more change.
BTW OP, they’re kinda strange in that you pay and get a receipt. If you exit at certain places, you present the receipt and get a partial refund. I’ve only exited there once and it was a PITA to reach civilization, then get back on.
You will pass what they claim is the world’s largest McDonald’s as you drive the turnpike. Don’t have to exit to get to it…it’s right there. There are a few gas stations on it which, last I drove it, weren’t too unreasonable.
MO is easy driving, I-44 from St L to Joplin. Funny how OK decided it should be a turnpike at their state line.
A very timely and appropriate podcast episode of NPR’s “This American Life”, btw - Rest Stop. The crew spent a couple days at a rest stop on the NY Turnpike in August, and got stories of people working there and passing through.
XM/Sirius is to radio as Cable is to TV. Just about everything under the sun on there to keep you from being bored. The comedy channels usually keep me up when I’ve already driven 800+ miles.
Oh yeah, I forgot to add to my former post. If you think it may be bad now, consider my first trip across was from Salinas, CA to NYC in 1950. Way before Interstates. Took good old Route 66 to St Louis, then up northeast until got to PA and took the Turnpike to Philadelphia, then various roads into NYC. There, had to find my way downtown to an address in Greenwich Village. All of this was on two-lane roads. Admittedly, is was far more interesting than the Interstates, but if it is any consolation, it is much easier now.
I can’t think of a better example of living life by enjoying the journey. pick some interesting sites to see along the way. Use a pleasant stop as an excuse to bypass a large city.
I would use s combination of maps and a GPS. Maps are useful for a general layout of where you’re going. Printing out a trip from the internet will give you written instructions. Take these instructions and highlight the exit numbers/streets that you will actually turn on so you can gloss over the fluff. GPS’s are great for letting you know how far away the next exit is.
Do you have a cat? If so, let it drive.
Worked for me.
Mine would hide under the brake pedal which made stopping a catastrophic event.
Okay, I just got back from a practice run. Drove, with Mr. Rilch in the passenger seat, across the state line into Ohio, along the route we’ll be taking. Practiced merging, changing CDs, and even had a smoke. So I feel more confident now. Also, we went over the route with the atlas and with Google Maps.
lobotomyboy, I’ve been to that World’s Largest McD’s. We generally feel compelled to stop. Also, many many years ago, we stopped at the McD’s near the Grand Canyon. They have a flier explaining that everything’s more expensive because of the tremendous overhead.
Chefguy: What are you guys doing in a motorhome? Or did I miss a thread? Anyway, sounds like fun!
Regarding the CDs: If your car is like mine, with a single slot that pulls the CD in and pushes it out on it’s own, then changing CDs on the fly is rather easy. The tricky thing is storing/selecting the discs, and that’s where 2 things come in handy:
Burn copies of whatever you might want to listen to on the trip and leave the originals at home. This way, you can take something out of the player and toss it into a shoebox, CD rack, glove compartment, the backseat, or out the window, and you don’t have to worry about scratching or otherwise damaging the disc. Also handy for when you forget to hide the discs and leave them out in the sun and they get all warped or funny coloured and they don’t play anymore.
organize the discs that haven’t gone out the window in such a way that you have more or less an idea of where they are relative to one another. That way you can grab one from the approximately correct area and just give a quick glance to identify it (it helps if you have different coloured sharpies to label burned CDs, and if you change up the writing a little!). I have my CD holders more or less memorized at the moment, so I know where to reach if I want something specific (alternately, be prepared to listen to whatever you grab out of your holder at random…or chuck it out the window!)
Seriously, though, don’t chuck CDs out the window. It’s littering and illegal, and scares the people in the cars behind you, and attracts the birds that go “ooooh, shiny!” before they go SPLAT! on the front grille of a MAC truck.
(underlining mine) Yeah, that’s a purrfect definition.
@Rilchiam, last time I was at the GC McD’s, they seemed to add $3 to each item. The trick, I figured, was to order a value meal and only pay the $3 once instead of per item.
I didn’t see anyone else say anything about the cigarette smoking, so I’ll give my advice on this. Get a butane or a windproof lighter. The flame stays in one place while driving, and it’s a lot easier to light a cigarette without having to look.
If you need to stop and rest, stop and rest.
I love long distance driving, but I also know that every so often, I’ve got to get out of the car and not drive for a while or else I become a danger to myself and others - which is not good when operating a car in the middle of nowhere. A five minute stretch goes a long way.
And GPSs can be wonderful for getting you back on track if you do get slightly off course.