SEE? Texas was so flat it made me STUPID!
I was on I-10. Or I-40. I don’t remember which. Coulda sworn we stopped in Texarkana, but I may have hallucinated it. It was like 100 degrees.
That and the “Largest Crosses in the Western Hemisphere” we passed on the highway kinda left me senseless.
I’ve just got out of the car after a few hundred kilometres (the ewuivalent of a few hundred miles) doing a Sydney-Canberra-Sydney round trip, so I can relate to this thread.
-Australians are the best drivers in the world (they say so themselves in any survey ever undertaken), just not the ones on the Hume and Federal Highways this arvo. Ratbags!
-The trip along the mysterious Lake George (mysterious because it’s a field most of the time, a huge lake other times, and the coming and going of the water seemingly has nothing to do with rainfall or the water table) is incredibly beautiful in wintertime. Today, heavy snowclouds darkened the sky, but the ghostgums (very pale eucalypts) and the paddocks were glowing in shafts of sunlight.
-CCR remains the best driving music.
-McDonalds sucks.
-The New South Wales Highway Patrol sucks.
-Canberra and The Australian Capital Territory are weird. Clean and unworldy -a planned city for politicians.
-Driving long distances is boring and fun at the same time, but more fun than boring.
-Don’t drink Coke when you’re driving a long way. The caffeine peps me up for a few minutes, then I think my blood sugar crashes or something, and I feel more tired than if I hadn’t had it. Ginseng drinks (but not the new high energy ones) and fruit juice are good thirst quenchers on the road.
-The Southern Sky looked beautiful tonight out away from the cities.
-Overtaking SUVs in my little Corolla is fun.
-Hitting city traffic at the end of the trip is not fun.
–>I-70 in Missouri is the Worst Road Ever. If you don’t need new tires, you will when you’re done driving this stretch of I-70…
–>The Elvis is Alive Museum in Wright City, MO, is surreal.
–>“Minnesota nice” is a myth. Drivers in Minneapolis drive fast and change lanes without warning.
–>If it isn’t foggy, the drive into Duluth, MN, on I-35 is stunning.
–>Clarinda, Iowa, is like driving into the 1940’s. Everyone waves at you. Spooky.
Though Alabama’s reputation as a god-forsaken hellhole is well-deserved, Mobile is actually quite pretty.
In West Viriginia, the speed limit on most highways is 70 m.p.h. You may think you can get away with 80, but you cannot. :o
If possible, avoid Pennsylvania. Blech.
South of the Border (I-95, North Carolina/South Carolina border) is worth the stop. Don’t actually BUY anything, just take in the squalid splendor
on a motorcycle or in a Jeep with no top, don’t leave in the morning without checking the weather forecast for at least 1000 miles down the road.
if you’re planning a 1000 mile day, think twice.
LOTS of CD’s - and a radio with a good “seek” function!
When travelling in to Canada, stop at the first ATM you see and take out a bunch of local cash - you’re more popular this way.
When travelling in the center of Wyoming, pay VERY CLOSE attention to how far away the next gas stop is
When travelling in the center of Wyoming and you didn’t pay attention to the last piece of advice, coasting works sometimes.
It is possible to hit a full sized, fully inflated, fully mounted semi-truck spare tire in the middle of the highway at 4:30 AM in Idaho at 70 MPH and survive - IF you have enough ground clearance…
When you’re a stranger walking in a local diner in Hullett, Wyoming you’ll get strange looks - no matter what you’re wearing or how you look.
It can be really, really cold in Saskatchewan at 5:00 AM - even in August.
The US should also adopt the $1.00 and $2.00 coin.
You can’t get better than cruising along route 2 in northwestern Maine on a warm July morning when they’re cutting the grass in the town squares.
Parts of NJ just plain smell funny
Parts of NJ are also really nice - but you’ll never know if you never exit the turnpike.
Bring a camera - even if you don’t plan to take any pictures along the way
Can you find any friendlier people than those in Charleston, South Carolina? (Even if they WON’T admit that the north won…)
Stopping four hours before you were planning to and just taking a walk around a neat little town is worth it.
If you’re worried about what the gas costs, stay home
Bring a sleeping bag, even if you don’t plan to go camping
Know that the interstates are great for a purpose, but stay away from them if you want to travel with a smile.
and no matter how much you like to drive or ride, no matter how many miles you’ve put behind you, no matter how far you’ve gone how fast, it always, always, always feels good to sleep in your own bed at home.
–There is no Hardee’s in Hardeeville, SC
–When you are down to your last unplayed tapes, even the “Best of Journey” sounds good.
–There is little traffic, and better yet little traffic jams at night.
–Traffic jams at night, however, last longer, because half the time they are halting traffic to repair the road.
–Pennsylvania’s roads, have creases that if driven moderately above the speed limit, form a positive feedback loop that pitch your car higher and higher with every crack driven over.
–There is a hillside outside Scranton PA completely covered with dead, rusting cars, thousands of em.
–If you’re driving 1000 miles to meet a girl, most likely she will ditch you.
–On the other hand, then you can sing “Interstate Love Song” with conviction.
–Despite the fact they have a very good road network, there are very few bathroom rest stops in upstate NY.
–On the other hand, you get to have a “back to nature” experience in the pull-in rest areas.
–Go to South of the Border to get gas (heheheheh, he said gas). Most of the places around it dont take credit cards. Leave without picking up a souvenir.
–Every day, do something that scares you.
–Trust me on the sunscreen.
–If you’re desperate for cash, sperm banks pay good money 
In regards to restrooms/bathrooms etc…my motto is-
If in doubt, squeeze one out.
You never know how long it’s going to be until the next one.
My childhood agrees and thanks you.
I’ve learned not to ask for sweet tea in restaurants outside of the South because the server will then roll his/her eyes at me and state in the most condescending voice possible, “We don’t serve that here,” at which point his tip reduces dramatically.
I’ve learned that people who own small shops will talk to you for hours.
I’ve learned that the Gaffney PeachAss in Gaffney, South Carolina, always makes me laugh.
I’ve learned that Tennessee has some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen.
I’ve learned that New England has some extremely friendly people, and the Bed and Breakfasts there are wonderfully charming and quirky.
I’ve learned that drive-in movie theaters are always worth the stop.
Tips from numerous vacations with my parents and many cross-country trips on my own to and from military bases:
There are no roads leading out of Gatlinburg, TN.
Oklahoma City is in a perpertual state of road improvement.
There is a stretch of highway (US 54) from El Paso, TX to Liberal, KS that nobody uses as far as I know. Speed all you want, I think the state troopers have forgotten it’s there (my top speed = 125 mph). Beware driving at night though. There is a sharp 90º bend in the road just over a rise somewhere.
Yellowstone is worth the drive. Ditto Highway 1 along the California coast.
From Baker, CA to Las Vegas, NV is an all out race.
Broken windshield wiper motors can be compensated for by tying string from one wiper blade to the other and running the ends of the strings through the left and right windows. The passenger grabs each end and alternates pulling left and right.
There is a place in L.A. that has something like 6 overpasses stacked on top of each other. If I become Godzilla some day, this’ll be my first stop.
There are signs advertising Wall Drug in every corner of the Earth.
Very small towns in Missouri are creepy.
If you find yourself getting just a tad bit sleepy, blast on the AC as high as you can and as cold as you can, regardless if it’s winter or summer. I found this to help me, at least. Of course if you’re feeling really sleepy, pull over, but this is just one solution.
The best part about a road trip is driving through the night. If you can, pull over for a rest, lie on the bonnet or the roof , gaze at the stars and drink in the night. These are the times you will never forget.
This is especially true of the centre of Australia and parts of inland USA.
Be carefull about parking on the side of the road in Italy - we had the pleasure of being robbed at dawn on my birthday.
It’s about a 12 hour drive from Texarkana on the TEXas-ARKansas-LouisiANA border to the Panhandle. Maybe you stopped in Texico between TEXas and New MexICO.
note: Louisiana is pronounced “Lousy-Anna”. Dead people can tell when they have crossed into the state by the sudden deterioration in the road surface.
Another one if you feel sleepy…
If you find that you are getting drowsy, begin taking deep breaths. You are getting drowsy because you are breathing more slowly as you relax. Deep breaths for about 30 seconds have an invigorating effect. Singing at the top of your lungs helps too.
Do not drive through the middle of Montrial in rush hour in a car that burns a quart of oil every hundred miles.
Not knowing “east” and “west” in french while driving in Montrial in a car that burns a quart of oil every hundred miles will put you on the highway that ends in Moose Jaw.
If driving from Limestone Maine to Fargo North Dakota in a car that burns a quart of oil every hundred miles, you will consume 20 quarts of oil. You will also get a driving break every hour and forty minutes or so.
March is an ugly time to drive along the northeastern USA/Canada border. Everything is still dead from winter.
If there was ever a city that deserved to break off the continent and sink into the ocean, it’s Tampa, FL.
The 165+ miles of interstate known as I-16 (Savannah to Macon, Georgia and technically NOT an interstate) was crafted in the Twilight Zone and seems to be 10 times its actual length. There is absolutely NOTHING to see along its merry route.
Driving a 1974 VW Super Beetle at 85 mph is MUCH more interesting a ride than any rollercoaster ever built.
If your bladder is small, do not make trips exceeding 50 miles unless you are the driver.
Every tire that ever blew in Georgia is still there.
South Carolina has the worst road signs in the USA.
Looking for a hospital at midnight in Boston is no fun. Avoid the rotaries and keep the blood out of your eyes.
Don’t get lost in Scranton, PA.
While driving in Britian, remember that cars already in the roundabout have the right of way. Once in the roundabout the exits go by pretty quick. Be sure to have a good navigator to shout out your exit in time or be prepared to go around again.
Driving in Mexico, cut back on the refried beans for breakfast if you want to avoid any prolonged pauses about an hour later. If you are stuck behind a large truck with its left turn signal blinking it might mean it’s about to turn left but more likely it means it is safe to pass.
Driving in Tanzania, a truck with its blinker on is indicating that it is NOT safe to pass.
Starting at 5 am works real well with little children. Drinking a cup o’ Joe and chatting w/ your sweety while the little dears sleep makes the first 300 miles fly by.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is worth the extra day of travel.
I-10 runs far south of both Texarkana and the Texas Panhandle.
Texarkana is on I-30.
I-40 does cross the panhandle. The biggest city on I-40 in Texas is Amarillo.
I don’t know where those crosses are that you saw.
If Rhubarb’s guess about your location being Texico is correct, you were not on an Interstate at that point. You were on US highways 60, 70, and 84, which run together through Texico.
Oh, and Rhubarb, personally, I wouldn’t say that Texarkana is on the Louisiana border. It’s about 25 miles from Texarkana to any part of Louisiana, a certain old song to the contrary notwithstanding.
Welcome to the Board, nathan!