Cross-Country Trips

[QueenAdrock]

Who's done them? This is going to be my first, and I really hope it doesn't kill me. Here's the schedule:

Day 1 - DC to Chicago, 10 hours.
Day 2 - Chicago to Fargo, 10 hours.
Day 3 - Fargo to Regina, Saskatchewan, 9 hours.
Day 4 - Regina to Banff, Alberta, 9 hours.

And then we camp out in Banff and Jasper national parks and go to Edmonton a few days later, which is only a few hours here or there.

I'm kinda nervous with all the driving. :(

[Yeti]

I just had a nice drive with a baby and 3 cats....

Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee to Virginia.

24 and a 1/2 hours

My other big drive was 23 hours.......

Florida, Alabama, Louisiana to Texas.

23 hours

[QueenAdrock]

Yeah, so were you exhausted? Wanted to kill yourself? Tips, etc?

[HEIRESS]

banfffff is wiiiiiiicked

you should hang out in canmore too, its pretty dope and less uppety there.

[Yeti]

Yeah, so were you exhausted? Wanted to kill yourself? Tips, etc?

It was tiring but beautiful. The Smoky Mountains are a must see.

I don't have any tips except to say if you are driving slow get over in the right lane.

[cosmo105]

bring comfy pillows and a cute driver and you're set. satellite radio helps too. oh, and some candied ginger so you don't get the motion barfs like i do. my parents left many a pillow on the side of the road when i was a lowercase g :o

[Yeti]

Yep, I forgot that I had my Sirius Satellite radio which was life saver.

[abcdefz]

My only big cross-country driving trip was Kentucky to Cali. It was great. (y)

[QueenAdrock]

Did you guys take long days like these, or did you do a couple hours at a time and then do a rest stop for the rest of the evening/night? I just wanted to get up there, thus me packing 10 hours of driving into one day. I'm not sure if I should be regretting that decision about now...

As for Satellite Radio, no can do. :( I have a CD player though, so that should tide me over. I'm just going to make a ton of mix CDs.

[cookiepuss]

yeah but you'll probably need like 47 cds...that is if you don't plan on listening to the same song/cd more than once.(n)

[QueenAdrock]

I'll probably make around 6 mixes, because I have a bunch of CDs that I bought too. I can't afford satellite radio. :(

[cookiepuss]

well I agree what can you do? can't get that fancy radio for one damn trip.
though I will say the last big trip I took was probably like 13-15 hours. I had six mixed cds and I listened to every single one of them and several of them twice.

so make like 15 + bring your other albums. seriously.

[abcdefz]

Did you guys take long days like these, or did you do a couple hours at a time and then do a rest stop for the rest of the evening/night? I just wanted to get up there, thus me packing 10 hours of driving into one day. I'm not sure if I should be regretting that decision about now...



My first day I just drove and drove (14-18 hours, depending on my memory) until I finally decided to pull over and sleep at a rest stop. I woke up, totally refreshed -- about 20 minutes later. :rolleyes:

okay, so I'm wide awake now, keep going.

Stopped near Salt Lake City and got a hotel room for a proper night's sleep. Slept about six hours and then drove the rest of the way to Sacramento.

I remember finally finding my buddy's apartment and his girlfriend was there, and we introduced each other, and then I just had to sit and collect my head for a minute because I could barely speak or make sense. It took probably less than a cigarette and I was fine.

Regrets -- I do wish I'd seen all that land. The salt flats were beautiful (I stopped and made an impromptu call to a friend at I.U. telling him I was moving); driving around the Utah canyons/mountains as dark turned to twilight was amazing.

But I was so excited to get to Sac, I was driving 80-90 mph on the highways the whole way. It was great, and I can't believe my ill-tended car made it, but I didn't know any better.

A-. (y)


P.S. No radio, no air.

[cookiepuss]

If it helps, I went on a tour up california from LA to San Francisco in a week.

Thing is, I wasn't driving and I got really really pissed off at having to sit upright in my seat as there were others next to me.

My advice

Lots of water
Make everything comfy before you set off (pillows)
Make sure you have some ice packs
Sun tan lotion for one of your arms (jkjk)
Bagels. I think they are good for journeys.
Be safe and don't be silly with sleeping.
Sweets!

um....obviously you were taking your sweet time. I'm sorry, but this is funny to me as "long car" trips go because you can go from SF to LA in FIVE hours.;)

I'm hoping you meant LA as in Louisianna.

I know, I know...you were sight seeing cause damn, in a week you could have gone from LA to Washington and back.

[ET]

It's pretty difficult for me to sleep so when I went from LA to L.A. I stopped pretty much near the western border of Texas to sleep and the next morning (5 a.m.) I finished the ride. Can't remember the name of the town I stopped in but they had el cheapo places to stay.

I suggest a pillow and a cute travel buddy also. It really makes the drive seem like nothing. Whenever you have to stop at a gas station, make sure you give the car at least 10 minutes to rest. You should take that time to stretch as well.

I don't know how old your vehicle is but you'll want to get a tune up before making the trip as it seems like a decent drive and the last thing you want is something breaking out in the middle of hicksville. Besides, your car is going to run a hell of a lot better after and oil change. I recommend an oil change at the very least.

When it came to food I brough an ice chest full of deli meat and a loaf of Hawaiian Bread. I'm cheap like that. It was delicious.(y) Fruits are a good idea too.

[YoungRemy]

just moved across the country with my girl and we video blogged our entire roadtrip...

we drove a U-Haul of our belongings from NYC to Baltimore (3-4 hours) and unpacked our stuff..packed up a small car with the essentials and left everything else in her parents basement

Day 1 was the Auto-train from DC to Orlando- you put your car on the back of the train as you relax on a pretty comfortable train ride (16 hours)

Day 2- Disney World

Day 3- Orlando to New Orleans (9-10 hours)

Day 4- Mardi Gras

Day 5- New Orleans to Houston (5-6 hours)

Day 6- Houston to Austin (3 hours)

Day 7- Austin to Las Cruces, New Mexico (9-10 hours)

Day 8- Las Cruces to Phoenix (6 hours)

Day 9- Phoenix to LA (6 hours)

spreading out the trip made it fun, as we got to visit friends and family in every city except the border town in New Mexico...

[cookiepuss]

You would be right on all accounts.

5 hours seems a bit short though. I didn't really pay attention. I'm english.

hee heee.

5 hours would be if you jumped on interstate 5..it's pretty much a straight shot, but not pretty or scenic IMO. It would take you longer if you took that coastal route..which is what I hope you did cause it's very pretty...still you'd probably be looking at 10 hours by taking the coast.

anyway thanks for amusing me and letting me bust your chops.(y) for some reason I just imagined you packed in like a VW rabbit with 4 other people and going 20 miles per hour the entire time.

[QueenAdrock]

I don't know how old your vehicle is but you'll want to get a tune up before making the trip as it seems like a decent drive and the last thing you want is something breaking out in the middle of hicksville. Besides, your car is going to run a hell of a lot better after and oil change. I recommend an oil change at the very least.

Got my brakes checked (everything mechanical is in good working order, which surprised me), got my oil changed, fluids topped off, belts and hoses checked, tire pressure checked/added, and I'm going to change my air filter this weekend. I'm not sure if I should do a tire rotation or not. I'm still undecided.

My car's a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant and has always been good to me, so I think I should be just fine. I'm keeping water in the trunk in case something overheats, though.

Good idea about letting my car rest, though. (y)

[beastiegirrl101]

New Jersey to Chicago 14 hours and lots of road head.

[jackrock]

Dude,we totally crossed paths, I know it. Took us about 40 hours, across 6 days. Conclusion, Ontario is to big for its own good, Kanata rules, French chicks are hot. Have fun in the unrealisticly boring flatlands!

(Just be thankful you didnt do it on the back of a motorbike)

[Schmeltz]

Shit! I missed this thread because I was away. Well, if you're in Regina that means you'll spend the night in my hometown, so I'll try to pick up on your aura. If you see this message before you hit the 'Gina, reply or something and we'll see what happens.

Otherwise, get the hell out of here as fast as you can, before the stagnant boredom sucks the soul from your helpless body.

[hellojello]

i just wrote a massive reply then realised this thread is really old.
thanks a lot jackrock.