30+ states in 2005, 2 travellers from the UK

Hi all,

Firstly, what a great site! The stuff here is so useful, and its great to see other UK-based people who are planning to, or already have, done transcontinental roadtrips like I am planning...

I travel a fair bit with my work, and have been the the US a number of times. I've been to NY state, San Francisco, St Louis, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and have seen the inside of LAX, Chicago O'Hare and Altanta International :) However, all this was with work, and I dream of seeing as much of the States as I can on a road trip with my brother.

So, the plan is: a minimum of 3 months during Spring or Fall of 2005, seeing as much as possible, mostly from the road! 50 states would be great, but probably not do-able in 3 months without killing us! I will no doubt have loads of questions between now and then (many already answered by you lot - thanks!), but I have a trivial question buzzing around my head at the moment:

My plan is to do all the driving one day, and then my brother do all the driving the next day, and so on. On my non-driving days, it'd be great to crack open a beer or two whilst enjoying the scenery. I heard that the only place you were allowed to carry beer in a car was in the trunk!!! Without an elaborate set of tubes, this isn't that helpful. Can you guys confirm if this is true. Does it vary by state?

Just a trivial question, I know... Just thought I'd start you off nice 'n' easy - the trickier ones will come soon no doubt :)

Thanks again & well done for a great set of forums.

Lee.

I do not know the law in each state, but I suspect that drinking in a vehicle on a public thoroughfare is going to be unlawful in MOST states, if not all, whether driver or passenger. Many states have "open container" laws (as you described in your note). Generally, an open container law prohibits any alcoholic beverage that has been opened (with a broken seal) from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. In some cases, you MAY even find that you cannot have such a container anywhere in the vehicle at all.