First Time Cross Country After Graduation

Me and my friend are planning to drive cross country this summer before colelge in the fall, from Massachusetts through Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana, Idaho, etc to Washington state, down the west coast, then back across the southwest, texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, NOrth Carolina, and back up the eastern seashore to MA. we want to do it in three weeks because my friend has softball all of june and most of july and i have a cousin's wedding in august. we know itll involve long driving, and we plan to camp. we were wondering if it is possible to do in three weeks, and we would appreciate any tips regarding food, whether to make reservations at campsites, car maintenance (2003 Dodge Neon - my mom's afraid its gonna break down which i think is unreasonable), and budgetting, especially with gas prices. i figured wed need about $1250 each. Any tips would be great. I've done a lot of planning but need to make sure im not missing anything or, completely off base. Thanks, Dani

I tried to talk my son out of doing a similar trip, but he did it anyway. He had a great time and some memorable experiences (more good than bad). However, he had SIX weeks.

So, what do you figure, about 8,000 miles in 21 days. Average speed of 55 miles per hour. Average cost of gas $2.4 per gallon (what does the Neon get, 22 mpg?) + meals of $40 per day (if you don't eat in restaurants much) + camping of $20 per day (unless you sleep in parking lots) + plus incidentals (entry fees, fan belt, oil, sunscreen, film & processing (unless you are shooting digital), and who knows what else) $15 per day.

Add it up. I get about 7 hours per day driving, $873 for gas, $1575 for meals, camping, and incidentals.

I'd say you've got the budget about right, but do you really want to spend 7 hours a day driving? That is the big question. Of course you could take turns driving at night, especially across South Dakota and Texas, and save on camping and daylight. It is your trip, but I'd do half this year and half next. Good luck and be sure to sign up with AAA.