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Actually, a few weeks ago, I caught a PBS special about Madison, at 12:30 am, or some ungodly hour of the evening, and the part that drew me into the program was a feature on the market! Thaanks for the tip! I will definitely hit that while I'm in town!
My family and I drove to Seattle and back last summer. It was a fantastic journey! My advice is not to try and cover to much ground each day. You also must accept that there will be attractions that you would like to see but will have to pass for time and fiscal constraints. I plan on making this trip again in a couple of years. This time I will take longer and do more. Try and make your motel reservations early each day. Make sure that you get confirmation numbers with any reservations you make via cell phone. Try to carry as much food and drink as possible. There are lots of Walmarts and such along the way. There are also plenty of savings using the dollar menu at the fast food places. Good luck. Drive defensively.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, should take a cross-country road trip at least once in their lives. I have just returned from mine. I'm 25, I set out by myself, and I loved absolutely every second of the trip.
I saw the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse... Wall Drug, Deadwood, Haystack Rock, Portland, Salt Lake City, the Gateway Arch... I spent five incredible days and four phenomenal nights in Seattle, I drove the Washington and Oregon coasts on highway 101... I stayed in hostels and hotels... I ate Cheese-Its and granola bars, and steak and cucumbers... I had fresh apples from the farmers market in Madison, WI, and fresh flowers from Pike Place Market in Seattle... I met girls from Austraila and Germany and a man from Bremerton, who told me about his "brawl" with a sasquatch... I spent more than 80 hours in my car and drove more than 5200 miles...
And I would do it again tomorrow.
I set up an online blog for my friends and family to check while I was on the trip. If anyone wants to check it out, go here: http://itafac.tripod.com/carpediem
I got a digital camera about a week before the trip, and consequently took about 1100 more pictures than I anticipated taking. I'm trying to get those all organized (and consolidated!) to put some online, as well.
I'm sure the folks close to me are going to get pretty sick of me talking about the trip, so if anyone out there wants information about my route or what I saw or did, just post here or shoot me an email.
If you're considering or planning a road trip, though, all I can say is DO IT. DO IT NOW.
Thanks to everyone who posted when I had questions and suggested sights to see and things to do... your help was priceless!
Sarah,
Thanks for your field report. Sounds like a great adventure!
Mark
I have several pictures from the first leg of my trip (getting from Ohio to Washington state) posted to a photosite.com website. Check it out at: www.itafac.photosite.com
Let me know what you think!
I like 'em. I left you a note in your guestbook! Post some more when you get a chance! We want photos of ferries and rocks! Bob
The rest of my pictures are up! At least, the rest of the ones that are going up on the web site. If you want to see more, you'll have to come to my house!
There are three albums on the site, the three legs of my trip: getting there, Seattle, and getting back. To see them, visit: www.itafac.photosite.com
Enjoy!
We're real roundtrip lovers and would like to ask for some information. Last years we've been to Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. We've seen almost all National parks and big cities there. Now we would like to plan in advantage a new 2005 roundtrip. But where to start and which place to go? Each year it is so difficult to us to make a selection. We're not the bar kind of people and wane see national parks, scenic byways, regional historical sites and other highlights. We wore thinking about the Great Lakes or the Atlanta area or maybe New England with Cape Cod. But the midland is also attracting us. This year we drove 3750 miles in 13 days. We had enough time to take any exit we want. We wane do it next year the same way. Please help us on some new scenic drives/ byways true America!!! We can start in every city in the US!
George & Allen
Hi Sarah!
I checked some of your photos and read your field report, looks like you had a very nice trip!:-)) If your family and friends are bored by your stories, come here and share it with us, we'll be glad to hear (hum...I mean read) them and give you a feedback, or at least write me an email, I'd be delighted to read anything about your trip!
When you'll hear the call of Mother Road, I bet you'll going to do everything you can to hit the road again, right?:-) If you're just like me (poor starvin' student) and you don't have any budget left for roadtrips,you can still have some post-road fun! To help you remember your trip memories, you can have a shower in a truck stop, hang out with truckers, head to the nearest hostel or mom & pop motel on a boring weeknight, visit unknown places in your neighborhood, have a chat with complete strangers, find a diner and eat something you never tried before...anything goes. It may seem crazy but if it puts you in the right mood, why not?:-)
Glad you returned home safely and have a great evening!
Gen:o)
Looks like a great trip! It's always fun to see my home area through the eyes of a visitor. Gosh, at one point you were just a few miles from me. I would have loved to have shown you around. Thanks for sharing!