Cross Country and Back- Leaving Virginia Beach mid-April for 6 weeks
My wife and I will be making our first cross country trip leaving Virginia Beach, VA in mid-April. While we have targeted the trip for 6 weeks, we have the flexibility to adjust the time frame, if necessary. I am looking for advice on most everything, especially any special sites/events we should not miss, any events that we should be aware of in this time frame for lodging purposes, weather considerations, general traveling advice for an extended trip, etc. I have read the "Live Your Road Trip Dream" by the Whites.
A little background to help with your advice. We have enjoyed motoring vacations in the past, but have always been limited to 2 weeks or so, normally requiring us to fly into an area, rent a car and take off. Those trips were generally in the summer and planned pretty closely with most lodging reservations made before leaving. We hope to make this trip much more free-style within a general route plan. We have a new Chevy Express conversion van (Explorer Van Co) that we will be using. We want to minimize time on the Interstates except where there are no compelling sights, landscape, etc. where we could make a little time. We mainly enjoy the amazing sights that nature provides, sampling good regional food, and experiencing local events such as fairs, celebrations, etc.
Our general route includes the following, but we have not planned anything that can't be changed.
- Virginia Beach south using the "Coastal East Coast" route in Jamie Jensen's "Road Trip USA" through the Outer Banks, Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah to somewhere around Jacksonville where we will head west.
- Jacksonville west to the Florida Gulf Coast somewhere around Cedar Key (to experience the "old Florida. We've seen most of Florida and spend March, 2007 there.) North following the Gulf Coast to the Mobile area.
- Continue following the Gulf Coast through Biloxi to New Orleans area and then south and west through the bayous.
- West to Galveston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso. (Haven't spent a lot of time on this segment, but want to experince the "Hill Country" and the wide expanses of West Texas.
- West to Tucson, Phoenix area, and San Diego.
- Generally follow "Coastal West Coast" route from Jensen book. North along the California Coast through Los Angeles area, Big Sur, San Francisco area, Mendocino, Redwood country. Continue north along Oregon and Washington Coast to Seattle/Olympic Mountains area.
- East to Spokane, Kalispell, South to Boise, and East to Cody, Billings, Bad Lands, Mt. Rushmore, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Green Bay, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. (Again, haven't planned a lot of detail on this segment, so am wide open.)
- From the Upper Peninsula, I haven't decided whether to 1) cut south through Michigan and follow Lake Erie to Buffalo, 2) cut across to Toronto and Montreal, or 3) cut south through Michigan and cross back over into Canada at Detroit to Niagra Falls.
- Depending on the route we take in the item just above, we will determine how to head South, back toward Virginia. We would like to see some of New England again, but would also like to see some of central New York and Pennsylvania. I don't think we will be able to do both on this trip.
We know we are not going to be able to see everything of interest with the general route plan even with ~6 weeks, but intend to come back later to those areas we don't get enough of for 2-3 week individual trips. We also plan to take whatever 1-2 day "timeouts" (no traveling) that are necessary to recharge.
I've been impressed with the help this board has provided other travelers, and look forward to any suggestions you may have.
Two quick technology questions. Has anyone found a good planner with maps, time projections, sight information that can be recommended for mapping specific roads, routes, etc.? I have been playing with a preview copy of Microsoft's Streets and Trips and it looks pretty good. Also, can anyone suggest a good resource/site where it is easy to upload digital pictures and write a daily (or so) summary in a "travel journal" format for others to see during the trip?
Thanks!
What a great trip you've got in the planning stages!
Hello Neighbor,
My family has a modest home on the Bay about a half-mile west of the Lesner Bridge, hence the "neighborly" salutation. I have a small handful of thoughts for your planning consideration:
In West Texas, consider a dip southward into Big Bend Country. I have looked longlingly at visiting Terlingula, Marfa, and Alpine. Long ago and in another life I was accepted to geology grad school at Sul Ross State in Alpine, but marriage and the big money ($700/month) came first, so I didn't go. The three isolated burgs today are arts/crafts centers and if you like out of the way places, it's perfect!
In California, consider a short hop inland of Ventura/Santa Barbara, over the Santa Ynez Mountains, to Carrizo Plain National Monument. It can be enjoyed as a drive-through. It's an easy hop back west on CA 46 through the Paso Robles wine country and the Coast Range to Cambria, an absolutely delightful Pacific ocean village right at the doorstep to San Simeon on the PCH.
In Montana, a stopover in Missoula, where walking trails and bridges give downtown motel guests access to the University campus, the Clark Fork River, and a goodly number of kitchy restaurants and bars. Then, going south down US 93 brings you to the headwaters of the Bitterroot River to Lost Trail Pass. Take MT 43 east from there and enter the most spectacular valley in the US, the Big Hole. Visit Big Hole National Battlefield, have a soak in the Jackson Hot Springs, stop by Bannack (a genuine ghost town now a MT state park), and if the roads are dry enough, venture over through Horse Prarie and Grants to Lemhi Pass, where Lewis and Clark first reached the Continental Divide. Driving back into MT from Lemhi Pass gives you the opportunity to head over to I-15 at Clark Canyon Reservior, thence south to Boise, or hop over the Bitterroots at Bannock Pass, thence SE over to I-15 in ID.
On the UP, I don't think any traverse is complete without L'Anse, Houghton, and especially Copper Harbor, all along the upper tier of UP counties along Lake Superior. You can see Pictured Rocks Nat Lakeshore near Munising, then bushwhack across Hemingway Country ("Big Two-Hearted River" is the Fox River in the middle section of the UP) back to St Ignatius at the northern end of the Mackinaw Bridge. From there, you can't go wrong with going east to the Soo or south down the Lower Peninsula.
In upstate NY, I recently enjoyed a stopover at the site of the Woodstock festival in 1969, a site actually at Bethel, NY, some 75 miles from Woodstock,, NY. There's now a museum atop the hill where hundreds of thousands gathered. From Bethel, a bushwhack south takes you across the Delaware River into PA, where you can traverse the Poconos or follow the Delaware Valley to the Water Gap.
As to navigation, I am 100% with AZBuck in use of good atlases. Out west, I'd look to acquire a Benchmark Atlas for any state I planned to spend a day or two exploring. I think they're available through links here at RTA.
What a fine trip coming up. Enjoy the planning and the travel!
Foy
US-Mexico border trouble?
We are leaving for a 6 week around the country trip next week and as part of the trip, have planned to roughly follow the US-Mexican border through parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into San Diego.
Does anyone have any current and accurate information about the safety of such a route at this time? The headlines suggest one thing, but I'm thinking the reality may be different. Thanks for your help!
