Roadtrip #1: The Lower 48 States in 30 days
Hey roadtrippers...
Some of you who have been on these boards for a while may remember my old post last summer about taking an extensive roadtrip through the 48 contiguous states in 30 days. Gen and Gary may remember it.
Well the time has come for my formal announcement. I have my 2 best friends prepped to go and our launch date is Sunday, July 17, 2005 at high noon. We have finalized the route as much as we can plan for. My month of vacation time has been put in, and I've got the reservation for renting a minivan with unlimited mileage (thanks to a friend who got me a great discount).
We have about 10 complimentary overnighters (thanks to friends and family spread out across the states) and the rest of the destinations are subject to spontaneous decisions. (Sounds more fun that way.)
The top highlights of this roadtrip will be (for me) the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, New Orleans, Washington DC, New York, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and Seattle.
Now, for those of you who might be interested in tracking us, I have developed a a page on my website dedicated to this roadtrip. It has an XML-fed interactive map that I'll be updating on the road, tracking where we are. It also has a dynamic blogger and picture gallery that I can update from anywhere. If you rollover our destinations you can read about the city, mileage and descriptions.
I am still accepting all kinds of advice on what to see and pointers for this trip. I have budgeted $5,000, with almost half of it being for gas and the rental. It's kind of conservative, but the goal isn't to be spending money. Most of the highlights for me will be free endeavours.
I'm anxious to hear feedback from all of you. If you have problems viewing the site, let me know (as I haven't had a wide audience viewing it yet and there could be some bugs). Looking forward to it!
So much to do, what DO I do?
Thank you all for your advice and kudos. I have been overwhelmed with so much input; I don't know how to decide what to do for each stop. I am in the process of compiling a list of every stop and what should/could be done at each one. All of your suggestions are being considered. Thank you!
Our local paper is going to be covering our roadtrip. The interview (and photoshoot!) happens tomorrow evening and should be published the Thursday before we leave. I will post the link when the time comes.
Mark, if we get to leave a few hours earlier than planned, we'll definitely stop by the RTA fun-factory. :) That, of course, depends on if/when we're all ready to go by Saturday night. Knowing my buddies, it's a 50/50 chance.
Miss Judy, it would be great if we could rendevouz somewhere. I'll get in touch with you as the time draws near and see if it's possible. If we're on time or even ahead of schedule, then we'll take you up on the MSH tour.
Gary, Johnson City is right on our route. How convenient. That day will be long for driving (Florida to Kentucky; I'm not sure we'll make it in a day.) But if we're feeling energetic, we could definitely stop by.
Fun Factory for Fun Times
Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
Did you mean the RTA office? Or Las Vegas in general or??? In any case, if we are around -- give us a shout and we will meet you on the LV strip.
LOL yes I meant your office. I was imagining walking into a quaint little complex building with a geographically scenic art gallery, rare exotic plants and a modestly hot secretary.
But then again, why would the office be open on a Sunday? :) Didn't think about that.
We're still deciding what to do for Vegas when we get there. How far are you from the Stratosphere? Meeting up somewhere during that day is definitely an option.
Working in a virtual universe
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joey Kincer
LOL yes I meant your office. I was imagining walking into a quaint little complex building with a geographically scenic art gallery, rare exotic plants and a modestly hot secretary.
Well, the office building is more modern than quaint -- but it does have a super cool 12-foot diameter world globe hanging from the ceiling and with a little applied imagination it does have all of the other criteria as well.
Quote:
But then again, why would the office be open on a Sunday? :) Didn't think about that.
Actually, Sunday is the primary production day for RTA. We usually start at about 10 am and, on the easy days, finish about 6:00 pm. But the office building is always closed to visitors on Sundays.
Quote:
We're still deciding what to do for Vegas when we get there. How far are you from the Stratosphere? Meeting up somewhere during that day is definitely an option.
Las Vegas is really a perfect city for exploring on your own. Here are some of the things we like about living here.
Mark
The Lower 48 States in 30 Days - Update
Greetings roadtrippers,
It has been 2 weeks since we left for our excursion, and we are approaching the half-way marker. Thought I would update everyone that everything has been mostly good so far. The sights we have seen have been nothing short of fabulous.
For those of you that haven't been reading the updates, we've had a mishap here and there. The most prominent was the flat tire that took almost 2 days to replace because the type of tire was very rare. That's really the only problem with the transportation thus far.
There have been other delays and changes to the route which have erased our 2 day cushion already, so we have no more room for error. That's kind of alarming to me, but I really can't spend all my time worrying about it. The current goal of all 48 states isn't in danger yet, and we've already completed more than half of them.
However, I've had to move on in certain places where I would have liked to spend more time, but that's the way it goes. I can always come back.
For those who wish to view the blogs and pics thus far, you can find it here:
http://www.kinless.com/roadtrip.asp
It's not too late to still send tips for the places we haven't been to yet. We are hitting New York in the next 48 hours so that will be the current highlight until we get out of the northeast.
See you soon.
The Natural Order of Road Trips!
It's a rare trip when everything goes according to plan -- that's part of the "fun." Even though it may not seem so at the time! Keep 'em coming, and good luck on being able to do all 48! I'm out on a 10 day motorcycle trip as of this morning, so maybe we'll pass on the road. I'm the guy in yellow and black leathers with bugs on his teeth! Bob
