2 guys, 1 girl, 2 months...

[Lee99]

If you were 23 years old and about to embark on a 2 month trip to the US with your girlfriend and your best friend -- with the only mission being to have the GREATEST possible time you could have (and you could literally go or be anywhere in the US)-- what would you do with those 2 months?

Where would you go? What would you see?

We're planning such a trip this summer. We've visited the US before (NYC, parts of Florida, Boston, San Antonio TX, LA, Vegas) and hired a car, but never Road Tripped. We want to enjoy many new experiences... see the REAL America... but *not* spend 14 hours a day on the road doing it.

If money wasn't an object (to a realistic limit-- no private jets or limos, for example) and you had 2 months and 2 friends to go with and only this ONE chance to make the summer great... what would you do with that time?

I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions or experiences.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

Your situation sounds remarkably similar to the one that led to my first great transcontinental RoadTrip. With two months, you have all the time you need to do exactly what you say you want to: wander among the parts of America that aren't overrun with commercialism or ticky-tacky sameness. What I'd suggest is that you generally make a big circle around America. Spend some time beforehand looking into what each of the different geographical regions of the US has to offer and then just kind of poke around the back roads, sights and small towns of each one. Your only schedule has to be a rough idea of how much time you can spend exploring one area before it's time to move on.

See some of the major natural wonders, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and some big cities, but also hit the small rural towns. Talk to people. Make a point of stopping each day in an Information Center or two. Chat up your waitress when you have a sit down meal. You imply that the US is not your home - if you've got an accent, use it. We're usually just as interested in talking to foreigners (with different experiences) as you are to talk to us.

Those are just some general thoughts to get you started thinking about how you want to approach this trip. When you're ready to talk specifics, come on back for details.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

If you were 23 years old and about to embark on a 2 month trip to the US with your girlfriend and your best friend -- with the only mission being to have the GREATEST possible time you could have

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! There is a wealth of information on the pages of this Forum that couuld provide 100 years of summer road trips. But since you have already seen part of the NE, I would start and end in Seattle and go explore the Cascade Mountains, (here are a couple of superb suggestions from Moderator Arizona Brad , for central Washington destinations!), spend some time around Coeur d'Alene, zig up to the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP, zag to Yellowstone, cruise around the high peaks in Colorado, visit as many of the parks in Utah that you can, ride a raft down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, contribute some dollars to the local economy in Las Vegas, hit the beaches in Redondo, drive the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco and then explore the coast road between San Francisco and Seattle (lots of posts about that route here).

How is that for a start?

Mark

[Lee99]

That's a great starting point for me, thank you.

As much as anything, it's good to hear from people who have already been in a similar position with the desire to explore the US with a similar timeframe to do it in.

The idea of "circling" the US sounds appealing. Although RoadTripping is one aspect of the trip (driving from certain places to others), it's not really the main focus. The destination, in this case, is just as important as the journey... and I'd like to get a feel for "small town" America just as much as the big cities.

I'll be back when I've got some more specific ideas to put out there. In the meantime, if there's anyone from the UK (or anywhere else, for that matter) who has spent a summer doing what I'm hoping to do for this coming one, I'd love to hear of your experiences.

Cheers! -Lee

[Mark Sedenquist]

if there's anyone from the UK (or anywhere else, for that matter) who has spent a summer doing what I'm hoping to do for this coming one, I'd love to hear of your experiences.

Lee, there are about a dozen frequent posters on this board who live and work in the UK who are also accomplished American roadtrippers. If you do a user search for UK and vambo25 and look at all of their posts, you will have ample ideas. In addition, vambo25's (a/k/a Peter Thody) excellent field report is online here about his travels in South Dakota may well inspire you. Finally, there is a book written by a fellow brit that attempts to translate the American roadtripping experience into British English -- Drive USA really is an excellent book and one that I think you would enjoy reading. Plus, you might find some of the tips on our International page of use to you.

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

..if there's anyone from the UK...

I was looking for something else and starting finding all sorts of comments from our UK roadtrippers. Here are some samples:
DStar: Of all the NP's around there by the way, Bryce is the most spectacular in that it's a very alien sight for a Brit.;
UK's 2005 Summer Trip, ;
Spokey: I have a desperate urge to do a lap of the USA.
lizardking : I’d would like to visit a ghost town
Well, you get the idea -- there is a lot of information here!

Happy Planning!

Mark

[Lee99]

Thanks Mark! I will study each of those links tonight, Cheers!