Hi, i'm a freshman in college and my friends and I are planning a roadtrip for our spring break. We figured that it would be a pretty inexpensive getaway for us. We are going to start in Iowa and we want to end up at the Gulf (Definatly New Orleans to check out the French Quarter)before we make our return trip home. We will have about 7-8 days to complete our trip. I was wondering if we were allowing enough time and how much money we should expect to spend. Keep in mind we are used to living on a tight budget, so we can scrap! Also in another thread I read about staying in hostels... could you give me more information about where to find these and what they are. I have read the Bad Girls' Guide to the Open Road and highly recommend it. If nothing else it's a great laugh! Thanks for all your help!