Currently a Brit who has been working in New York for the last 12 months, my contract is not being renewed so I'm having to go back home the the UK. Before I do though and slightly last minute I'm planning one seeing as much of the country before I go as possible.

As such I have put together this route:

Saturday 20-Sep NYC
Sunday 21-Sep NYC
Monday 22-Sep Philly
Tuesday 23-Sep Baltimore
Wednesday 24-Sep DC
Thursday 25-Sep DC
Friday 26-Sep Richmond, Virgina
Saturday 27-Sep Chesepeake
Sunday 28-Sep Raleigh, North Carolina
Monday 29-Sep Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tuesday 30-Sep Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Wednesday 1-Oct Nashville, Tennessee
Thursday 2-Oct Nashville, Tennessee
Friday 3-Oct Birmingham, Alabama
Saturday 4-Oct Birmingham, Alabama
Sunday 5-Oct Mobile, Alabama
Monday 6-Oct New Orleans
Tuesday 7-Oct New Orleans
Wednesday 8-Oct New Orleans
Thursday 9-Oct Houston, Texas
Friday 10-Oct Dallas, Texas
Saturday 11-Oct Dallas, Texas
Sunday 12-Oct Abilene, Texas
Monday 13-Oct Roswell, New Mexico
Tuesday 14-Oct Tucson, Arizona
Wednesday 15-Oct Yuma, Arizona
Thursday 16-Oct Tijuana
Friday 17-Oct Tijuana
Saturday 18-Oct San Diego
Sunday 19-Oct San Diego
Monday 20-Oct LA
Tuesday 21-Oct LA
Wednesday 22-Oct LA
Thursday 23-Oct LA
Friday 24-Oct Santa Maria
Saturday 25-Oct Monterey
Sunday 26-Oct San Fran
Monday 27-Oct San Fran
Tuesday 28-Oct San Fran
Wednesday 29-Oct Yosemitie
Thursday 30-Oct Death Valley
Friday 31-Oct Vegas
Saturday 1-Nov Vegas


The route is as it it for several reasons, firstly the ultimate goal is to be in Chicago for the election on November the 4th. Initially I had planned on driving up route 66 but have come to realise there will not be enough time to fit that all in so I have a flight booked from Vegas to Chicago on the 3rd, so effectively the road trip ends when I get to Vegas.

The terms of my visa state that I'm permitted 30 days additional stay once my work contract has expired, so I have to leave the country by the 18th of October. Hence the route goes through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona so I can dip into Mexico and some back to finish the trip a few days later on a tourist visa.

The only specific routes I have in mind is the coastal road from LA to San Fran, apart from that I'm hoping for as many suggestions on roads to take and places to visit as possible. Although I'm keen to see as much of "backwater" America as possible I'm also aware of the fact that this is being planned at such short notice and am looking at making the whole experience as cheap as possible so by sticking to fairly major cities the likelihood of getting a cheap room in a hostel rises dramatically.

So, am I completely crazy? Is this feasible? How much will it cost? What should I pack? I need as many answers to these questions as you can help me with...

Also I have a car lined up to buy on the cheap but how easy is it to get insurance on a British license and how do I go about getting the necessary registration documents in place before I go?