College graduation 30 day cross country trip

[Mike and Mandy]

I guess what I need to do now is go over the route and try to trim it down to a more manageable size.

As for mileage and time, yes, I realise I will have to add some padding there, and will do so in my revised schedule.

Thanks

Forgot to mention here -

This happened to us. Two months (last two weeks are with friends and are taking out time from Ohio - Michigan (SP and NP) - Wisconsin - Sweet Home Chicago) and we still ran out of time in our planning.

What we did was come up with a "Must See" list. Those are the things we are DEFINITELY stopping to see. Then we have our other list categorized by location on things we have read/heard about that we want to see. That we we can see what we really want to and still fill in the spare time gaps.

I suggest removing the things that can and should be done on a later date. Orlando, Vegas, etc. They are expensive and distracting. I am intentionally driving around Vegas so I don't even see it. Once I here those buzzers and bells and see those lights....my trip is over and all my money is gone. I'd much rather go to Vegas for a long weekend and spend a bunch of money. If you're doing a road trip, see the things you're not going to fly to see. Bad Lands is a great example. You can even take the Metra into Chicago from O'hare (Chicago is awesome though...only reason I might suggest skipping it now is because of the time crunch and it's fairly close to home and easy to fly to).

Don't forget the time you are going to spend in these locations and how reluctant you will be to leave. Anyone who can run through a museum in 2 hours (just an example), obviously didn't see 1/4 of it.

I always say: "If you are going to take the time to do something, do it right, or don't do it at all."

After all, you stated you guys will not be able to do this again. I've always had more fun drinking with my buddys around a campfire than in a bar.

Just my thoughts.

[Lifemagician]

At this point it makes more sense to me to rent a vehicle. Are you guys 25+? If not, then you will get an underage fee. Hertz has a deal going that will wave the fee for ONE underage driver but not all.

More to think about. Mike makes a lot of sense.

Have you guys thought to check out other options? This crowd appears not to have an underage fee, and could well be worth checking out for a longer trip like yours.

Gee, I do hope this is going to be a great trip.