East coast to west coast drive for September 2012

[Shobhna]

Hello everyone. A complete newbie here. I found this forum whilst googling for some information on road trips from East Coast to West Coast of America.
I have a bucket list and one of the items in my bucket list is this drive that I want to do.
I live in the UK and come across the pond every year or every 2 years. I have family in USA so it's a good enough reason to visit.
Next year I want to do this East Coast to West Coast drive.
I want to plan this for the last 2 weeks of September...or maybe the first 2 weeks of September. I am easy on that. I don't want to be there in June or July or August. I don't like to leave my garden in someone elses care in the summer months.
I am looking for ideas, suggestions, places to stop, places to hire the car from....everything that helps make this trip possible. I have family in Washington DC and was thinking that perhaps I could start from there.

By the way, I have driven many thousands of miles in America in the last 10/12 years so that is not a problem and I love driving anyway. When I have time I will post pics of my Mazda and me having a blat on the UK roads.

Any suggestions, help, new friends....all welcome. :-)

[Lifemagician]

Hi Shobhna, and welcome.

This trip is entirely possible, but before the experts here can give any meaningful advice, it will be necessary for you to give a little more information. Other than that you have two weeks in September, to drive to the west coast, starting in DC, we know nothing about you, your interests or what you wish to achieve by undertaking this trip.

Lifey with family on the east coast

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome the RTA forums from the South of England !

Now that you have found us [and we are glad you did] I would start by looking through the many planning resources available in the tool bars above and to read through the endless amounts of info on the forums and most importantly, study a good map. Once you have started narrowing down your options and have some dots on the map, I am sure we can help you to 'fine tune' your trip.

For car rental options it is best just to keep searching for a deal that suits your needs as last weeks best deal might not be next weeks and all major rental Co's pretty much offer the same products. Make sure you check the total cost before committing as you will have 'One way drop off' fees to consider.

September/October are my 2 favorite Months to travel in the US and it really won't matter whether it's at the beginning of September or the end, perhaps flight prices may determine which is the best time ?

Enjoy the planning and keep asking questions as you go .

[Shobhna]

Thank You Lifemagician and Southwest Dave for your replies.
Yes, I will get the map out and start making dots and then will try to join them up. :-)
At the moment this trip is in the planning stages....it's like a little seed beginning to germinate..

I'll be back ..

[lispingwiseone]

Hello, I am new here, and this is the reason I am here as well. I have always wanted to drive across the country and then back again. Everyone says I am nuts, but the older I get the less I care what they think. So far I printed a map which showed the general route and some attractions. On a limited budget, will be traveling with my kids. Wanting to leave within a month. Thanks for having this site. Looking forward to meeting other roadtrippers.

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Lispingwiseone, welcome to RTA !

There's nothing nuts about taking a dream road trip, unless we are all nuts here of course ! LOL.

You will find Lot's of useful info throughout the RTA site so make good use of all the resources together with a good paper map and enjoy the planning ! If you have any specific questions then don't hesitate to ask.

[DonnaR57]

Here's another nut, lispingwiseone and Shobhna, as my husband and I are preparing to do just that: drive across this country. We live 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and my brother lives about the same distance from the Atlantic Ocean. We're going this summer. My current plans are to keep a diary (as I have done of our trips since 1993), and to post occasional trip and expense reports. So if you're nuts, so are we! (Actually, as I indicated in another post in one of the other forums, my husband is a former long-distance commercial driver. He used to cross the country 6 or 7 times in a month. Of course he wasn't able to stop and see much of anything, except what you can see flying down the Interstate highway systems. The only time he got to see anything is when his truck broke down near Gettysburg. Then he and his truck partner rented a car and went there for the day! We're going there this summer so he can see what he missed - and I've never been there at all.)


Donna

[lispingwiseone]

Hello Thanks for the welcome and nice to meet you. That is neat. You are going the opposite direction as me. I have been to the east coast beach a couple of times as a teen. I have only been to Maryland, Delaware, NJ and Virginia (by car). In 2009, my husband's work convention was in Vegas, that was my first flight. We also got to go to Pittsburgh twice through his work.
I liked the actual flight, but not all the fooling around and wait time, that is why I'd rather drive and keep my own schedule. Was thinking about taking a train or bus too. There are so many places I would like to go. But California has always been on my mind since I was a kid. lol

I live about 30 miles north of Gettysburg. Been through but never visited. Its one of those things I'm not into. You can feel it when you get there. There is literally a change in the air.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventures. I dated a trucker for about 3 years and worked in a diner. I used to enjoy hearing about adventures on the road. Some of the private truckers took their wives with and sometimes even kids. The big trucking companies don't allow that though. Too much liability I guess.

When are you planning on leaving? I was planning on June, but now it is looking like July.

Melanie

[DonnaR57]

Melanie, we're going in July. My husband and I both love history and beautiful scenery, but family comes first. The last time my brother and I visited, it was on an emergency situation (our dad had a stroke). So we would just like time to visit. Since he lives so close to NYC, we are planning to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and do a few things in the city as well as saunter down to Philadelphia to do the Independence Hall thing. On the way west, we're stopping in Dayton OH (to see the Wright Brothers bit and the Air Force Museum there), and to see our grown daughter in central MO. We combine family with our vacation - makes a lot of fun, especially since the kids are grown now (sniff sniff). We will probably be gone for at least 4 weeks.


Donna