Our trip of a lifetime

[Lifemagician]

If you want that for the computer, I would not bother.....

You will find that free wifi is available, almost everywhere. And where you have to pay, it is quite cheap. Most hotels give it free, as do motels, hostels and campgrounds. Many of the interstates have free wifi at rest areas, and places such as McDonalds, Starbucks, Panera and others, even some general stores and supermarkets, offer free wifi. I asked everywhere I went, and was often told it was available free, even though there was no sign saying so.

Have a safe trip.

Lifey

[jonhobbs]

Wow, I wish it was like that in the UK. Hotel I stayed at this weekend was £16 (around $25) a night.

[glc]

The more expensive hotels are generally the ones that charge! Most budget chains such as Super 8 and Days Inn all have free access. Motel 6 charges a nominal fee - $3 to $4 a night in their company operated hotels, and their franchises are often free. A lot of hotels also have a business center or a computer in the lobby with complimentary access. Even a lot of "mom and pop" motels have access, but it's definitely not upscale - something like a DSL connection with a consumer-grade wireless router sitting behind the front desk - you may have to sit in or near the lobby to get a good signal.

It's just not worth it to try to get 3G access, and if you want to have a cell phone for voice communication, the easiest way to do that is with a cheap prepaid phone that you can buy anywhere and throw it away when you leave. Refill cards for all the pay-as-you-go carriers are sold everywhere. You do not have to go to a phone store to get a prepaid phone, all the "big box" stores such as Walmart sell them. Note that here, you are charged airtime for all outgoing and incoming calls, including "800" free calls.

Something to keep in mind - AT&T and T-Mobile are our only GSM carriers - everyone else does not use SIM cards, they use specific phones.

[Yeehaw]

Jon, have you managed to get the car from Boston for 90 days without changing cars on your way? On our trips we had to change the car. You are going to make a fantastic trip. Enjoy!

[jonhobbs]

Yeehaw,

Budget's worldwide sales line have put it in the system as a 30 day booking but they have added a not for the Boston office to give me the car for 90 days at the same rate. They say it will be fine when I get to Boston and they see it on the system but I'm not so sure.

[Lifemagician]

They say it will be fine when I get to Boston and they see it on the system but I'm not so sure.

I would call the Boston Office..... more than once. In fact, I would call them regularly until you go. Note down each time, date and time and to whom you spoke. Just explain that you want to be sure that this is actually the case. Confirm that this is actually what you are getting when you arrive at the desk,

If you get conflicting responses, say so, and tell them that is why you are calling more than just the once. You want to be sure. And if you happen to strike the same person on a subsequent call, just explain you are checking up that nothing has changed, and all will still be OK.

They will get the message that you are a serious customer, and these notes will (or should) go on record.

Lifey

[jonhobbs]

Hi Lifey, I have tried calling the Boston office but unfortunately they are always busy and the phone system just redirects you to their international number :(


I have one more question for now and that's about the issue of speeding.

I'm not intending to drive round the whole of the USA at crazy speeds deliberately but over 12,000 it's going to be hard to never be over the speed limit, especially on those wide open interstates miles from a city and with very little traffic.

So, I've been looking for info on what happens to tourists when they're caught speeding and all I can come up with is general rules for US citizens in various states. So, would a tourist get an on the spot fine? If so would these be payable by the roadside or would a court appearance be necessary? If it happened more than once would the first offence be on some kind of national database?

Like I say, not planning on speeding deliberately but need to know what the consequences would be.

[Midwest Michael]

It's going to be a bit different from state to state. In nearly all cases, you should expect to have to pay the fine immediately - which you may be able to pay directly to the officer, or may require a trip to the courthouse.

As long as you are doing less than 10 over the limit, you typically won't get a ticket. If anything, the biggest problem I'd forsee is local cops not knowing how to handle an international license.

There really isn't much of a national database, as such things are really done on a state by state basis. Any communication would be done between the state that issued the ticket and the one that issued the Drivers License, but I don't they'd bother for a minor speed violation on an international license.

[glc]

As long as you are doing less than 10 over the limit, you typically won't get a ticket.

I'd recommend you keep it to 5 mph over the limit - I was stopped in the middle of nowhere on I-94 in Montana for doing 6 over a few years ago. Since then, I set my cruise control at 4 over, verified by GPS.

[jonhobbs]

Yeah, I think I'm going to hope the car has cruise control and learn how to use it. It's so easy in modern cars to not realise how fast you're going.