June Trip from NYC

[DonnaR57]

Deciding which one to do....hmm....

Money would be one of the biggest factors. For the longer trip, you will spend more on fuel, food and lodging. However, there are people here who have managed to have wonderful trips on low budgets (but not too low), so we can help you with tips if needed.

Easing into road trips isn't a half bad idea. My husband and I had our first road trip together when we were newlyweds. It was all of 4 days long, and we enjoyed it a lot. (We were moving from MO to AZ. Both of us, however, had been on road trips with our respective families before we were married.) That made us want to do longer ones, and the very next summer, we road-tripped round trip AZ to MO. That led to a 3-week camping trip, eventually. You learn, on short trips, how much you can handle, what constitutes a nice driving day vs. a brutal one, and what kinds of things you personally require on a trip.

What do you want to do on THIS trip? If seeing your uncle is a priority, then I'd head that way. If seeing some beautiful scenery is a higher priority, then the Smokies and the Blue Ridge mountains would be the place to head for. And so on, and so forth.

An App for severe weather -- ooh, very good question. My husband and I travel with a CB radio in our vehicle, and we have the NOAA band on it. A couple of summers ago, we had that band going several times as we crossed through some bad weather in the Gulf states and later, in Kansas/Colorado. I believe there is an NOAA Radio app for iPhone, and an NOAA Weather Alert for iPhone, both free. If you are a Verizon customer, we have noticed that we get alerts from there on both our old Droid and our old Dumb Phone. (One was a dust storm likely alert, in Arizona, and another was a Flash Flood Warning in northern UT.)

Either trip, it should be a great one for you. Keep us posted on which you choose, if there's any more help we can give you -- and either along the road or when you get home, give us a run=down on your travels, in the Trip Reports forum. I love to read other people's Trip Reports!

[squart]

THanks Donna,
Good advice. One thought I am having is since I do not know my personal stamina, the Blue Ridge Parkway could be a better, because at any point, I could realistically, turn around and head home. Even if I get to the end of the Parkway, and I decided I've had enough, I could just reverse and head back to NYC.
When I was a kid, long drives were never a problem. But I have not done one in about 15 years.

[DonnaR57]

When you were a kid, you always had playtime in the back seat, right? I know I did! My parents were both teachers, so we traveled a LOT in summers -- plus occasionally on Winter and Spring Breaks. (We had a travel trailer.) When you are the driver, it's a bit different, especially if you are on your own as the sole driver.

Actually, with either trip, you could always decide you've had enough and head back. Motel room reservations can usually be cancelled up to a certain point. The car turns around quite easily. :-) My husband and I have only done that once on our trips, and that was forced by a death in the family. We had to cancel several things because of that, and almost lost money on one reservation (Liberty Cruise out of NJ. They relented in a refund because it was for a death in the family). Everything else was canceled without penalty. So -- it CAN be done.

My husband and I came to one conclusion: road trips somehow get into ones' blood. Our parents enjoyed them, we enjoyed them, and we have passed down that love to at least one of our children. So you will probably do just fine.

Donna

[squart]

One other question: getting a flavor for small-town America is another hope for my trip. Would I be able to get that with either towns off the Blue Ridge Parkway? Or in rural Kentucky perhaps? that was the purpose of driving part of the other trip on the Lincoln Highway---to get a sense of the real midwest, through Iowa and Nebraska

[Lifemagician]

Routing through the small towns along the two lane highways has always given me a feeling for small town America. Seek out the locally owned shops and speak to the folk there for other similar experiences. Going this way I have stumbled on gems such as galleries of local artists and unique locally manufactured crafts. Most owners will only be too happy to chat with you.

Lifey

[squart]

I meant more as a kid, like in my 20's driving back and forth from college and grad school. Not an actual kid! ha ha

[Lifemagician]

One thought I am having is since I do not know my personal stamina, the Blue Ridge Parkway could be a better, because at any point, I could realistically, turn around and head home. Even if I get to the end of the Parkway, and I decided I've had enough, I could just reverse and head back to NYC.

That was what I was thinking. Design your trip in such a way that you can easily return home should it all become too much.

However, do not at any time allow that to influence future trips. Just stretch future trips a little each time, until you feel comfortable. A roadtrip should never become something to endure. Keep each day's driving only as much as you enjoy, then call it a day.

You have planned well, now go and enjoy at your own pace.

Lifey

[squart]

Came up with one more option. I have about 197,000 miles, so use some of those to fly to Minneapolis.
June 15--Fly to Minneapolis, spend day with Uncle Bob. Rent car
June 16---Drive to Boone, IA and get on Lincoln Highway
June 17---Head to North Platte, NE
June 18---Spend day and night in North Platte. Nebraskaland Days and Rodeo at night
June 19-20: Drive to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood
June 21: Badlands (perhaps the entire day and night there)
June 22: Drive to Duluth
June 23-25: US-61/North Scenic Drive
June 26: Either drive to Minneapolis or spend day there if arrive night before
June 27: Fly back to NYC

[Lifemagician]

Driving from North Platte to the Badlands you may consider driving through the Sandhills of NE Take US_83 to US-20 and US-385 north to Rapid City. These routes, especially 20, run through some spectacular country.

Lifey

[squart]

So I made a decision(finally). I'm going to go with the Blue Ridge Parkway trip. Planning to leave from NYC Saturday or Sunday. Just a couple more questions:
1. If I plan to drive the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway north-to-south, would I also want to drive Skyline Drive? That was my plan, but I wanted to know if the roads were distinct or more of the same?
2. So when I get to the end of BRP in Cherokee, NC, is it just one road through Great Smokey Park to end up in Gatlinburg?
3. Is Mammoth Caverns amazing and worth the trip?
4. Whether EI go to Mammoth Caverns or not, or there nice road in Kentucky to travel north on? I'd certainly like to experience some of rural Kentucky

Thanks!