Welcome to RTA!

Financial advice -- we have a whole forum about Saving Money on the Road. Among some of the best tips for that are to travel with a cooler and a bag of food supplies. The cooler can be filled with drinks and ice, or snacks that have to stay cold. We bring a big commuter cup, then we can fill it with ice and a drink without stopping at an expensive convenience store. Another way to save is to look ahead for fuel needs, for the "best price". We've been known to save 30c a gallon just by checking GasBuddy when we pull into a rest area. For those nights when you can't find a suitable Couchsurfing, there are coupon guides available at most truck stop/travel plazas and many rest areas, with good motel coupon deals. (Bear in mind they may not work on Fri/Sat nights.)

Speaking of Couchsurfing....it isn't completely free -- as you probably have found out, it's always a good thing to offer to take your host family out for dinner, bring a bottle of wine, make dinner FOR them, or just offer to clean the bathrooms or something. It's a nice thing to do.

For fall leaf peeping, Sept/Oct and the New England states are your best bet.



Donna