Road trip advice needed.

"Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S." (calebms)
09/10/2016 at 02:09 • Filed to: None

Greetings Oppo, I hope this post finds you in good health, and with all your head-gaskets intact.

Three of my friends and I, two of whom are fellow enthusiasts, are looking into doing a major road trip come next August, or the spring after next. This event would be kind of our last hurrah as high schoolers, before we all move on to wherever it is we do. Planning is still in early stages, myself and one other have been brainstorming ideas. Every one of us is involved heavily in a range of activities, so we have decided to begin planning early. Our two proposed routes are as follows:

Keep in mind we will be new adults, and money will naturally be tight. We have all agreed that we could each contribute up to $300 for all costs (food, gas, lodging, maintenance, etc), and have decided on a 5 day maximum trip.

Route #1 East Coast

Pros:

1. Exactly none of the four guys participating have been to the East Coast.

2. 45 hours driving time leaves a fair amount of time for adventure.

3. Between the four of us, we have relatives/family friends living on the route that would be willing to accommodate us.

Cons:

1. There’s not really much going on between Iowa and Pennsylvania.

2. The area between Iowa and Ohio has been frequented by two of us, and is familiar.

Route #2 West or bust!

Pros:

1. Once you’re through the midwest and Eastern Colorado, the land is beautiful.

2. Mountains.

3. Ocean.

4. Home to my two favorite National Parks. (SEKI and RMNP)

5. Contacts willing to house us in Denver.

Cons:

1. You have to get through the midwest and eastern Colorado

2. Longer, therefore more expensive

3. Less contacts out west, more need to spend money on lodging.

Finally, what tips, tricks, and advice do you have for four cash-strapped teenagers who want to see the U S of A? Any experience you have that could help make our lives a little easier?

Waterfall in SEKI for your time:

DISCUSSION (15)

CRider > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 02:34

If you go through California (which you should), take PCH, it’s a much nicer drive than the freeway. Longer, but hey, it’s PCH.

DutchieDC2R > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 02:46

Would it be a YUUUGGGEEEE detour to stop at the Grand Canyon? I loved that place (I’m European, so maybe I’m a bit biased). Seconded for the PCH, that drive was a dream come true.

NostalgicCarLife > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 02:46

What they said. Take highway 1 if you’re visiting california.

Either trip, you’re going through a whole of nothing. Just heading east that nothing will be composed mostly of dead and dying towns and cities, whereas heading west that nothing will just be fields of corn and sunflowers, and maybe the world’s largest concrete prairie dog.

Flynorcal shifts in his bucket seats > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 04:41

Having picked up my M5 in Detroit last December, and wanting to end up back in the San Francisco area, I’ve done a bit of both drives you’re considering, and I think I have good advice as a result. I went east to NJ and down the coast and across and back up. So here’s my advice:

Head a bit further south than you were thinking and head west. Oklahoma City. It’s not a destination, but it’s okay to pass through and there are some good beer bars. I spent one night there and saw two fun bars anyway.

From there you follow mostly what used to be Route 66 which is now the glamourous “Rt 40W” but it’s got great BBQ, half buried Cadillacs in TX (awesome), the big meteor strike hole in the ground in AZ (awesome) and a whole shit ton of air museums which I really liked (NM in particular).

Once you hit CA go up the 5 until cutting west to LA and then head the rest of the way on 101 for good restaurants and the PCH when you can for great sights and cliffs and ocean view.

Finally put on snow chains and head through Yosemite and Tahoe and then spend the next twelve hours wishing you were fucking home already.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 05:32

I haven’t got any input on route selection, but both trips seem rather/extremely ambitious to do in 5 days. I usually try to limit my driving to a theoretical 6-7 hours/day on a roadtrip, and even then there’s often not a lot of time left to stop along the way and explore your destination.

KatzManDu > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 07:09

Do East Coast but go further south with I-70/I-68. Visit the Bourbon Trail. Oh, wait, I just noticed something..

This event would be kind of our last hurrah as high schoolers

No Bourbon Trail for you! But you could do Chicago (Navy Pier, museums) Indy Motor Speedway, USAF Museum and then Virginia Beach, up to DC, Philly, NYC and then back home?

Bourbon&JellyBeans > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 08:03

I’d suggest east coast (because I’m an east coaster), but you need to drastically reroute it. Firstly, PA will be boring as hell. Don’t road trip through there. You also don’t want to road trip through DC. Seriously. I live there. It will suck unless you plan on doing it at like 3:30am. I understand wanting to see the landmarks and stuff, but if your intent is to have a fun drive, you won’t find it here (and probably not in NY either). You’re really missing a driving gold mine by sticking so far north. Instead, I suggest driving south through WV and VA, even Western MD (the panhandle). There are glorious driving roads in those states. Tiny back roads through the Appalachians are some of the best roads around.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 08:09

Depends if you’re into history or nature.

If history, go east. Personally i’d take a right in Chicago and drive through Indianapolis/ Cincinatti/ Pittsburgh to get to Philly and NYC (philly native here).

If nature, go west. Take i90 through South Dakota and cut down to Denver on 78 or 25 and then onto CA or the Grand Canyon.

nermal > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 08:13

I can only speak to the East coast side -

First, allow 10 days instead of 5. To cover 3k miles in 5 days is 600 mi / day, and at 60 mph average that’s 10 hrs of driving time. Every day. You will be miserable doing that. 300 mi / day is much more manageable, and allows you to stop and actually see stuff you wouldn’t otherwise, instead of just bombing down the interstate.

Indiana and Ohio are boring. I’m assuming everything before Chicago is the same.

Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, and NYC are going to be horrible for traffic.

Figure out a way to visit Gettysburg PA on the way and take a tour of the battlefield. It’s cheap and fascinating.

Figure out a way to drive through the WV mountains.

Maxima Speed > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 10:00

Be careful of your speed coming through ohio, the highway patrol here is very enthusiastic about their job. Not as bad as Virginia but fairly clever.

facw > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 11:33

Things I’ve liked in Ohio:

Cedar Point

USAF Museum

They aren’t really on the same route, though...

Bigjohn428 > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 11:49

Rt 66. I wanted to do this trip when I was your age. Lots of funky car related stuff.

The Compromiser > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 14:42

Manifest destiny. Go west young man!

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/10/2016 at 17:09

5 days is too few. 10 minimum. No way to get any sights in. You’ll be wasting a huge amount of time each day just driving on the highway.

Transit > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S.
09/12/2016 at 12:29

If you’re enthusiasts and end up doing the East route, be sure to stop in Dearborn Michigan to see the Henry Ford Museum.

https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/henry-fo…

It is $19 per person, but you could spend all day there and still barely glance at all the cars...