Epic Road Trips

[Sparrow]

It's the quintessential American vacation--the road trip. We've all done at least one in our lives (and if you haven't, make time to hop in your car and just drive).

 

I'll never forget taking Route 1 down to DC all the way from New York a little over a decade ago. It's a lot longer trip than 95, but it's an adventure. Met a guy in Philadelphia late at night at the gas station who's alma mater was UT--wearing a Longhorn shirt and everything. Didn't expect that up there. We we're on the north side of Baltimore at about 3 in the morning, both sides of the street lined with row house after row house, and despite being so early in the morning, everyone was out walking the streets, hanging out as if it was 3 in the afternoon. This was not the street to be on in an unfamiliar city at 3am. We were certain we were about to be mugged, robbed, or shot. We survived without incident. We continued on our way to DC, and I've gotta tell you, the best time to visit the National Mall is at 4am. Not a soul was there. Easy on-street parking a block from the White House. It was just me and my friends walking along the reflecting pool amongst the lightning bugs with only their dim light to guide us toward the Lincoln Memorial. The peaceful solitude and singular focus of the giant figure of our 16th president keeping watch over the three of us as we read aloud his famous words lining the walls of the monument was an inspiring moment like no other.

 

What drive have you made that was an epic journey?     

[mollusk]

My most epic was going to a family reunion in West Virginia (northern panhandle, about 50 miles west of Pittsburgh... Dad's sibs were older, and about to start dropping like flies), followed by the Pikes Peak Hill Climb just outside of Colorado Springs five days later - and I was damned if I was going to even touch Missouri or Kansas on the way.  Blue Ridge Parkway, bottom to top, followed by Skyline Drive; Niagara Falls, the Big Canoe, Presidents in Rocks, Carhenge, and then Blitz Across Texas afterwards.  On a BMW K75c.  Solo.

 

More than a couple years ago, and one of the best trips of my life.  

 

Swaaaaaahhhhh...

[mollusk]

Two side notes:  The Interstate system allows one to go great distances without seeing a thing.  Take small roads.  If you must get there quickly, there are airplanes at your disposal.

 

Also, for a good meal - go to the county seat, find the courthouse square, and then look for the place with the oldest sign.  They've been around for a while for a reason.  It may involve fried, but it will be tasty fried.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

I have done many epic road trips. My favorites were the ones where I was by myself, just me and my car.

 

The first one was in 2000, when I drove a ragtop Fiat Spider to Ashland, Oregon. The car had just come out of the paint shop and didn't run worth a damn- I think the air filter got clogged by paint dust. I gave it a tuneup and an oil change, then headed out the door. Apparently, the car had a slight oil leak because every time I stopped for gas, i would have to pop the hood and put out a small engine fire (Oil leaked directly onto the exhaust manifold... don't use Castrol, that shit buns at a lower temperature than other oils!!).

 

When I got to El Paso, I stopped at a fiend's house where we fixed my oil leak problem and put a new points on the distributor. I hung out with another friend, the guy who first got me in to small ragtops. He did an anti voodoo dance over my car, and off I went into the night... I stopped at a rest stop in AZ, adjusted my car's timing a little, then headed for the Bay Area... i made it through Phoenix where a guy had the freeway closed because he was going to jump off a bridge, and started looking for hotels to stay in for the day. Mind you, this was July of 2000, it was 120° outside, ragtop, car had no a/c... I drove by the windmills in Palm Springs, through Los Angeles, wondering why my car was sputtering, and eventually made it to Bakersfield, where I crashed for the night.

 

I the morning, I checked my distributor again and found out I forgot to install a locking pin so I went to a convenience store and bought the only thing I could find that had a pull tab top- a can of Slim Fast. So, I rigged up a locking tab out of that pull top, and off I went for the Bay Area and my place to stay for the night.... When I got to Napa and my friend's shop, my car was running on two of it's four cylinders, so we did ANOTHER tuneup, did an oil change to get rid of that Castrol crap, and rested for the night... The next day, with my car once again purring like a kitten, we set off for Ashland Oregon... Nine Fiat 124's and a 128, all headed up I-5 and eventually to a campground 30 miles outside of Ashland. The road getting to the campground is a twisting, hilly drive that ill test your car's endurance... Fortunately, mine made it up  

 

the ride home a couple of months later is another long story.... lol

 

 

 

[Montrose1100]

I went on a road trip with my dad and brother back in 2000. We drove to a family reunion in Louisiana, then to Fayetteville, AK. We drove around the mountains and hills. I think we went into a cavern or cave. I remember buying big glass chunks. Then we stayed the night in Arlington going to Six Flags over Texas. After that we went to Albuquerque. we went to Carlsbad Cavern, and saw some ancient Indian caves. but I remember one of the formations was called "the breast of Venus".

After carlsbad we drove through white sands, then up to Colorado. We drove up Pike's Peak. We also chair-lifted up Mount Creasted Butte, and hiked down. I cried the whole way down because I was being attacked vigorously by huge horse flies.

I think we stayed in Colorado Springs, and I fell in love with the Chapel at the Air Force Academy. I still have a replica of it laying around.

We drove through Utah and then down to Arizona. Drove on Route 66, and stayed in Flagstaff. Drove to the Grand Canyon and took a helicopter tour over it. The brick digital camera's chip I had was almost full at this point.

The trip concluded with the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. We stayed at the Bellagio and wow was I amazed by the fountain! As a 10 year old, my brother and I walked through every Casino, and rode every roller coaster. When I went a few months ago I was tired after walking through 3 of them.

I think it would be fun to rent an RV and drive from San Diego to Seattle. Another trip that would be cool would be Miami to Boston. Maybe when I retire in 30-40 years.

Edit: I forgot we white water rafted in Colorado. I cried there too.

[Ross]

I am envious of a colleague who did a road trip by truck from London to Johannesburg in the early 70's. Sadly, that trip is likely impossible these days.