Drove from New York to San Francisco over about three weeks. Major cities we took in were New York, Washington DC, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco.
We were able to hire a car in NYC and return it in San Francsico. Booked hotels as we went. Would have likes to have had a bit longer but trip was costly enough as it was. Was great being able to decide on a route as we went, the Dallas detour was a last minute decision. Large parts of Texas and New Mexico were relatively boring after a while as it was just mile after mile of open prarie so we had one or two days where we just floored it and did 500 miles in a day.
If I was to do it again I’d take the roads less travelled for more parts, ie avoid the interstates and see more of small town America.
[quote=“briantinnion, post: 880024, member: 6”]Drove from New York to San Francisco over about three weeks. Major cities we took in were New York, Washington DC, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco.
We were able to hire a car in NYC and return it in San Francsico. Booked hotels as we went. Would have likes to have had a bit longer but trip was costly enough as it was. Was great being able to decide on a route as we went, the Dallas detour was a last minute decision. Large parts of Texas and New Mexico were relatively boring after a while as it was just mile after mile of open prarie so we had one or two days where we just floored it and did 500 miles in a day.
If I was to do it again I’d take the roads less travelled for more parts, ie avoid the interstates and see more of small town America.[/quote]
Cheers man. When was this? That sounds the fucking business. What you said about seeing small town America sounds like exactly what I had in mind. Take in at least a few small town bars and man v food type eateries. Want to take in Vegas, burning man and New Orleans and san fran but completely open to anywhere after that.
Over the years I have driven from LA to Seattle on the West Coast and Savannah to Portland Maine on the East. I think these are more likely to be more interesting trips than say Route 66 which I have also done which tends to be mile after mile of prairie.
Route 66 started off as the original plan. You’re probably right but I think small towns and miles of open road are part of what I’m after. The idea would be to get a nice big motor with a few of us to share the driving.
I’ve driven all over the US.
Driving across the central sections are fairly boring for the most part. Even on many of the interstates you are limited to 65 mph. Going off the interstates will make it ever slower, with 55mph speed limits and small towns with 30mph limits. Also, if you do it in the summer, it will be hotter than shit across most the central US.
While there are some nuggets hidden away in the center… Ozarks (esp Eureka Springs), the Wichita Mountains in OK, the Big Bend/Davis Mtns in west TX… you have to cross a whole lot of nuttin’ to get to them.
Personally I think the most interesting drives are…
Through Vermont, and if your rental car company allows, up into Quebec… will take forever, you won’t cover a lot of ground in a short time.
Philly–> Baltimore–>DC–>Charlotte–>Blue Ridge Parkway–> Asheville NC… you’ll see a lot of history and scenery
Pennsacola–>Mobile–>Nawlins–>Lafayette … good food, good music, lots of history
Albuquerque --> Santa Fe-> Durango–>4 corners–> Monument Valley --> Grand Canyon–> Flagstaff… God’s country, big mountains, canyons, deserts.
LA -->Hwy 1–>SF–>Eureka–>Medford–>Portland–>Seattle–>Olympic Penn … (Vancouver and Victoria worth a visit, but not all rental car companies allow it)… lot of ground, but a lot of scenery and great urban experiences too.
Continental to Newark from Shannon have great flight times, you leave Shannon early am so arrive in new York with almost a full day ahead of you and the departing flight is around 6 or 7 pm so you get the most of that day too.
What’s Poland like @balbec? Never been there and my impression of it is coloured by early 80’s news reports portraying a country as bleak and depressing as much of Longford and Roscommon.
I assume I’m well off the mark and it has developed nicely. Is it worth a visit?
ive done some good US drives myself
Portland, OR to MSP (Minneapolis Saint Paul) , Mn was bloody entertaining
places like ND, MT and ID are screwed up, the great expanses of nothingness can be scary
re: NM, was there for around 7 weeks in 2003 in albuquerque, unbelievably barren place, area the size of spain with a population of 2 million
Places like TX, Louisana and Alabama are interesting as well, texas tho is so fucking vast, just avoid Houston ( see my profile in the international business trip thread), the absolute septic tank of humanity live there , full of scum from NO who evacuated post katrina
[quote=“Elvis Brandenberg Kremmen, post: 880058, member: 1624”]What’s Poland like @balbec? Never been there and my impression of it is coloured by early 80’s news reports portraying a country as bleak and depressing as much of Longford and Roscommon.
I assume I’m well off the mark and it has developed nicely. Is it worth a visit?[/quote]
It could be. Depends what you are looking for in a holiday. it is not as bleak as people in the “West” think. A lot of the football crew would have seen it for themselves last year but Poznan wasn’t necessariy the best city to be in. The country has developed significantly in the time I have been here.
The best way to get around and really see the best of the country is if you have a car. A lot of the good things to see are off the main beaten track let’s say. Some amazing castles for example.
Some fine cities to visit like Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Warszawa also. Krakow is the best one though. As a base and travelling around the South it is perfect. The coast up around Sopot/Gdansk is nice but you need the weather. If you are into nature and hill walking and that type of thing then there are the Tarta mountains and you could base yourself in Zakopane. The Mazurian lakes are also quite popular in the North East if you like a bit of sailing, though I have never been there myself.
If you are travelling city to city, train is the best way. About nine-ten hours driving north to south. It’s a bloody big country.
Weather pretty good April to October. Mid twenties usually but 30 plus in August.
And heartbreakingly pretty girls everywhere you turn.
Drove SF-Yosemite-Vegas-grand canyon-San Diego-LA-SF this summer. Couldn’t recommend it highly enough Yosemite has to be seen to be believed, Death Valley and the desert on the way to Vegas is well worth seeing also.