Road Trips are Alive and Well

Just got back from my annual road trip. I don't think the details are interesting enough to post here but suffice to say that I continue to believe that multi-state, non-interstate road trips remain the quintessential summer American experience. The ideal road trip is a highly-personal experience and what works for one group might not work for another so only follow the tips below that make sense to you:

1. Stay away from Interstates. Sure you might want to take one to get away from your state but once you are in unfamiliar territory move over to the two-lane roads. The sites and people are far more interesting.

2. One-Way car rentals work. Search Google for rental car agencies that have one-way rentals with no drop off fees. You can even fly to an area you want to see, rent a car and drive to another area and then fly back. For my most recent trip, I flew into New Orleans, rented a car and then drove through the south before dropping the car off in Nashville. If I had tried to drive from Los Angeles we would have spent most of our time just getting to the very area we wanted to see.

3. Don't over schedule. Road trips are serendipitous. Some of the best sites are discovered by seeing billboards or just asking folks at roadside cafes. You want to have the flexibility to stop when you want as well as to continue going if you feel like it. I never book hotels ahead nor even tie myself to specific cities to stay in. Instead I have a rough outline of the places I want to see and the route I plan to take there. Some days I'll cover well less than I planned and others well more. But I'm never a slave to the schedule.

4. Thank god for hotel fitness centers. These days it is easy to find inexpensive hotels with fitness centers. While sparse, 30-40 min a day on a treadmill or exercise bike keeps the body feeling good despite long bouts of sitting in a car, eating road food, sampling local beers and other road trip staples.

5. Come up with a theme. Sometimes it's hard to decides where to go and what to do. I start out with a general theme and build from there. Three years ago it was following Route 66, two years ago I followed the Oregon Trail, last year it was Lewis & Clark and this year it was a tour of the Deep South. In addition to making it easier to plan, having a theme makes it far easier to describe. Last year, instead of saying that I drove from Nebraska through Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon (which would just gotten me a weird look and a shrug) I was able to say that I followed the route that Lewis & Clarke took almost 200 years ago. This led to many questions about what I saw and learned.

6. AAA Membership is worth it just for road trips. You get ample maps, guide books and enough discounts to cover a year's membership.

7. National Lampoon's Vacation. Never go on a road trip without first watching this film.

Happy motoring.