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| The "Green Machine," my brother's car, at Lake Erie. |
Road trips are ideal for those who have lots of time on their hands, and they are a great way to see the United States without a guide. This summer I took two solo road trips, one northwest from North Carolina to Minnesota to work, and one southeast returning to North Carolina. After driving 1361 miles (2190 kilometers) northwest and 1687 miles (2715 kilometers) southeast, I would like to share a few practical American road trip tips. These aren't tips about how to maneuver American traffic laws, nor are they about what sites to see or who to travel with; rather, they are aspects of long-distance driving that I didn't consider until I started driving for six or more hours per day by myself.
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| Wisconsin is the place to stop if you like cheddar cheese! |
Tip #1: Find something to listen to that you won't get tired of. The highway goes on forever, and 21+ hours in the car can mean 21+ hours of entertainment or 21+ hours of boredom. Some people download an endless music playlist. Others listen to audio books. Hours and hours of podcasts got me from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C.
Tip #2: Keep a good phone charger in your car. If you're like me and you use your smart phone as both your GPS and your audio entertainment, the battery life on that sucker is going to drain quickly. If you don't have unlimited cellular data, consider purchasing a GPS (the cheapest I have seen online is around $50), or - this might sound old-fashioned - print out the directions before you go on your trip, and purchase some road maps to help you navigate. Maps.me is also a good option for downloading maps onto your phone.
Tip #3: Bring a cooler (and an ice pack) with some food you can eat in the car that won't leave you feeling like crap later. While on the road, I stopped at a supermarket and bought a salad, some almonds, a tub of hummus, a bag of apples, and a bag of baby carrots. The apples and almonds I snacked on while driving, and the vegetables I ate at a picnic area. It's also a good idea to bring your own washable and microwavable dishes, utensils, and coffee thermos. It saves you money and avoiding single-use plates and forks is better for the environment.
Tip #4: Google Maps is your friend. The Waze app is your friend. A weather app is your friend. GasBuddy is your friend. Someone you know with a computer and your current location is your friend. A hotel-booking app (I like Expedia) or freecampsites.net is your friend when you don't have any human friends in the area to house you. Calling 511 or listening to the local radio for travel information can be more useful than Google Maps when it comes to knowing why or for how much farther there will be traffic.
Tip #5: Visit places where friends can host you and/or show you around. Except for my two nights in Wisconsin - one on the way to Minnesota and one on the way back - I stopped and spent the night in cities where I knew people. They either showed me around, met with me for a meal, or gave me advice on what to see and do while I was in town. Spending the night at a friend's or even friend-of-a-friend's house or apartment is much cheaper than sleeping at in hotel or AirBnB. Couch Surfing can be fun, too - just vet your host options carefully. There are lots of free places to camp in the US as well.
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| You can sleep in a Wal-Mart parking lot if you have to. |
Tip #6: Plan your stops, and plan them realistically. By that I mean plan where you're going next, arrange a place to spend the night, reserve lodging there if necessary, and decide what time you want to arrive there. Be realistic about it: if it is 10:00 now, and the GPS says that it should only take five hours to get to your next destination, make your goal arrival time 17:30 to account for breaks, seeing the world's largest something-or-other, and potential traffic.
Tip #7: Give someone - like your emergency contacts - your travel itinerary, and consider letting them track your GPS location. Let your friends or relatives know where you're going next, and call them when you arrive. Give them your phone number. They can help you find roadside assistance if anything happens. Your personal safety is more certain when your emergency contacts and friends can locate you!
Tip #8: Keep at least $50 in cash in an accessible part of the car for emergencies and for tolls. As for emergencies, well...it's nice to have some cash to pay for things if your debit card information gets stolen at a gas station, for example. Plus, the cost of toll roads add up quickly. Having single dollar bills and quarters are especially helpful, as paying in exact change makes the lines at the toll booth go faster. If you are the principal driver or owner of the car you're using on your road trip - meaning your car isn't a rental car - and you're going to drive through the Eastern and Midwestern United States on a toll road, I recommend buying an EZPass transponder to get through tolls faster.
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| Chicago is a beautiful city...especially if you take the train! |
Tip #9: Frankly, though, avoid toll roads and city driving when possible. Back roads can be fun, not to mention free, and you'll see lots of beautiful countryside! Driving through the big cities that you're visiting can be stressful, and parking decks can get expensive quickly ($17 per hour in some parts of Chicago, for example). Park outside big cities and take public transportation into the city. This is not really possible to do in Southern California, but it is in places like Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City.
Tip #10: Fill up your water bottles every time you can. Staying hydrated while on the road is surprisingly important. At every opportunity you get, bring your water bottles into the McDonald's or the gas station and fill them up at the soda machine or in the sink in the restroom. You might think it's better to avoid drinking liquids and thus avoid making extra pit stops, but being dehydrated while in the middle of nowhere is no fun, and it's nice to stretch your legs every once and a while.
Ultimately, it's important to ask yourself what you want to get out of a road trip, and how much sitting you're willing to tolerate per day, and whether/what you're willing to pay to get somewhere faster. On my US road trips, I got to see Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie - now all that's left are Lake Huron and Lake Ontario! In my opinion, being able to visit the US on your own schedule and go as far as you want makes all the hours in the car worthwhile.
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| During my visit to Minneapolis, my friend and I went to the Minnesota State Fair and found deep friend SPAM. Sizzle Pork And Mmm... |
