Let’s talk about America, the beautiful land of the free, and home
of the brave. For now at least. With a land so vast how could anyone pick a
point to visit?! I’ve lived in the United States my whole life and have still
never even been to the upper east coast. I’ll admit I’m more of a plane
traveler. Life is too short to be wastin’ time getting to the destination but
sometimes the journey is the destination and that’s when a road trip comes in
handy. If you want to plan a road trip across the US, it can be difficult to
know where to start. After all, this is the type of trip that is going to
require a lot of planning! LA to NY? The Rockies to the coastline? Snow Ville
to sunny Ville?
Begin by organizing your approximate route – The first thing you need to understand is nothing is set in
stone but a plan is essential. So do
work out which part of the country you want to see. It’s a good idea to think
of the places in America that appeal to you most, and then join the dots so to
speak. Follow the dotted line has a whole new meaning. So, when planning a holiday in the USA, use
a state map and guide to explore your options. It’s important to have a map in front of you so you can visually
see how you’re going to make your way across the country. I recommend a digital
one but it depends on how rustic you want this excursion to be. A lot of people just look on the Internet and
follow a route that has been provided to them, but set aside some time to see
if there is anything along the way that would be of interest to YOU
specifically.
Sort out your car – You need
to take a lot of care and consideration when choosing the right
rental car for your trip.
Firstly, hire someone with a good rating. They say money talks but star ratings
talk more. Figure out the rules and regulations regarding driving and renting a
car in the US. Like the fact that you
have to be 25 to rent a car can really put groups at a disadvantage. Most
importantly, unless you’re doing round trip, make sure you choose a company
where you can collect the car in one state and drop it off in a different
state. This usually means you will need to rent the vehicle from a large,
national company, which has offices across America. Enterprise, Budget, Ace are
some reputable brands. MOST IMPORTANTLY,
it’s a rental, splurge a little and get yourself a kick ass car.
Check out the weather and warnings – Do yourself a solid and check the weather before going on your
trip. This will help you with
packing and driving conditions. Like me, I’ve never driven in the snow so I’m
going to probably avoid the Rockies in the wintertime. This is something you should do on a continual
basis throughout your trip.
Create a playlist – WE
ALL HAVE ROADTRIP PLAYLISTS. If you don’t you can borrow mine. It’s here. If I missed
something feel free to call me out. Get some bumpin 90s goin and roll the
windows down when it’s nice. Another alternative is a book on tape. “On tape”
is a term I use loosely considering the kick ass car you just rented probably doesn’t
have a tape player. If you have an 18 hour stretch coming up, it might not be a
bad idea.
Bring refreshments – Snacks are absolutely essential for survival. Goldfish, Gatorade,
and Oreos are the ultimate snack categories. If you’re bringing a cooler, I
advise in packing some berries and string cheese just to mix it up a bit. I
guess water is important too so throw a case in the trunk.
If you saddle up with all
of these, you can’t go wrong. Be sure to take lots of pictures and be sure to
send them to me because I want to see what you see!
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