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Road Trip!
When I was a kid, our vacations were always a road trip to various state and national parks. All seven of us slept in my Dad's canvas tent that was only meant for four people. We had most of our meals at the campsite prepared over a wood fire or the camp stove. It was an inexpensive and fun time, even if my brother's feet always ended up in my face by morning.
Now? Who can afford the luxury of a road trip with gas prices pushing towards $5 a gallon? What are your vacation plans this summer?
Now? Who can afford the luxury of a road trip with gas prices pushing towards $5 a gallon? What are your vacation plans this summer?
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So, in my case, the total miles will actually go up a bit. It's about 420 miles from my place to Cedar Point, or around 840 total, but this time around, swinging down to Kings Island and then back home, I think might bump the total up to around 1100 miles.
My buddy's '06 Xterra got around 22-23 mpg on that trip last year. I had thought about taking my '00 Park Ave this year, as it might get more like 27-28, maybe a bit better. But it also takes premium fuel, which would cut into the savings. And while it's more comfortable for passengers, it won't hold as much crap. And my two friends are sort of like Mr and Mrs Howell, packing for a three-hour tour!
Next week, getting the kids back from school.
Closest one is 750 miles one way.
Summer vaca, about the same one way.
Next fall, going to a bunch of college football games.
Closest will be 120 miles one way(more than one time), longest 750 one way.
Just going to have to suck it up and pay whatever it costs.
Other than that, I can't afford to leave the house. :surprise:
Day 1: Castle Rock to Santa Fe - 367 miles
Day 2: Santa Fe to Sedona - 434 miles
Days 2 - 6: Sedona and surrounding areas
Day 6: Sedona to Santa Fe
Day 7: Santa Fe to Castle Rock
I figure 1600 miles there and back, with another 100-200 miles of general running around driving.
At 23 MPG (EPA highway number for our 2010 Mazda CX-7), we're looking at about 78 gallons of premium - at $4 per gallon, that comes out to $312.
But, to us, the drive is part of the trip, not just a means to an end.
I just wish there was better scenery on I-25 in northern New Mexico.
I've done 285 from Salida to Denver a number of years ago. Nice scenery, I agree.
Probably the same in NM as well, would expect.
Hmm .. just did Google Maps on that route and it's about the same distance (379 miles on 285 vs. 364 using I-25).
However ...
The speed limit on I-25 is 75, whereas on 285 I'd guess it would be 65, max. So, a bit longer in the car on day 1.
Have to discuss with the wife; perhaps a different route might change things up a bit.
In the dumbed down brave new globalized world, perhaps the masses simply won't travel much.
Good to know. The other part of the trip that would be a drag is US 50 from Canon City to Salida - can't really make good time there, either.
The more I think about it, the more I'll probably just take I-25 ... get to Santa Fe early enough for a nice dinner and a walk through the Plaza. We're at a hotel only a couple of blocks away.
The Shed is about a block from the Plaza and we had a nice lunch there. The Tune-Up Cafe is another one we liked.
If you can get above 30 mpg highway (like they can in a '08 Altima or '11 Sonata) and put 4 people in the car, driving typically saves money (but costs a lot of time...). We've downsized from a minivan into a Sonata so road trips should be a little more wallet, gas, and environmentally friendly.
Our problem is to what cars we should use. My kids are 2-1/2 and 7yrs old. The suburban is the biggest but kind of old (1988), mpg is ~15 on hwy, AC doesn't work, some power windows doesn't work
Also has a 05 Toyota Avalon and 07 Highlander. Thinking about the highlander since it probably hold more stuffs.
I like the suburban just because it's bigger but it maybe a problem once we get into town or something.
Also has a 05 Toyota Avalon and 07 Highlander. Thinking about the highlander since it probably hold more stuffs.
I suppose it depends on how far you are traveling. I've done 2 trips from CO to CA and 1 from CO to NV. First trip was in a rented Ford Taurus with a 9 and 11 YO. Barely had enough room in the trunk for luggage. Second time, the kids were, I think, 12 and 14 and we did it in a Ford Expedition (3rd seat removed). More than enough space. 3rd trip the kids were 14 and 16 and had a Ford Explorer - again, no problems with space.
The Avalon would probably get better mileage than the Highlander, but you'll sacrifice the extra cargo capacity. I imagine rear seat room in both is about the same.
I plan to go not to far away since my kids are still young. Maybe just from Seattle to Portland, or Vancouver to spend a day or two.
I am not the kind of folks who enjoy camping since I have bad back, and I can't live without a good hot shower
For a true road trip, I like to limit miles to around 300 a day. There shouldn't be any limit on the number of days.
I like that.
When in new areas I try to keep with a no driving at night rule. This is more to see what I'm going through rather than a safety issue though the older I get the more that latter item becomes a consideration.
Anymore I don't get to do much of that but am trying to convince my wife that driving to Florida isn't the end of the world. It's just a hair over a day as long as you don't mind putting on the miles.
We do every Memorial Day up at a friend's place in New Hampshire. From South Jersey it's a pretty good haul but I have a really good time...
Here's a couple ideas of things you might consider in that area:
Drive thru Safari is pretty close. I thought it was pretty cool to have a giraffe try to put its head in my window!
Put in Bay during the day is a quaint little island. Every night it becomes big time party town.
Steve mentioned you in another post as being an expert on the UP. 3 friends and I are planning on heading that way mid June. We're taking off from northern IN, going thru WI, checking out the Apostle Islands and then heading to UP and coming back thru MI. We have Picture Rock, Escanabo and Lake Linden (someone has a relative there) on the agenda. Anything else you would suggest?
We had also considered Atlantic City. Being from Jersey what are your thought on it? I've read quite a bit that it's pretty run down and anything that's not right on the strip is pretty unsafe for 4 middle-aged gals. Is that your feeling, or are the people writing this fear mongering?
Things that I've done up there - the Soo Locks are a great way to spend a little time. You can get one of the tour boats and they take you out, give a little tour and you go into a lock twice - once to bring you up to the Lake Superior level and once to bring you back down to the Michigan - Huron level.
Even if you don't need to hit the lower peninsula for anything I still recommend going over the Mackinac Bridge just for the beauty of it. It's am amazing piece of engineering and has a breathtaking view. A word of warning - some people are so intimidated by the thing that they are afraid to drive it. They have guys there whose job it is to drive cars over the bridge, carrying the timid drivers as passengers in their own cars. This would be a perfect job for me - just driving back and forth across that bridge.
We had, shall we say, a funny little excursion back in 1988 which is really the last time I was able to get up there. There is a boat out of Munising, Michigan that takes you out to see the Pictured Rocks from Lake Superior. We got into town late and night and got a cabin for the night. Mention we were going on that trip and the guy at the cabins says "I hope they go out tomorrow. It was too rough yesterday."
We get there bright and early the next day. They take our money and we get on the boat. A little bit out into the harbor they mention the lake is a bit rough and 2 to 4 foot waves but they are game. The first mate says they have three life jackets - one for the captain, one for him and the third was up for bids. They point out all sorts of things on either side of the harbor as the waves get bigger as does their estimate of the size of the waves in the open lake.
Great Lakes waves are always fun - more straight up than ocean waves. We and my wife (who was maybe two or three months pregnant with our oldest at the time) area having a good time of it and I'm checking to see if this boat is named Edmund Fitzgerald bu the time they announce that the waves are running over ten feet in the open lake and topping out at 15 feet and, no, they weren't putting their boat out in that and they'll refund half our money when we get back to shore.
We still had quite a bit of bounce before things calmed down and then they announced they were going to give us all our money back when we got back. I had paid by check and they paid me back in cash. Apparently they'll cash checks for you but only if they test your worthiness on the boat first.
It turns out the way they decide if the lake is safe for the tours is to take the first one of the morning out and have a look. That day that was us. One day I must go back and try that again.
If you are up around Whitefish Point the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is there. The guy who owns that is a little odd but there are some neat things in there. It;s right at the Whitefish lighthouse - the one that if it had been working that night might have guided the Fitzgerald safely in. What I mean about the guy - he had divers go down and get the ship's bell from the Fitzgerald and then petitioned the Canadian government (it's in Canadian waters) to prohibit divers from the site because it's a grave.
That's enough for the moment.....
Part of my theory os taking any ferry that even remotely goes here you want...
Atlantic City - it pains me to say this but unless you like casinos there's not much to recommend it anymore. Kills me as I used to go down there all the time to walk the boardwalk or check out the now long gone stores on Pacific and Atlantic Avenues. Far too much of the city is now built to experience only indoors which is silly right at the ocean.
New Jersey has not done right by its coast line with rare exceptions and AC is the worst offender. The place where they got things right was Island Beach State Park which looks like the whole coast did when I was a little kid.
OTOH, if you end up there anyway let me know. I'm 30 miles north.
I drive to TX twice a year to visit family.
Even with gas prices at $10/gallon, driving is still cheaper than flying.
The bridge is pretty cool. I've been over it a few times and that's the first road trip I took after I got my vert. A couple years ago I was on the Island in Oct. The weather turned nasty and they closed the ferry line going to Mackinac City. We had to go to St Ignace and then take a bus back across the bridge. I thought it was fun, but a couple of my travel companions didn't agree.
That's too bad about AC, but I'm glad we got the scoop before we went. NJ and RI are the only states east of IN that I haven't been to. Hopefully they can get it built back up to a tourist attraction. I'm sure it would bring a lot of money into the state.
Casino's can be fun. We'll probably stop at a couple in MI. I'd rather make my donations to the Native Americans than to Trump anyway.
When i moved down here when there was only one casino and a lot of ideas people would buy up old properties and burn them down when it seemed profitable. As a result AC lost many of the old places that gave it its character.
Because of its lack of casinos Asbury Park avoided a lot of that and like several cities here found folks that were willing - eager even - to buy up these old, dilapidated houses and put the effort into restoring them and living in them. This was the gay community. Worked for a big section of Paterson and is now doing the same in Asbury.
Anyway, do come to NJ. My best recommendation for places we haven't screwed up too badly are in the northwest corner which is hilly and still reasonably rural, Cape May and, naturally around Long Beach Island which is my current neighborhood.
Then you could compare beaches.
I could use a place where the water is warmer for more of the year but you would be the last guy I'd complain to about cold water.
Similar here; our family goes to a road trip every year in different part of the world, usually it's about a 3000 miles in 2 weeks.
I think that you can still have a very nice "Jersey Shore" experience in Ocean City. Plenty of nice beach, a nice boardwalk and you are a stones throw from all the towns.
Sea Isle if you want to hit the bars on Ocean Drive (15 mins)
AC for Casinos etc (25 mins)
Wildwood for the boardwalk/ water parks etc (35 mins).
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Another nice shore place is Seaside Park. Just south of Seaside Heights (which is a whole different story) and north of Island Beach. Seaside Park hasn't gotten horribly tacky like its northern neighbor and is a quieter, family town.
My cousins tend to rent a place in the northern part of Seaside Park and it's great. Has a nice boardwalk to walk on but no businesses on it yet it's walking distance to Seaside Heights so you can do the crazy boardwalk things if you want.
I like the idea of going without planning. However, with 2 boys now, we can't do it like that.
I hope one day, before I get too old, I will have an opportunity to go cross country without worrying about kids, jobs, family.... just like a moive
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
Yeah, I remember a couple of trips where I didn't know I was going until maybe 20 minutes before taking off. This is from NW Jersey. One day an old high school classmate called and asked if I was doing anything and I said no. He say "you want to go up to Connecticut?" Maybe four hour trip and stayed a couple of days. Really nice time.
Another time my brother decided he was hitching across the country. This scared my mom. My dad wakes me up offering to pay all costs to get him to Michigan where he knew someone so mom would worry less. This was fine. Such trips are how I devloped my love of the Great Lakes and the UP.
We sold out in '99 and did a year long road trip. Good times.
Is there anything in particular in these areas you recommend?
Awww, good night Nuyse, Joisey. EVERYBODY hates Joisey! But somebody's gotta live there!
Sorry, had to throw an Archie Bunker reference in there! :P
I had a good friend who lived in Jersey, near Asbury Park. For all the ragging that Jersey gets, I gotta say, I didn't see it. Dear, sweet people, no skylines filled with refineries, etc. And I say "had" because he recently passed away from cancer, at the way-to-young age of 44. Hell, I have cars that are older than that! It just ain't right. :sick:
The drive thru Safari sounds interesting, too. When I was a little kid, my Mom took us through one of those in Florida. I was only 5 or 6, so I don't remember much of it, though.
This time around though, we're not going to have much time to do anything other than the amusement parks. We're arriving at Cedar Point on a Saturday afternooon/evening (depending on how early we get up and how fast we drive!). Staying there thru Sunday, and then on Monday, driving down to Kings Island near Cincinatti. We'll be at King's Island Monday afternoon, Tuesday, and then Wedneday, driving back home to the DC area.
I'll definitely keep those areas in mind for 2012, though! I have a feeling that Kings Island is going to seem kinda tame compared to Cedar Point, but I at least want to experience it. Maybe in 2012, I can lobby for us to do a little mix and match between Cedar Point and other local attractions.
2 vehicles, 4k miles. Hope gas drops $.50 for the summer. Have more trips planned.
98 California north to south....99 Ariz Nev Calif............2002 PA........2003 Calif Nev.... Those were the big ones. Seen 37 states so far. Looking at new cars and maybe next year Alaska Im hoping for 3 weeks if the money is there. I miss the road trips.Have not had one since 2005.Live in wisconsin and need to get away with these winters.....