Road Trip: Ways to make it interesting
 

Hi all! I depart on Friday and apart from interesting destinations day to day, what are some ideas to break up the monotony of driving? My "co-pilot" and I plan to break every 2 hours for a minute or so "stretch and switch drivers" break.

Any suggestions for the actual drive time? We plan on leaving early in the morning each day to minimize evening drive time, and will be driving 8+ hours a day for 5 days.

Of course there's the license plate game and the alphabet game.

What route did you decide on?

After MUCH debate, and fussing at AAA, we settled on a southern and eastern route. Texas, here I come! I'll be in Orlando for a couple days and then resuming my drive to DC!

I don't envy you for that drive at all! When I would drive home from college it was an average of a 12 hour drive....but I knew I didn't have to get up for the next 4 days straight to drive!!!

I don't have any other suggestions....if I do think of one I'll let ya' know.

Music. Music is key. When a boyfriend and I roadtripped to Vegas via the Grand Canyon we practically planned out the soundtrack. Have a variety of music from old sing along favorites to a cheezy eighties segment and anything you can think of that might fit geographic locations you're going through.

Books on tape can be good too!

Ah....that's a great book! It's called The Book of Questions. I have a copy lying around here somewhere.

My aunt and I drove from New Jersey to Wisconsin in a day - books on tape are GREAT! Two of those got us almost all the way to Indiana! :)

A heads up. When you are approaching San Antonio on I-10 after a town called Boerne, stop at Rudy's BBQ for the best BBQ in Texas. Its right off the freeway and its where we all eat.

From I-10 East, take Exit 550. Stay on the access road past the first stop. (theres signs to giude you to Rudy's) At the next stop, make a left under the freeway. Rudy's is straight ahead at the next 4 way stop inside /next to the Diamond Shamrock Gas Station (This is the south... we eat at Gas stations here) Park, go in, and be prepared for an amazing experience. You order by the pound (you can get smaller amounts) and sides. The sauce (its how its spelled) is the best you've ever had. DONT PASS THIS OPPORTUNITY UP. Ya have to have BBQ when youre in Texas, and take it from a local, its where to eat. Ask kitso, SATXA*Phi, or AggieAXO. Its all country out there, so its real easy to find. Also its a local celeb hang out. Theres a really high rent (the highest in SA) neighborhood behind it and David Robinson, and Tommy Lee Jones who have homes there can be seen there on a regualr basis.

Roger that what lifesaver says... another place worth checking out if you don't mind taking a small detour is Casey's Bar B-Q.

How to get there: from I-10 get on I-610 to US 281 north, exit Nakoma Road. Don't be surprised if you get dive-bombed by a Southwest 'Mustard Rocket' (it's the approach for Runways 12L and 12R for San Antonio International Airport). At the light, turn left, Casey's will be on your right on the northwest corner.

When you're done, pick up 281 southbound to downtown and you can pick up I-10 from there.

OMG!! We went on a 16 hour road trip once and we played the license plate game!! We guess at the begining how many states we would see, and we figured about 36 or so. We were like "well we know we probably won't see Alaska or Hawaii.."

We were driving a long and all of a sudden I was like "OH. MY. GOD. There's Alaska!!!" Anyhow...this was in Florida so I was like "Damn they drove a long way." And my friends just lost it! They laughed hysterically and they were like "you can't drive from Alaska, they had their car shipped" And I was like "They may have had their car shipped, but you can very well drive from Alaska" They thought I was the dumbest person ever and called everyone they knew only to learn...

OK to make a long story shorter it turns outr they thought that Alaska was hanging out over by Hawaii. You know those maps that show the 50 states and Alaska & Hawaii off in a corner? Well They thought Alaska was an island!! They never knew it was up there by Canada!! I still give them a hard time about it. Damn Kentucky & Mississippi geography classes!! ;)

The alphabet game is always a winner because you can play the "alphabet game of cars" or the "alphabet game of DJ's" or the "alphabet game of candy" or the "alphabet game of countries" or...uh-you get the point!

I've got that one great book for when your friends are just chillin or a car ride.

There are another series of books. The If series. Those books have a whole slew of questions too.

There's a book called Drive I95 or something like that, just came out in December. I drive to FL all the time, and I liked this book a lot. It gives you interesting tidbits on what is off every exit, and it tells you what food/hotels are off every exit too. Very important to me because I only eat Waffle House from Maryland south.

There's also a Book of Questions: Business, Politics and Ethcis, Book of Questions: Love & Sex, and I think they have one for kids as well. They're all great!

If you can find it at your nearest Wally World, check out the book titled The Next Exit It lists all interstate highways, their exit numbers and what amenities (food, gas, Wal-Mart, etc.) I have a previous edition that doesn't show California mile marker exits (they were one of the last states to be dragged kicking and screaming to put mile marker exit numbers on their highways). Perhaps the latest edition will have these up to date.

On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

just a NOTE: when you come through North Florida, BE CAREFUL!!!! there is a ridiculous amount of construction. the highways in this area are completely different than say a year ago. it is confusing to me and i have been here the whole time!

but yeah, books on tape are great!!!! try not to listen to music all the time. you will get very sick of it. variety is the key

ROTFL - I'm having visions of poor adpiucf & her friend being SO FULL of BBQ, they'll reach Florida & explode!!

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Waffle House!
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Honeychile, that is hysterical! I can just imagine it-- two little blonde girls with their faces covered in BBQ and bits of paper napkin!

We're keeping a more northern route, so we won't be near SA, which is sad, b/c one of my good friends has moved there and was going to put us up. We won't get on the 10 until we reach AL.

Tomorrow, we're heading to the Grand Canyon, a bit off the path, but worth it. Day 2: Petrfied Forest. Day 3 is Dallas. Day 4: Stops in Shreveport and Vicksburg before stopping for the night in Mobile. Then Mobile to Tallahassee to Orlando. Anyone up for stalking us? LOL. Have I said too much? I'll be in Orlando for a couple days to recoop, then up to Charlotte, and then DC for my new gig.

Still trying to find someone to take the bed. The UCLA kid hasn't contacted me back, and there are still a zillion other people who are all over it like rabid ducks on stale bread. Should I just let one of those other people come and get it?

abbey, what time are you leaving in the morning? i sent you a pm:)

HILARIOUS!!!! :D

Wow, I wonder how I magically drove back and forth from Alaska all those times? Granted there are places you can't drive to in Alaska, which involve a plane or a boat. I rather enjoyed taking the ferry down the Inside Passage (aka the poor man's cruise ;) ). Though during WW2 there was this thing called the Alaska Highway built, though it goes through Canada and is two lanes most of the way, there are still plenty of gravel stretches.

I drove back and forth from Alaska three times, ALONE, you need lots and lots of music. Also bring snacks along. You can get collapsible coolers that take up less space, and not have to buy expensive things on the way. When I drive home from college it is about 16 or so hours straight through, so I usually stay over night with relatives on the way. Make sure to get plenty of rest and stretch your legs, and always use the bathroom when you have the opportunity, even if you don't have to then, you will eventually.

Boys are so lucky. They can pee in bottles.

So long as we remember the Cardinal Rule about watering the roadside weeds: Never Into The Wind. ;) :) :D

Yep, that pretty much how I pictured it!!! Y'all just giggling on the side of the road, with the BBQ, the napkin bits, and maybe a stray dog... ;)

LOL!!!! i would make fun of them FOREVER!!!! hahahahaha

Word of caution if you're taking I-10 and I-20 through Texas... most of the rest areas in the sparsely populated areas in West Texas DO NOT have restrooms or other facilities.

1. If driving at night, tell freakishly scary, frightening stories. As scary as you can tell them.

2. Tie a hose to the back of your car. Slowly drip paint out through the hose. Try to make the longest purple (or pink, or blue, or whatever your favorite color is) line in America. If a cop stops you, tell him/ her that it is a research experiment in ecodiversity and that you need to have your boundaries drawn. Explain that you have permission from the president to make lines on the road.

3. Take turns "car surfing," where one person holds on to the luggage rack and the driver goes as fast as they can. If you fall off, just get back on when the driver comes to find you. If your car has no luggage rack, loop a rope through the front windows and hold on to the rope.

4. See how many times you can change lanes in 20 minutes. Who cares if other cars are there? They should be getting out of your way!

5. Make two signs for each person in the car. When you pass another car, take a quick vote about the people in the other car and either hold up the sign that says "HOT" or the sign that says "NOT."

6. Paint your car to look like a pirate ship before you leave. Wear pirate costumes. Board other cars and take their booty.

7. Drive backwards.

8. Try to see how many accents you can learn. Use them when mingling with the locals when you stop. Better yet, pretend that you are from that country and don't understand a lot of English.

So can girls. But so much mess afterwards.

I know shes not even coming to SA, but come on, get back to SA and come with us to Rudy's. Casey's cant hold a candle to Rudy's. Its like Bill Miller's or some fast food BBQ comparitively. Yeah its good, but not that good. Casey's dosent sell Thanksgiving and Holiday turkeys and theyre always being shut down for not paying their sales taxes. Come back to SA, I'll take you to Rudy's. Your lips will never again mention Casey's.

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Where there's a will, there's a way.

They had no clue that Alaska was attached to Canada. They will NEVER live that down. People started buying them road atlases as gag gifts. My aunt bought one of them a book about Alaska. And the other one for graduation flew to Seattle, rented a car and drove to Alaska, just because she could!! I guess they thought it was hanging out over there by Hawaii...straight edge border, arctic climate and all!!

Ways to make a road trip more interesting...

- Music is the most important
- Snacks - lots of junk food and soda (to stay awake)
- Take a notepad and big black marker, write notes to drivers you pass on the way (we always loved to do this with cute boys when I was in school!)
- Take a picture in front of each "Welcome to Whatever-State" sign you pass, also stop at kitschy things like the biggest ball of string
- Buy cheesy souvenirs and ugly sunglasses at truck stops - rejoice in them and wear them as if they are the coolest things ever made
- Be sure to eat at local dives, never boring chains like Chili's, McDonalds, etc... (only exception - stop at the Waffle House as much as you can - I once met some really nice drag queens there!)
- Basically just play it up - make up fake personalities to use when you meet new people, be crazy, and TAKE LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

HAVE FUN!!!

Oh yeah! Cheesy souvenirs are a must! My roommate still has a priceless koozee that says "Hot Tub Club" on it!

Ok, you are all ADD with this constant need for entertainment . . . just relax, listen to good music, and enjoy the ride. Long car rides are soothing.

These are I tips for my own trips....

*Books on a tape are a MUST! At many colleges, they have a FREE check-out program of many excellent audio books. Wilbur Smith's Seventh Scroll, River God, and Warlock are a wonderful "set" and are just super in the unabridged forms. I think books on tape once saved my marriage.

*Three words: "Cracker Barrel hopping"

*Start an cheap odd collection, such as matchbooks, charms for a bracelet, or silver spoons. I still have most of my "road trip" collections.

*I sometimes make a small scrapbook before I go on a trip with stickers related to the various sites that I know that I will be seeing with some blank pages in between. I get signatures on the pages and take pictures with/of interesting people that I meet. I make the scrapbook small and keep it in a gallon-sized ziplock bag in my backpack. When I get home, I develop the pictures and just tape them beside the signatures!

*Save water bottles/dish washing detergent bottles/plastic soft drink bottles for a bit before the trip. Clean them and fill with fresh water. Freeze them. It makes for cheap ice packets and water for the drive.

*Two words: Baby wipes

Be safe. Be happy.
:)
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