Road Trips either accomplished or planning for?

[creepycoug]

I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is about 65 and retired three years ago. I randomly asked him if he ever thought about taking a road trip and driving Route 66 or something like that. He replied "Hell yeah! I think about it all the time. Here I am with lots of spare time but I don't feel like I am making any memories."
Has anyone here, including @RoadTrip himself, driving Route 66? Or driven "the loneliest highway in America" which I think is in Nevada? Has anyone driven the Pacific Coast Hwy 101? I seem to recall @iDawg years ago said he rode a motorcycle along 101 in California.
Route 66 has always been in the back of my mind.

yea, I've done some miles. I've done a fair amount of 66, but it was a bit disheartening about how little was left. This was decades ago and I’m sure it’s even less now.
Americana is still great. Many of the roads I drove 30 years ago I did again with may family in a big SUV. The only rule: no chains… either hotel/motel or restaurants…oh and no screens when we were not on an interstate. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Brice, Zion, Arches … and others

America is beautiful. Mom and pop diners are still a value. Go out and see them before the corporate version of fentanyl ruins it all: Dollar General

great post. you're right. America is a stunning fucking landscape. I've even found it back east, which has a more understated beauty. Spend a week on Martha's Vineyard, spend some time in Virginia, the Maine coast, Vermont, New Hampshire. Our version of history, and like I said, an understated beauty. The West needs no explanation. Montana probably my favorite, though the WA/OR are right there and bring different things to the table.

 

[creepycoug]

@Fishpo31
Vanilla isn't letting me quote, but relative to your New England trip …
My wife and I have been to both several times in the last 5 years. In Manchester, I recommend the Equinox. Classic New England Inn. In Woodstock, though a little pricey, you gotta stay at the Woodstock Inn. A classic as well. We stayed at an Inn in Woodstock called the Blue Horse Inn. It's still there (it's a cool house basically), but they've closed down as an Inn.
I personally prefer Manchester to Woodstock, though many people reverse the order of preference. Both cool places. Again, if you're looking for Alaska-type vistas and country, you need to head our way. The NE is different. The older I've gotten, the more I have found that I just appreciate where I'm at and don't spend time comparing this to that. There's no point. It's not a competition. Have a beer, relax and enjoy the experience.
I also love Boston. Probably my favorite US city. I'd live there if I could ever pry my herd away from this place.

 

[creepycoug]

I could do a full blown TLDR on this so I'll try to keep it brief
Biggest trip in terms of time/distance was a month long golf road trip in 2016 that started in Seattle, went South to Las Vegas, east into DFW/Houston for a wedding, continued east through Tuscaloosa and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, then north up through Nashville, Indy, and into Michigan, then looped around the Upper Peninsula of Michigan down into Wisconsin through Iowa and then back west through Omaha, Wyoming, Montana and I-90 home.
I've done all the types of routes that you can do from here to Texas (Montana to Billings down through Denver into northern New Mexico before hitting Amarillo and into DFW; through Salt Lake City towards Denver and the rest of the way). Usually those are 3 day drives but I did it in 2 days in 2020 due to COVID and did more of the back road route through Colorado … won't do that again.
I've gone up through Idaho into Canada and driven up through Banff on the way to Calgary … incredibly beautiful. Next time I'm in that area I'll go the other way to get up through Jasper. Going up to Whistler or even east to Kamloops or Kelowna is nice but isn't close to the drive to Banff.
Did a trip this year from Dallas to Eastern Tennessee (about 45 minutes east of Knoxville) that was better than one would think … went through Starkville and Birmingham on the way up to a golf resort called McLemore (fantastic) before getting to Tennessee. The way back went through the length of Tennessee through Memphis, etc. … not much of a looker
I've driven through much of North Carolina whether it's the stretch from Charlotte/Raleigh to Myrtle Beach or from Charlotte over the mountains to Eastern Tennessee (Johnson City).
I've done the drive to Bend more than a few times and a few times have carried on on that route down to Reno … fun drive when you're going through the back roads of California.
You don't realize how truly big Texas is until you've driven Dallas to El Paso … it's stupid long and the most boring drive you can think of that isn't heading East from Denver into Kansas.
By far the most beautiful drive I've ever been on is heading from Monterey/Pebble Beach and going down to Big Sur … best section I've ever driven. Close 2nd if going up the 101 in California on the way into Oregon and driving through all the redwoods as it literally feels like you're driving in a real-life video game.
The drive that consistently puts me in awe though is going through the red rocks in Utah (whether coming up through Nevada or heading from SLC to Colorado) and then when you're in western Colorado going through the mountains and eventually driving through the Vail and Breckenridge areas. I'm lucky that I have a friend that lives there and go there every few years … it's truly spectacular.

Banff is a great call. We've done that, too. Break out the wallet and stay at the Chateau, both the one in Banff and the one at Lake Louise. It's worth the treat. Stunning country.

 

[Fishpo31]

@Fishpo31
Vanilla isn't letting me quote, but relative to your New England trip …
My wife and I have been to both several times in the last 5 years. In Manchester, I recommend the Equinox. Classic New England Inn. In Woodstock, though a little pricey, you gotta stay at the Woodstock Inn. A classic as well. We stayed at an Inn in Woodstock called the Blue Horse Inn. It's still there (it's a cool house basically), but they've closed down as an Inn.
I personally prefer Manchester to Woodstock, though many people reverse the order of preference. Both cool places. Again, if you're looking for Alaska-type vistas and country, you need to head our way. The NE is different. The older I've gotten, the more I have found that I just appreciate where I'm at and don't spend time comparing this to that. There's no point. It's not a competition. Have a beer, relax and enjoy the experience.
I also love Boston. Probably my favorite US city. I'd live there if I could ever pry my herd away from this place.

We stayed at the Manchester Inn, which has several buildings on site, constructed in the 1800's, obviously restored, but with the historical flavor in tact. The original house on the property went back to at least the 1790's. "Our" building had a period-decor tavern, which we (wife's family) put to good use. The church was a brief walk down the street, and the reception was held at Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, which was the home of Robert, Abe and Mary Todd's only son to survive to adulthood…absolutely stunning. Going to Cooperstown and Woodstock were bucket list, but Manchester stole the show for me.
I love Boston too, having spent a couple summers coaching in the Cape. Post-wedding, we drove back to Boston, and walked to Fenway for the opening game of the playoffs. Not wanting to drop a couple grand on tix, went to Cask & Flagon pre-game, and watched it from the Monster Bar, inside the Green Monster…pretty surreal. The next day, we did the Freedom Trail, Paul Revere's home, and finished with drinks at the Green Dragon Tavern, (est. 1654) where the plans were laid for the invasion of Lexington and Concord…The beer was cold, no ribs-n-rickshaw.

 

[ukdawg]

If you want some across the pond road trippin' I did the Scottish 500 Coastal road during COVID. If you are the whiskey and scenery type, this is the road trip for you. I also brought my board went surfing, the beaches facing north are way better than I was expecting - blue water, white sand, beautiful landscapes. Trouble with Scotland - it's full of Scots. Lots of salmon running but fishing is a pain in the dick in this country, and expensive.
North Coast 500 - The ultimate road trip around the North of Scotland

 

[chuck]

Drive from Bend to Boise thru Burns was a nice drive - prettier on the east side of Burns than the west side coming into Burns. Have driven and rode along the 101 to Ocean Shores from San Fran - beautiful drive, scary road, damn near died with the RVs trying to make some hairpin turns (effing RVers).
Made 4 day drive in November from Whidbey Island to Baltimore staying on freeways (what a drag). Another from Huntsville, Al to Kirkland as quick as possible (another drag). Best drives have always been the back road travels - from Kanab, Ut to Tonopah, Nv along Nevada Hiway 375, The Extraterrestrial Highway - think I ran into one other car there. All sorts of obscure back roads getting from Pt a to Pt b mainly in the western states.

Did you have any security issues staying on freeways? (I'm assuming this means you stayed at rest stops).

A couple of years ago my GF had a sick aunt in Illinois. She hopped in the Ram with her great Dane sized labradoodle, a night stick, and a fixed blade knife and drove it solo, sleeping at off ramps close to where truckers would pull off to sleep. Then she stayed for a month and drove back the same way.
I didn't like it one bit but she didn't seem to understand what the big deal was. She wouldn't take a pistol. If anyone had tried to get into the cab with her and the dog, the dog would've handed the perp one of his toys to throw and jumped out to chase it.

 

[Joey]

I drove through the center of Nevada on the way to Vegas with four of my friends when we turned 21. Had the night shift after we left Winnemucca. Got to Tonopah I think before we saw headlights again. Yes, very lonely

Fuck yeah. You're speaking my new native tongue.

I'm guessing you went down dark blue? That's God's Country, fren, and I'm atheist. Especially from Austin south along the Toiyabes. Better in the daytime.

Yes that was it

 

[huskyhooligan]

Friend of mine and his two other retirees have done 66, the NE during fall, Utah, Nevada. They all have very fond memories of 66. Lots to see and do if you take the time. Chicago, Mickey Mantles hometown, some old indian villages in New Mexico, Oklahoma City Bombing site, Winslow, AZ, and some other stops, said he'd recommend it to anyone. They put in the time and research to see what was along the way, on the road and just off the road. Friend checked off state number 50 in the process in Oklahomo as well.

 

[YellowSnow]

@Fishpo31
Vanilla isn't letting me quote, but relative to your New England trip …
My wife and I have been to both several times in the last 5 years. In Manchester, I recommend the Equinox. Classic New England Inn. In Woodstock, though a little pricey, you gotta stay at the Woodstock Inn. A classic as well. We stayed at an Inn in Woodstock called the Blue Horse Inn. It's still there (it's a cool house basically), but they've closed down as an Inn.
I personally prefer Manchester to Woodstock, though many people reverse the order of preference. Both cool places. Again, if you're looking for Alaska-type vistas and country, you need to head our way. The NE is different. The older I've gotten, the more I have found that I just appreciate where I'm at and don't spend time comparing this to that. There's no point. It's not a competition. Have a beer, relax and enjoy the experience.
I also love Boston. Probably my favorite US city. I'd live there if I could ever pry my herd away from this place.

Of course you would. Creep is an academis loving, blue blood, yankee wanna-be at heart!

 

[creepycoug]

@Fishpo31
Vanilla isn't letting me quote, but relative to your New England trip …
My wife and I have been to both several times in the last 5 years. In Manchester, I recommend the Equinox. Classic New England Inn. In Woodstock, though a little pricey, you gotta stay at the Woodstock Inn. A classic as well. We stayed at an Inn in Woodstock called the Blue Horse Inn. It's still there (it's a cool house basically), but they've closed down as an Inn.
I personally prefer Manchester to Woodstock, though many people reverse the order of preference. Both cool places. Again, if you're looking for Alaska-type vistas and country, you need to head our way. The NE is different. The older I've gotten, the more I have found that I just appreciate where I'm at and don't spend time comparing this to that. There's no point. It's not a competition. Have a beer, relax and enjoy the experience.
I also love Boston. Probably my favorite US city. I'd live there if I could ever pry my herd away from this place.

Of course you would. Creep is an academis loving, blue blood, yankee wanna-be at heart!

I really do belong there.
Some guys go to Quechee Vt. to watch their wives buy a $400 Simon Pearce blown glass Christmas tree decoration; some guys don't. I'm the guy who does.
And that tells you what you need to know.

 

[YellowSnow]

@Fishpo31
Vanilla isn't letting me quote, but relative to your New England trip …
My wife and I have been to both several times in the last 5 years. In Manchester, I recommend the Equinox. Classic New England Inn. In Woodstock, though a little pricey, you gotta stay at the Woodstock Inn. A classic as well. We stayed at an Inn in Woodstock called the Blue Horse Inn. It's still there (it's a cool house basically), but they've closed down as an Inn.
I personally prefer Manchester to Woodstock, though many people reverse the order of preference. Both cool places. Again, if you're looking for Alaska-type vistas and country, you need to head our way. The NE is different. The older I've gotten, the more I have found that I just appreciate where I'm at and don't spend time comparing this to that. There's no point. It's not a competition. Have a beer, relax and enjoy the experience.
I also love Boston. Probably my favorite US city. I'd live there if I could ever pry my herd away from this place.

Of course you would. Creep is an academis loving, blue blood, yankee wanna-be at heart!

I really do belong there.
Some guys go to Quechee Vt. to watch their wives buy a $400 Simon Pearce blown glass Christmas tree decoration; some guys don't. I'm the guy who does.
And that tells you what you need to know.

One of my best frens who is from VT went to Colby-Sawyer in NH and was a ski racer there. I make fun him for going to former girl's only college with a 78% acceptance rate and a $39 million endowment.

 

[WoolleyDoog]

Had to haul my stuff from LA to Woolley after I got divorced and finally did the 1 basically all the way back up the entire coast. Loved it and great time for reflection on my life at the time. I love how shockingly empty California is basically north of SF on the coast. Fort Bragg seemed like an underrated kind of cool place but why anyone would live there now is curious.
Did Chicago to Cincinnati and back when I was 15 with my dad driving so I could watch my favorite player Reggie Miller (I was an odd kid) play in-person before he retired and my dad stopped at race tracks. My dad ate ribs while driving with my friend handing them to him.
Did Nashville to LA and then up I-5 to Woolley with my dad and his buddies The Norwegian Elvis and The Voice Mechanic to get the tour bus we take to Husky games from Nashville to home. Slept through a lot so wasn't super interesting.
@ukdawg I just got home from Scotland. My girlfriend wanted to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and then Isle of Skye. Drove through the snow up into a mountain town for a night and was amazing but then woke up to a ton of snow the next day and couldn't make it in the supposedly 4WD rental car and the roads not plowed at all for some reasons. Barely made it back to Edinburgh alive and had to just skip the northern towns. My gf said it would be fine to do that drive in January. Is she an idiot and she shouldn't be my next ex-wife?

 

[YellowSnow]

Had to haul my stuff from LA to Woolley after I got divorced and finally did the 1 basically all the way back up the entire coast. Loved it and great time for reflection on my life at the time. I love how shockingly empty California is basically north of SF on the coast. Fort Bragg seemed like an underrated kind of cool place but why anyone would live there now is curious.
Did Chicago to Cincinnati and back when I was 15 with my dad driving so I could watch my favorite player Reggie Miller (I was an odd kid) play in-person before he retired and my dad stopped at race tracks. My dad ate ribs while driving with my friend handing them to him.
Did Nashville to LA and then up I-5 to Woolley with my dad and his buddies The Norwegian Elvis and The Voice Mechanic to get the tour bus we take to Husky games from Nashville to home. Slept through a lot so wasn't super interesting.
@ukdawg I just got home from Scotland. My girlfriend wanted to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and then Isle of Skye. Drove through the snow up into a mountain town for a night and was amazing but then woke up to a ton of snow the next day and couldn't make it in the supposedly 4WD rental car and the roads not plowed at all for some reasons. Barely made it back to Edinburgh alive and had to just skip the northern towns. My gf said it would be fine to do that drive in January. Is she an idiot and she shouldn't be my next ex-wife?

4WD with shit tires ain’t worth a shit in snow and ice.

 

[ukdawg]

Had to haul my stuff from LA to Woolley after I got divorced and finally did the 1 basically all the way back up the entire coast. Loved it and great time for reflection on my life at the time. I love how shockingly empty California is basically north of SF on the coast. Fort Bragg seemed like an underrated kind of cool place but why anyone would live there now is curious.
Did Chicago to Cincinnati and back when I was 15 with my dad driving so I could watch my favorite player Reggie Miller (I was an odd kid) play in-person before he retired and my dad stopped at race tracks. My dad ate ribs while driving with my friend handing them to him.
Did Nashville to LA and then up I-5 to Woolley with my dad and his buddies The Norwegian Elvis and The Voice Mechanic to get the tour bus we take to Husky games from Nashville to home. Slept through a lot so wasn't super interesting.
@ukdawg I just got home from Scotland. My girlfriend wanted to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and then Isle of Skye. Drove through the snow up into a mountain town for a night and was amazing but then woke up to a ton of snow the next day and couldn't make it in the supposedly 4WD rental car and the roads not plowed at all for some reasons. Barely made it back to Edinburgh alive and had to just skip the northern towns. My gf said it would be fine to do that drive in January. Is she an idiot and she shouldn't be my next ex-wife?

You hit a historically bad stretch of weather mi amigo After it snowed it went sub-freezing for a week and this country is like a giant Seattle in terms of being prepared for snow and ice. It never happens here.
In terms of listening to a woman when it comes to driving/anything mechanical you get a mulligan because it's a foreign country and you were out of your element.
Do you know why divorce is so expensive?
It's worth it!

 

[RaceBannon]

We drove to to the White Cliffs of Dover from London and took a ferry to France and then a bus to Paris. The Chunnel was under construction
On the bus back from Paris to the landing craft to invade back to London we got boarded by French police with dogs. They went through the bus and someone got popped.
My wife turned to me and said I'm glad you left the hash in London.
Uhhh yeah that's the ticket. Man I got an earful. She goes I couldn't even tell you were worried. That's the idea and why being a sociopath can come in handy

 

[PurpleThrobber]

We drove to to the White Cliffs of Dover from London and took a ferry to France and then a bus to Paris. The Chunnel was under construction
On the bus back from Paris to the landing craft to invade back to London we got boarded by French police with dogs. They went through the bus and someone got popped.
My wife turned to me and said I'm glad you left the hash in London.
Uhhh yeah that's the ticket. Man I got an earful. She goes I couldn't even tell you were worried. That's the idea and why being a sociopath can come in handy

@RaceBannon starring in Midnight Express II would have been entertaining.

 

[WoolleyDoog]

Had to haul my stuff from LA to Woolley after I got divorced and finally did the 1 basically all the way back up the entire coast. Loved it and great time for reflection on my life at the time. I love how shockingly empty California is basically north of SF on the coast. Fort Bragg seemed like an underrated kind of cool place but why anyone would live there now is curious.
Did Chicago to Cincinnati and back when I was 15 with my dad driving so I could watch my favorite player Reggie Miller (I was an odd kid) play in-person before he retired and my dad stopped at race tracks. My dad ate ribs while driving with my friend handing them to him.
Did Nashville to LA and then up I-5 to Woolley with my dad and his buddies The Norwegian Elvis and The Voice Mechanic to get the tour bus we take to Husky games from Nashville to home. Slept through a lot so wasn't super interesting.
@ukdawg I just got home from Scotland. My girlfriend wanted to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and then Isle of Skye. Drove through the snow up into a mountain town for a night and was amazing but then woke up to a ton of snow the next day and couldn't make it in the supposedly 4WD rental car and the roads not plowed at all for some reasons. Barely made it back to Edinburgh alive and had to just skip the northern towns. My gf said it would be fine to do that drive in January. Is she an idiot and she shouldn't be my next ex-wife?

You hit a historically bad stretch of weather mi amigo After it snowed it went sub-freezing for a week and this country is like a giant Seattle in terms of being prepared for snow and ice. It never happens here.
In terms of listening to a woman when it comes to driving/anything mechanical you get a mulligan because it's a foreign country and you were out of your element.
Do you know why divorce is so expensive?
It's worth it!

Appreciate it and also I figured that was the case with the tires Yella. Sucked because we were in Iceland the week before in frozen temps driving through crazy shit but obviously the tires were great.
Iceland was wild because we drove like 2% of the country but saw endless sights which were otherworldly. Have done small highways and little coastal towns in Ireland too which I love. It was wild driving from Ireland to Northern Ireland on a tiny road and there's literally not even a marker that you're going from one country to another.

 

[PurpleThrobber]

Had to haul my stuff from LA to Woolley after I got divorced and finally did the 1 basically all the way back up the entire coast. Loved it and great time for reflection on my life at the time. I love how shockingly empty California is basically north of SF on the coast. Fort Bragg seemed like an underrated kind of cool place but why anyone would live there now is curious.
Did Chicago to Cincinnati and back when I was 15 with my dad driving so I could watch my favorite player Reggie Miller (I was an odd kid) play in-person before he retired and my dad stopped at race tracks. My dad ate ribs while driving with my friend handing them to him.
Did Nashville to LA and then up I-5 to Woolley with my dad and his buddies The Norwegian Elvis and The Voice Mechanic to get the tour bus we take to Husky games from Nashville to home. Slept through a lot so wasn't super interesting.
@ukdawg I just got home from Scotland. My girlfriend wanted to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness and then Isle of Skye. Drove through the snow up into a mountain town for a night and was amazing but then woke up to a ton of snow the next day and couldn't make it in the supposedly 4WD rental car and the roads not plowed at all for some reasons. Barely made it back to Edinburgh alive and had to just skip the northern towns. My gf said it would be fine to do that drive in January. Is she an idiot and she shouldn't be my next ex-wife?

You hit a historically bad stretch of weather mi amigo After it snowed it went sub-freezing for a week and this country is like a giant Seattle in terms of being prepared for snow and ice. It never happens here.
In terms of listening to a woman when it comes to driving/anything mechanical you get a mulligan because it's a foreign country and you were out of your element.
Do you know why divorce is so expensive?
It's worth it!

Appreciate it and also I figured that was the case with the tires Yella. Sucked because we were in Iceland the week before in frozen temps driving through crazy shit but obviously the tires were great.
Iceland was wild because we drove like 2% of the country but saw endless sights which were otherworldly. Have done small highways and little coastal towns in Ireland too which I love. It was wild driving from Ireland to Northern Ireland on a tiny road and there's literally not even a marker that you're going from one country to another.

Northern Ireland is by far the most interesting and favorite place the Throbber has ever travelled.

 

[WoolleyDoog]

Really? We only had a few hours there and drove from the country in Ireland through there to Belfast and back. Belfast seemed pretty plain. The country was cool but the same as Ireland. I know the coast up there is supposed to be cool.

 

[LebamDawg]

the one thing missing from this thread is the dreaded UGLIEST stretch of a road trip
Mine: Leaving Arizona into New Mexico. The dust storm warnings with instructions about what to do is bad and then pulling into Lordsberg (I think that is it) - that town is 90% abandoned motels where I cut off to go into the hills on the way to Silver City, which is one of my favorite spots in NM.