Road Trips: Plan One!

Road Trips: Plan One!

You may be wondering why I’m writing about road trips now that it’s wintertime. Well, most road trips take planning, and what better time to do that than now? Spring always gets here faster than we expect, then summer. Besides, planning a trip now will help you tune out those winter blues.

Behind the wheel

I’ve always been a road trips kinda guy – ever since I bought my very first car. I remember being 16 years old and wanting to just hit the road, far away from everyone. Of course, at that age, my folks had plenty to say about that. I had to stay within 25 miles of home. But once I left the nest at age 19, my buddies and I would take 800 mile road trips over long weekends. And at that age, who plans anything? We’d throw our sleeping bags and a tent in the trunk, and away we’d go!

Of course, over the years, I toned down those spur-of-the-moment excursions a bit. My wife and I would at least have some idea of where we wanted to end up each night, and how long we’d be gone. But we still did plenty of sightseeing in this great land of ours, and most of it from behind the wheel of our family car.

Even Better: Route 66 Road Trips

In recent years, my brother, Jeff, and I have taken to exploring sections of Route 66, as time and budgets allow. Most of that legendary highway has morphed into Interstate 40 from Oklahoma City westward, but there are still plenty of side trips you can take on the Mother Road, and actually be on old RT 66. Jeff and I will be tackling another stretch of it in early summer – can’t wait!

While on the subject of Route 66, I have a friend in Oregon who won the lottery – to the tune of 5.2 million bucks. This was several years ago. After wisely deciding to invest most of it, he and his wife splurged on something they had always wanted to do. They bought a ’57 T-Bird and drove the entire Mother Road, from Santa Monica to Chicago. How cool is that?

Great Road Trips Website

Great Resources

I have a couple of great resources for you to start planning your epic adventure. Check out roadtripusa.com. This website has a plethora of incredible information, and plenty of recommended trips crisscrossing the USA. If it’s an informative book you’re after, you have to read The Most Scenic Drives in America, by Reader’s Digest. This full color printed piece features detailed info on 120 potential road trips! It is available at most major bookstores.

Most scenic drives book

If you’ve got some future road trip plans in the works, I would love to hear about them! Or, if you’ve done a memorable trip in the past, likewise, please share your story/photos below in the Comments section…

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