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Hello all. It looks like my plans to move to Portland Oregon from New Jersey this summer are being delayed so I will, instead, be moving at the end of October. Thing is, I will be driving there...ALONE. Anyone have any experience with driving those long distances alone? Do you normally sleep in a hotel or just go to a rest stop and dooze in the car? ( I'm pretty short, so I can actually sleep well in the back of my car) How do you stay focused for that long on the rode?
I don't think I'll be driving at night at all...I'll get up at first light and get off the road at sundown. I will be in ABSOLUTELY NO HURRY, because there is still allot of this country I have not seen and this will give me a good oppurtunity to see it all.
Also...I will be driving from Jersey through PA, Indiana, northern Illinois (finally get to see Chicago!) Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, northern Utah (Salt Lake City) and up through Idaho around Boise...is there any chance, in, let's say the first few weeks of November, that I'll run into snow? I hate driving in snow! I mean, I HATE IT! I want to pull my car over and wait it out if I so much as see dandruff fall off my head. I'll go to California first and then turn north just to avoid it!
Please do not sleep in rest stops, especially in the crazy world and times we live in, a hotel is definitely a good idea. As for driving at night I woudn't do it. It's much better if you take the time to rest and unwind and then get an early start in the morning. My cousin's daughter moved to Oregon last year from Texas and found it to be a LONG drive and stood over in a hotel. Yes, I would think there is a possibility of hitting some snow so make sure your car is in good working order, you don't want to get stuck. Best of luck to you on your journey.
I am getting ready to move the end of February. I already have several different routes to my destination, AAA, MapQuest, and Yahoo Maps. It will take at least 5 days to make the journey. I am going to decide how many miles to drive each day, before I check into a motel. Through AAA I can find any number of motels, along the way to stay at, depending on the amount of miles I drive. If You are not in any hurry to get to Your destination, You might consider where You want to stop. You could even make Your reservations in advance. I do not have a cell phone, so I will probably buy one for the trip. I will be able to stay in touch with people I know and let them know where I am. Have a good trip!!
I have made the trip myself. One piece of advise - if you moving in October you don't want to go through Wyoming - they will be getting snow by then.
I have done it both ways - staying in hotels and stopping at rest stops. You definitely want to do the hotel thing. There really is no getting rest at rest stops. And if you don't get a good nights sleep (keep in mind it will be cold in some of the places in October), you won't be any good on the road during the day.
You would be surprised how well you stay focused on the road. I would do things like look for the sign telling you how long until the next town and then guess how long it will take me, etc. There is also the radio and CD player. Gets books on CD and listen to them.
I've driven cross-county a few times -- always alone, except for the company of my kitties. I found that, as long as I had music of some kind to listen to, I was fine.
DEFINITELY stay in motels. Buy a AAA membership, if you don't already have one -- it'll provide roadside coverage for the trip, plus get you a discount at lots of motels along the way.
Did that from California to Texas with 2 cats (hate that drive to this day - flat, flat land not a lot of scenery). I suggest the motel thing is the WTG. I tried sleeping at rest stops and it was with one eye open, didn't get much rest at all - cold in the morning from coming out of a motel room and cold in the morning sleeping in your car is two totally different things. The car is MUCH colder! Bone chilling even with thick blankets. Best to get a motel room, lie down, and snooze so that you are fresh for the next day - rest your mind; hot shower and coffee - regroup, then hit the road. Safer for you, especially considering time is not a factor.
Great advice from everyone! Not much more I can add except if you preplan the trip you can plot out a route based on sightseeing. Using google maps or MapQuest etc you can figure out miles inbetween each site you want to see, and then using hotels.com or similar you can print out a list of hotels in the area (definitely, as others have advised, do the hotel thing and not the side-of-the-road rest stops.)
I'm planning a roadtrip from FL to CA and back (just the dog and me), and I had a blast creating a spreadsheet of my itinerary. The best part about it is that it is not cast in stone, and should I see something along the way, I'll stop and change my plan!
Another "companion" you might want to add along with a cellphone, AAA membership, etc., is a GPS -- I have a relatively inexpensive Garmin 200W and I enjoy its company as well as its usefulness. But my Garmin probably doesn't enjoy my company since I'm always deviating from the route and I get a lot of "recalculating" and "when safe, make a u-turn" :-)
You're much more likely to encounter "bad" weather, and nasty road driving along the Great Lakes region into Northern IL and then across the Northern Plains states than snow in Wyoming in late October.
Given that you have time to spare for the trip, I'd suggest that you plan your route to be stopping and in a motel no later than 4 PM each afternoon. Why? Because you'll be situated in your overnight stop slightly before darkness has set in, and you'll have had a chance to checkout the (unfamiliar) local area for restaurants and possible entertainment (shopping, movie theater, etc.) in daylight. The way to stay focused on a trip of this duration is to get quality sleep and food, and have some diversions (physical and mental) from the chore of many hours of driving.
While motel reservations in advance may be good to have as a daily plan, you'll also have the opportunity to check out the locale. Seeing the actual sites with some time to spare, you may find another ... better looking, newer, or more comfortable location than a choice based upon an ad or chain's reservation service. Also, you may find a much better local rate by looking around, or through a regional "travelers discount guide", such as you may find in a lot of restaurants or fuel stops closer to your intended destination for the day. As a traveling sales rep, I find those deals to generally be better priced than I can get as a rep or gov't contractor rate or any other combination of discounts (AAA, AOPA, etc).
Also, don't be afraid to check out the walk-up rates in some of the "nicer" motels that are slightly off the highway. For example, traveling through some interstate routes, you may find a cluster of motels catering to that trade just off the interstate. Very convenient, but a "town" center may be just a few miles off the interstate and have much better rates available for your trouble to have driven out of your way a few miles. Again, this is a reason to target stopping by 4 PM each day ... time to check out the area you're stopping at. I've stayed in very nice Hilton's in town for a dollar or two more than some flea-bag motel that was conveniently off the highway, just by driving around a little bit and asking for their best deal. I had close access to better food, too, in the town's commercial district.
You'll find that much of what passes for restaurants along the highway is franchise "fast food" restaurants ... and that's simply not agreeable for me. I'd rather enjoy a decent meal by checking out the local restaurant scene ... and having something nice than just another burger. Since I enjoy a lot of ethnic cuisines, I'm always on the lookout for those local restaurants and food deals. Yes, sometimes I've stopped at some less-than-good places, but I've also found some treasures along the way in my travels. For comparable, or just a couple of dollars more than the franchises, I've found some really good places. Again, this helps make the trip an interesting adventure instead of simply grinding out miles day after day.
You should also pack some food supplies for traveling. Instead of empty calorie snack foods, pack a small cooler with veggies and healthier stuff. Depending upon the length of my travels, I'll pack carrot and celery sticks, cheeses and hard sausages, and maybe some rolls or bread with mustard and mayo. Add in a roll of paper towels and a few paper plates, and some beverages (although I usually just carry water in gallon jugs), and you're ready to have a meal at an impromptu stop roadside, or a lighter meal at a fuel stop instead of the heavy-duty cafe or fast food place there.
Plan on going no much more than 250 miles between fuel stops, even if your car has a longer range between fill ups. At freeway speeds, that's approx 4 hours of driving. Long enough to justify a stop to stretch and get away from the driving chores for a mental and physical break. You can keep this interesting, too, by stopping even more frequently if a "deal" on fuel presents itself and you're down to a half tank or so of fuel.
For me, tunes also help pass the road time. Stock up on CD's or other music source before hitting the road. Bring lots more than you'll actually have time to listen to, so you have a good selection. Keep in mind that once you get past the cities of Eastern USA, you may find that your radio only receives "country" music stations for many miles ... wonderful if you like that type of music, but not so much fun if you don't.
Of course, also pack an "emergency" road kit. Extra clothes, jumper cables, a snow/ice brush, flashlight, and other small items you might need to anticpate a roadside trip problem. Servicing your car and being sure it's in tip-top shape before starting out on the trip is also a very good thing to do. Pay attention to tires, oil changes, wiper blades, belts/hoses ... before you leave on the trip.
Don't forget to check the weather reports enroute and each night for the next day's travel. Plan your route and driving in accordance with what you have to deal with. If there's bad weather forecast, consider staying put for the time it takes for the front to pass and adverse conditions to clear. I find each state's DOT reports on line each evening, and know the area phone number to call for the update report as I travel. Your mobile phone is a valuable resource if there's adverse weather in the forecast.
I drove From Virginia Beach to San Antonio recently....
I have to say, they biggest time-killer on a trip is Satellite Radio. I have sirius in my car, and I listened to Howard Stern literally 90% of the time, and time FLEW by.
I have to second the satellite radio option. Definitely a great time killer, as I have sirius also. I have driven almost 15,000 miles this year alone around the west coast as far east as Colorado. I started staying in hotels, but it got spendy, figuring 60-100 dollars for what would turn out to be about 12 hours. (getting in at sundown, and leaving at sunrise) The last 4-5 trips I have taken I have slept in the SUV at rest areas. Its true you don't get the best sleep, but it does refresh you quite a bit. As for cold, a good sleepingbag makes a world of difference. You can always spend a night in a hotel, and a night or two in the car. Kinda rotate it if expense becomes an issue. Sleeping in rest areas is not as bad as people make it sound. You park off to the side a little bit, under a light. people don't bother you, and most rest areas have cameras all around. You may not see them but they are there.
Personally, I find driving at night to be much easier, and less stressful than driving during the day. Mainly because of the truckers. Some of them drive like lunitics, and the nightime truckers seem to be more courteous.
Since it will be such a long time before you make this trip, try to create some relationships online to crash on a couch or something (try CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time ) it will also give you chance to explore other cities, and locales.
Good luck, and happy travels.
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As for driving at night I woudn't do it. It's much better if you take the time to rest and unwind and then get an early start in the morning. My cousin's daughter moved to Oregon last year from Texas and found it to be a LONG drive and stood over in a hotel. Yes, I would think there is a possibility of hitting some snow so make sure your car is in good working order, you don't want to get stuck.
Driving accross country alone
