Travel Time! (opposed to time travel, as in, it's time to travel big this year!)
I have a week's worth of vacation and i'm in the brainstorming stage of choosing where i want to go. I'd love to go to another country! Something easy to transition to, like Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, or maybe something even easier & closer like the Virign Islands, Alaska, or Hawaii. The other "fringe" countries i'm considering are Italy, Switzerland, perhaps Germany just to "re-live" some of my grandpa's travels. I think Central & South America would be affordable, but most dangerous due to language barrier, drug lords and cartels, etc.
But since this is likely a solo trip, i might take an inexpensive train ride to cool places across America. No driving (no traffic or annoying pit-stops, no having to settle for fast food every day) -- more sightseeing and i'd be able to have conversations with other passengers! No struggling to find cheap places to sleep - the cabin comes with a fold-out bed. Comparatively, no worries! I would certainly have to do more research, but apparently you can take such a trip in about a weeks time for under $300! See here: http://dereklow.co/across-the-usa-by-train-for-just-213/
OR just roadtrip to see friends along the way; the hard part about this where to draw the line, cuz i wouldn't know when to end haha! As i was scrolling down my facebook newsfeed, a friend posted a map of the states they've been to and it got me thinking about the places i've been, and HAVEN'T been to. So perhaps i'd like to put more notches on my belt, although this seems less fulfilling than hitting a specific location, like many of the National Parks i've been wanting to go to. This, however, requires more preparation (exercise for mountain climbing, buying specific camping meals, and research on which trails to take. Great reward, of course, but since i only earn 5 vacation days a year, then is it a waste? I could kill many "birds with 1 stone" by hitting several states, making key stops at cities & landscape views, but again, is that worth it?)
Just entertaining the thought here:
I could potentially go down to New Orleans, then head West through Houston and stop at San Antonio to see the beautiful riverbridge stuff. Cross the entire state of Texas to El Paso, and head North through Truth or Consequences (what's that all about, New Mexico?) on my way to Albuquerque & Santa Fe, and a few miles East on I-25 is Glorieta where Casey and his campground and mountains are. From there i would take I-40 to Flagstaff and likely spend the day at the Grand Canyon! Back on the road, i could drive through Las Vegas either now, or potentially on the drive back. Or not at all, but meh, why not? But really, i think it may be cool to head to Riverside and L.A. But from there, do i check out San Diego? Do i drive up through Cali at all or head home? And if i stay in Cali, do i drive up the 5, or the 101? Or do i head straight for Bishop ("hometown" of the Watkins) in the middle of the Sierra Nevada's! OMG, there's Yosemite National Park right up the road! I need to start Google-ing this cuz i have no idea of the time frame this would take. Yeah, i think it's safe to say the Bishop/Yosemite trip is most likely and i would leave the 5 and the 101 for another day...i'd REALLY like to do that trip for another day with a significant other, perhaps a honeymoon.
Anyway, from there it likely looks like easier to head North to Lake Tahoe, as opposed to crossing the mountain range, unless i'd have to. In which case i could check out Sacramento. From Lake Tahoe, there's Carson City and Reno haha. If i had to travel the 80, I'd get to pass through Elko, which takes me back to the Watkins family and Kaeli's dog! Pretty cool :-). Then there's Salt Lake City and i'd likely pass through Southern Wyoming to Cheyenne. Now the cool thing about this portion of the trip is i'd be able to easily head South through Fort Collins into Boulder, Denver, and Aurora. I could even hit Colorado Springs and hit Highway 24 back to I-70 without losing much ground. That would take me through the center of Kansas through Topeka and into Kansas City! 70 takes me to St. Louis. Kinda a wild thought, never really considered i'd be passing by the infamous Ferguson...I'd likely be looking for the quickest route back to 24 and Paducah, which might be kinda cool in a grungey kind of way. Of course, 24 takes me to Clarksville and Nashville, then less than a hour from home! An impossible trip to make in less than a week, but even 7-9 days might be doable...but that's a looot of driving. Doubt i would want to see half of that stuff on the way back home.
How am i showering again? What's the back-up plan if the car needs worked on? Do i even have a spare? Yep, need me a plan B.
In a perfect world, Idea 1:
Portland, TN through Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile AL to New Orleans, LA.
New Orleans to Baton Rouge to Houston and quickly to Austin for some famed BBQ! Onto San Antonio and the riverwalk! Up the very long drive through the rest of Texas to El Paso, right on the Mexican border! On up through New Mexico by way of Truth or Consequences (what's up with that NM?) on through Albequerque and Santa Fe, into Glorieta and Casey's camp. At this point, i'm up to 2,128 miles and 31 hours
From Glorieta to Flagstaff AZ and the Grand Canyon! From there, it's past the Mojave Desert into Barstow CA (right OUTSIDE of Hinkley, so crazy!), down through San Bernardino (another crazy news story) into Riverside, hometown of Impending Doom, among other things! Then there's L.A. and Pasadena, home of the Rose Bowl! (Pacific Ocean and beaches, Santa Monica and Long Beach perhaps? Angeles National Forest?)
Onto Bishop CA with Death Valley to the East and Sequoia National Forest to the West! On up to Yosemite National Park.
From there, Lake Tahoe, Carson City and Reno NV for a total of 1,512 miles and 24 hours
On across Nevada passing through Elko to Salt Lake City UT. Easy passage through Southern Wyoming to Cheyenne, down into Colorado by way of Ft Collins and into Denver. Just drove by Boulder, and there's Aurora (theater shooting).
Through the center of Kansas into Topeka and then Kansas City! Decent little drive through Columbia to St. Louis MO (so close to Ferguson, kind of a race war going on).
Squiggle on down to part of the Mississippi River into Paducah KY and then easily into Clarksville, Nashville, and obviously less than an hour from home! Subtotal: 2,263 miles and 33 hours
Grand Total: 5,903 miles (6,000 easily rounded up) and 88 hours (easily 90 hrs rounded up). Might as well say that's 4 days travel time...whew! That's $550 in gas alone! I would easily spend 4-5 days at certain destinations, so we're saying 9 days total! Tired just thinking about it...
But since this is likely a solo trip, i might take an inexpensive train ride to cool places across America. No driving (no traffic or annoying pit-stops, no having to settle for fast food every day) -- more sightseeing and i'd be able to have conversations with other passengers! No struggling to find cheap places to sleep - the cabin comes with a fold-out bed. Comparatively, no worries! I would certainly have to do more research, but apparently you can take such a trip in about a weeks time for under $300! See here: http://dereklow.co/across-the-usa-by-train-for-just-213/
OR just roadtrip to see friends along the way; the hard part about this where to draw the line, cuz i wouldn't know when to end haha! As i was scrolling down my facebook newsfeed, a friend posted a map of the states they've been to and it got me thinking about the places i've been, and HAVEN'T been to. So perhaps i'd like to put more notches on my belt, although this seems less fulfilling than hitting a specific location, like many of the National Parks i've been wanting to go to. This, however, requires more preparation (exercise for mountain climbing, buying specific camping meals, and research on which trails to take. Great reward, of course, but since i only earn 5 vacation days a year, then is it a waste? I could kill many "birds with 1 stone" by hitting several states, making key stops at cities & landscape views, but again, is that worth it?)
Just entertaining the thought here:
I could potentially go down to New Orleans, then head West through Houston and stop at San Antonio to see the beautiful riverbridge stuff. Cross the entire state of Texas to El Paso, and head North through Truth or Consequences (what's that all about, New Mexico?) on my way to Albuquerque & Santa Fe, and a few miles East on I-25 is Glorieta where Casey and his campground and mountains are. From there i would take I-40 to Flagstaff and likely spend the day at the Grand Canyon! Back on the road, i could drive through Las Vegas either now, or potentially on the drive back. Or not at all, but meh, why not? But really, i think it may be cool to head to Riverside and L.A. But from there, do i check out San Diego? Do i drive up through Cali at all or head home? And if i stay in Cali, do i drive up the 5, or the 101? Or do i head straight for Bishop ("hometown" of the Watkins) in the middle of the Sierra Nevada's! OMG, there's Yosemite National Park right up the road! I need to start Google-ing this cuz i have no idea of the time frame this would take. Yeah, i think it's safe to say the Bishop/Yosemite trip is most likely and i would leave the 5 and the 101 for another day...i'd REALLY like to do that trip for another day with a significant other, perhaps a honeymoon.
Anyway, from there it likely looks like easier to head North to Lake Tahoe, as opposed to crossing the mountain range, unless i'd have to. In which case i could check out Sacramento. From Lake Tahoe, there's Carson City and Reno haha. If i had to travel the 80, I'd get to pass through Elko, which takes me back to the Watkins family and Kaeli's dog! Pretty cool :-). Then there's Salt Lake City and i'd likely pass through Southern Wyoming to Cheyenne. Now the cool thing about this portion of the trip is i'd be able to easily head South through Fort Collins into Boulder, Denver, and Aurora. I could even hit Colorado Springs and hit Highway 24 back to I-70 without losing much ground. That would take me through the center of Kansas through Topeka and into Kansas City! 70 takes me to St. Louis. Kinda a wild thought, never really considered i'd be passing by the infamous Ferguson...I'd likely be looking for the quickest route back to 24 and Paducah, which might be kinda cool in a grungey kind of way. Of course, 24 takes me to Clarksville and Nashville, then less than a hour from home! An impossible trip to make in less than a week, but even 7-9 days might be doable...but that's a looot of driving. Doubt i would want to see half of that stuff on the way back home.
How am i showering again? What's the back-up plan if the car needs worked on? Do i even have a spare? Yep, need me a plan B.
In a perfect world, Idea 1:
Portland, TN through Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile AL to New Orleans, LA.
New Orleans to Baton Rouge to Houston and quickly to Austin for some famed BBQ! Onto San Antonio and the riverwalk! Up the very long drive through the rest of Texas to El Paso, right on the Mexican border! On up through New Mexico by way of Truth or Consequences (what's up with that NM?) on through Albequerque and Santa Fe, into Glorieta and Casey's camp. At this point, i'm up to 2,128 miles and 31 hours
From Glorieta to Flagstaff AZ and the Grand Canyon! From there, it's past the Mojave Desert into Barstow CA (right OUTSIDE of Hinkley, so crazy!), down through San Bernardino (another crazy news story) into Riverside, hometown of Impending Doom, among other things! Then there's L.A. and Pasadena, home of the Rose Bowl! (Pacific Ocean and beaches, Santa Monica and Long Beach perhaps? Angeles National Forest?)
Onto Bishop CA with Death Valley to the East and Sequoia National Forest to the West! On up to Yosemite National Park.
From there, Lake Tahoe, Carson City and Reno NV for a total of 1,512 miles and 24 hours
On across Nevada passing through Elko to Salt Lake City UT. Easy passage through Southern Wyoming to Cheyenne, down into Colorado by way of Ft Collins and into Denver. Just drove by Boulder, and there's Aurora (theater shooting).
Through the center of Kansas into Topeka and then Kansas City! Decent little drive through Columbia to St. Louis MO (so close to Ferguson, kind of a race war going on).
Squiggle on down to part of the Mississippi River into Paducah KY and then easily into Clarksville, Nashville, and obviously less than an hour from home! Subtotal: 2,263 miles and 33 hours
Grand Total: 5,903 miles (6,000 easily rounded up) and 88 hours (easily 90 hrs rounded up). Might as well say that's 4 days travel time...whew! That's $550 in gas alone! I would easily spend 4-5 days at certain destinations, so we're saying 9 days total! Tired just thinking about it...