Why a road trip.
As I was turning 60, there was the usual talk of a special evening party.
Mostly for people who are not much enthusiastic about food. A good drink... perhaps OK ...may be.........
They will have to sacrifice an evening to make me happy. A few will have to travel to be here.
So I vetoed it. But the family wanted to make it a special event - anyways.
So my nuclear family came up with a different activity to mark the occasion. A cross continental road trip.This long road trip was essentially my son's idea. I found it appealing.
So we both spend a good amount of time to research the viability of the project. A lot of planning went into the effort. This blog is a journal on those efforts and its execution.
In any such journey safety and security is of prime concern. Ease of executing it is another consideration. Availability of medical facilities and police protection cannot be ignored when you travel as a family- in contrast to adventure tourism.
Though one can travel trans-continent in several countries, the US meets these two concerns quite admirably. Australia is another continent that fit the bill in all regards. We chose the US as we are familiar with life there. Plus we have good extended family support too.
Having said that it should be mentioned here that all road trips have certain pros and cons. Pros first.
You are in command.
You control your itinerary, departure time, arrival time, and stops along the way. You don't have to obey train time-tables or airline routes as you plan your trip.
You can change your plan.
If you don't like a particular place, you can just drive to a newer attraction, or you can stay longer at places you chose.
You can see the real life.
Taking a road trip allows you to get off the beaten path and see actual communities and natural wonders- not just the sides of a train track or inter-state highway. Riding through the countryside is a great way to relax and find out what is the life really like in a particular area. As we traveled through the extremely rural and sparsely populated farming heartlands of America, like the North & South Dakota, we gained a deeper insight into another side of US life- a world apart from the life the cities.
Experience local food.
You can stop at a restaurant, try new food, local beer or wine (after finishing the driving for the day) or if pressed for time swing through a drive-through KFC or MC Donald. Or eat a take out meal in the car.
Carry most of what you need.
You can pack anything that fits into the trunk (boot) of the car or even inside- like blankets, warm clothes, snacks, fruits or a cooler (ice box) for drinks pastries and ice creams. Ice is available free, outside of every gas station ( petrol pumps). You don't have to pay extra to bring the items you need like in an air plane. We carried 4 suit cases, cooler, fruit trays etc. that met most our needs and a lot of other stuff that the van became a small house for us.
You Can Save Money
Generally cars are the cheapest mode of transport in the US. If time is more important than money, then flying might be your best option. Taking the train might be a slightly more expensive but better choice for city-to-city travel ( say New York to Washington DC) as you can save airport time and security hazels. Here trains are mostly used for transporting good long distance. Passenger trains are few and only available linking major cities and its suburbs. Trains do not serve villages and far flung out regions. Buses are almost non existent except in cities. So for common man cars are the only and the cheapest option. So going on a road trip can be a less expensive way to travel, especially if you're traveling with two or more persons. Taking three people somewhere by car is less expensive than buying three round-trip airplane or train tickets.
Having said that traveling by car can be expensive in certain situations. For a lone travelers in particular, taking a road trip might not save money, especially when you factor in gas ( petrol is called gas- short for gasoline ) tolls, parking, meals and hotels along the way. Flight will be a better choice for long trips. More on this down the passage.
Irrespective of all what is stated here, road trip has some limitations.
Driving Takes Time.
Driving is one of the slowest ways to travel between two points, especially between far cities with good rail and airline service. If you are planning a city-to-city trip, you can save time by taking the train or flying to your destination.
But for us this was a special trip - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Northern states. The vastness was itself the attraction. Plus from St Louis onwards - an approximate center point of the country - we chose a historic theme for our journey to follow.
You have to do all the work.
From route planning to navigation to spending hours behind the wheel, it's all your duty. Since we had decided to avoid the inter-state highways ( fast-traffic four/six -lane highways that avoids villages and cities for speedy transport ) as much as possible and stick to two lane country roads through villages, we required more time to go from point A to point B. As we had decided to drive as far as possible during day-light we needed to plan our trip to reach a particular town, so that next days target location could also be efficiently completed.
Parking can be tedious.
In cities especially (city centers called 'down town', finding parking can be difficult. Heavy city parking rates are not fun to deal with, either. If you are careless and park beyond the time of the parking meter, cars may be ticketed ( police fine to be paid later) or towed away.
Bad weather can affect your trip.
Getting stranded in a snow-storm or flood is not a good way to enjoy any trip. And we had our share of uncertainties for snow in the Rocky Mountains - where the renowned Yellow Stone National Park is situated. Yellow Stone was a one of the most pertinent points of this journey and we had dedicated two days for the natural wonder. Missing it would have been certain to leave behind some broken hearts.
Even before we left India the Park's web site showed some roads were closed for the winter. As we began our trip we kept listening to Yellow Stone Radio's daily broadcast over internet and the news was disheartening. The park itself is as big as some US state. Several roads remained closed on account of snow and reopening in October was not a bright prospect.
Yet this story has a happy ending, and for that you will have to wait for the future posts, way down the series. But we did miss another land mark. Rainier Mountain outside Seattle was closed due to snow. But it was the last day and we were eager to go back after 16 days on the road.
Your car could cost you money or trouble
Fortunately we faced neither. But it may break down while on the road, far away from reliable mechanic support.
Hiring a car is common in America for travelers and business men. There is a huge industry built around it, at all airports and cities. Hire, is generally cheap, say $ 30 to 40 per day for a mid size car. But sometimes it can be expensive too.
Our original idea was to take our own car. Initially the trip was designed like a father and son adventure, with Jessy joining us at the beginning and then at the concluding part, from Yellow Stone onward. We thought the entire trip would put too much strain on her. As Mathew has a BMW Sports it was considered as the fit and ideal car for the trip. We decided to ship the car back through professional transporters and fly back from Seattle.
When Jessy expressed the desire to come the entire way we had to redesign our logistics. Now we needed much more space for her to relax and even sleep flat bed. Mathachan researched to rent a big and spacious Mini Van - Chevrolet Grand Caravan. The problem is that you are hiring it on the Atlantic coast and returning it on the Pacific - point to point distance of 3000 miles or 4800 km.
Mini vans themselves are a bit expensive to hire not to mention returning it across the nation. Other than the hire the company charge you for insurance, third party liability, adding a second driver & unlimited miles for trip. All inclusive, a 16 day hire could easily set you back by 3000+ bucks if you get a good deal. In contrast the return flight fare for 3 persons from Seattle to New York was only $ 500 with $ 25 extra for each luggage. So traveling by car isn't always the cheapest way to go.
So the road trip began on my 60th - October 07.
16 day later on Oct. 22, the car was returned to Seattle Tacoma Airport car rental return area -
after covering 5880 miles. 9400 km.
The 3 year old car was received with 31,000 miles on the odometer.
We returned it shy of 37,000 miles.
In a fortnight we drove 0ne sixth of its mileage.
It almost became part of the family. For two weeks it was a second home for us.
Each night, in different cities, we slept in 15 hotel rooms.
Though we began our journey in the state of Connecticut.
and traveled through the states of -
New York - New Jersey,
Pennsylvania - Ohio - Indiana- Illinois-
Missouri - Kansas - Nebraska -
South Dakota - North Dakota -
Montana - Wyoming -
Idaho- Oregon -
and ended the trip in Washington -
we considered our journey to have begun on the Verazzano Narrows Bridge New York where Hudson River meets Atlantic and deemed it ended on the Astoria Megler Bridge where the mighty Colombia river meets the Pacific.
Other than the new experiences gained, Jessy and I have another small reason for happiness.
Our son makes a living on the other side of the globe. Like all sensible parents we also understand that ultimately your children has to find their own space to live grow. and progress.
He is a good company and it's interesting to spend time with him. So when for 16 days I was with my family - sharing a close private space enjoying our time and thoughts, visiting known land marks - and discovering new places, what better way can there be to cherish a mile stone of 60 years.
What has 60 years taught me?
Once I used to think I had the ability do many things right.
And I achieved certain things that I focused on.
Now I realise, they were just blessings.
I also believe in Karma.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Journal of a Continental Road Trip. Part 2 ........ to be continued
As I was turning 60, there was the usual talk of a special evening party.
Mostly for people who are not much enthusiastic about food. A good drink... perhaps OK ...may be.........
They will have to sacrifice an evening to make me happy. A few will have to travel to be here.
So I vetoed it. But the family wanted to make it a special event - anyways.
So my nuclear family came up with a different activity to mark the occasion. A cross continental road trip.This long road trip was essentially my son's idea. I found it appealing.
So we both spend a good amount of time to research the viability of the project. A lot of planning went into the effort. This blog is a journal on those efforts and its execution.
In any such journey safety and security is of prime concern. Ease of executing it is another consideration. Availability of medical facilities and police protection cannot be ignored when you travel as a family- in contrast to adventure tourism.
Though one can travel trans-continent in several countries, the US meets these two concerns quite admirably. Australia is another continent that fit the bill in all regards. We chose the US as we are familiar with life there. Plus we have good extended family support too.
Having said that it should be mentioned here that all road trips have certain pros and cons. Pros first.
You are in command.
You control your itinerary, departure time, arrival time, and stops along the way. You don't have to obey train time-tables or airline routes as you plan your trip.
You can change your plan.
If you don't like a particular place, you can just drive to a newer attraction, or you can stay longer at places you chose.
You can see the real life.
Taking a road trip allows you to get off the beaten path and see actual communities and natural wonders- not just the sides of a train track or inter-state highway. Riding through the countryside is a great way to relax and find out what is the life really like in a particular area. As we traveled through the extremely rural and sparsely populated farming heartlands of America, like the North & South Dakota, we gained a deeper insight into another side of US life- a world apart from the life the cities.
Experience local food.
You can stop at a restaurant, try new food, local beer or wine (after finishing the driving for the day) or if pressed for time swing through a drive-through KFC or MC Donald. Or eat a take out meal in the car.
Carry most of what you need.
You can pack anything that fits into the trunk (boot) of the car or even inside- like blankets, warm clothes, snacks, fruits or a cooler (ice box) for drinks pastries and ice creams. Ice is available free, outside of every gas station ( petrol pumps). You don't have to pay extra to bring the items you need like in an air plane. We carried 4 suit cases, cooler, fruit trays etc. that met most our needs and a lot of other stuff that the van became a small house for us.
You Can Save Money
Generally cars are the cheapest mode of transport in the US. If time is more important than money, then flying might be your best option. Taking the train might be a slightly more expensive but better choice for city-to-city travel ( say New York to Washington DC) as you can save airport time and security hazels. Here trains are mostly used for transporting good long distance. Passenger trains are few and only available linking major cities and its suburbs. Trains do not serve villages and far flung out regions. Buses are almost non existent except in cities. So for common man cars are the only and the cheapest option. So going on a road trip can be a less expensive way to travel, especially if you're traveling with two or more persons. Taking three people somewhere by car is less expensive than buying three round-trip airplane or train tickets.
Having said that traveling by car can be expensive in certain situations. For a lone travelers in particular, taking a road trip might not save money, especially when you factor in gas ( petrol is called gas- short for gasoline ) tolls, parking, meals and hotels along the way. Flight will be a better choice for long trips. More on this down the passage.
Irrespective of all what is stated here, road trip has some limitations.
Driving Takes Time.
Driving is one of the slowest ways to travel between two points, especially between far cities with good rail and airline service. If you are planning a city-to-city trip, you can save time by taking the train or flying to your destination.
But for us this was a special trip - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the Northern states. The vastness was itself the attraction. Plus from St Louis onwards - an approximate center point of the country - we chose a historic theme for our journey to follow.
You have to do all the work.
From route planning to navigation to spending hours behind the wheel, it's all your duty. Since we had decided to avoid the inter-state highways ( fast-traffic four/six -lane highways that avoids villages and cities for speedy transport ) as much as possible and stick to two lane country roads through villages, we required more time to go from point A to point B. As we had decided to drive as far as possible during day-light we needed to plan our trip to reach a particular town, so that next days target location could also be efficiently completed.
Parking can be tedious.
In cities especially (city centers called 'down town', finding parking can be difficult. Heavy city parking rates are not fun to deal with, either. If you are careless and park beyond the time of the parking meter, cars may be ticketed ( police fine to be paid later) or towed away.
Bad weather can affect your trip.
Getting stranded in a snow-storm or flood is not a good way to enjoy any trip. And we had our share of uncertainties for snow in the Rocky Mountains - where the renowned Yellow Stone National Park is situated. Yellow Stone was a one of the most pertinent points of this journey and we had dedicated two days for the natural wonder. Missing it would have been certain to leave behind some broken hearts.
Even before we left India the Park's web site showed some roads were closed for the winter. As we began our trip we kept listening to Yellow Stone Radio's daily broadcast over internet and the news was disheartening. The park itself is as big as some US state. Several roads remained closed on account of snow and reopening in October was not a bright prospect.
Yet this story has a happy ending, and for that you will have to wait for the future posts, way down the series. But we did miss another land mark. Rainier Mountain outside Seattle was closed due to snow. But it was the last day and we were eager to go back after 16 days on the road.
Your car could cost you money or trouble
Fortunately we faced neither. But it may break down while on the road, far away from reliable mechanic support.
Hiring a car is common in America for travelers and business men. There is a huge industry built around it, at all airports and cities. Hire, is generally cheap, say $ 30 to 40 per day for a mid size car. But sometimes it can be expensive too.
Our original idea was to take our own car. Initially the trip was designed like a father and son adventure, with Jessy joining us at the beginning and then at the concluding part, from Yellow Stone onward. We thought the entire trip would put too much strain on her. As Mathew has a BMW Sports it was considered as the fit and ideal car for the trip. We decided to ship the car back through professional transporters and fly back from Seattle.
When Jessy expressed the desire to come the entire way we had to redesign our logistics. Now we needed much more space for her to relax and even sleep flat bed. Mathachan researched to rent a big and spacious Mini Van - Chevrolet Grand Caravan. The problem is that you are hiring it on the Atlantic coast and returning it on the Pacific - point to point distance of 3000 miles or 4800 km.
Mini vans themselves are a bit expensive to hire not to mention returning it across the nation. Other than the hire the company charge you for insurance, third party liability, adding a second driver & unlimited miles for trip. All inclusive, a 16 day hire could easily set you back by 3000+ bucks if you get a good deal. In contrast the return flight fare for 3 persons from Seattle to New York was only $ 500 with $ 25 extra for each luggage. So traveling by car isn't always the cheapest way to go.
So the road trip began on my 60th - October 07.
16 day later on Oct. 22, the car was returned to Seattle Tacoma Airport car rental return area -
after covering 5880 miles. 9400 km.
The 3 year old car was received with 31,000 miles on the odometer.
We returned it shy of 37,000 miles.
In a fortnight we drove 0ne sixth of its mileage.
It almost became part of the family. For two weeks it was a second home for us.
Each night, in different cities, we slept in 15 hotel rooms.
Though we began our journey in the state of Connecticut.
and traveled through the states of -
New York - New Jersey,
Pennsylvania - Ohio - Indiana- Illinois-
Missouri - Kansas - Nebraska -
South Dakota - North Dakota -
Montana - Wyoming -
Idaho- Oregon -
and ended the trip in Washington -
we considered our journey to have begun on the Verazzano Narrows Bridge New York where Hudson River meets Atlantic and deemed it ended on the Astoria Megler Bridge where the mighty Colombia river meets the Pacific.
Other than the new experiences gained, Jessy and I have another small reason for happiness.
Our son makes a living on the other side of the globe. Like all sensible parents we also understand that ultimately your children has to find their own space to live grow. and progress.
He is a good company and it's interesting to spend time with him. So when for 16 days I was with my family - sharing a close private space enjoying our time and thoughts, visiting known land marks - and discovering new places, what better way can there be to cherish a mile stone of 60 years.
What has 60 years taught me?
Once I used to think I had the ability do many things right.
And I achieved certain things that I focused on.
Now I realise, they were just blessings.
I also believe in Karma.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Journal of a Continental Road Trip. Part 2 ........ to be continued
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