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Anyone done a cross-country drive, roughing it?
06-24-2009, 07:07 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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Anyone done a cross-country drive, roughing it?
I absolutely foam at the mouth thinking of getting on a ElderBus and riding with 60 fossils like myself. I want to drive cross country in a van (basic van not RV) and put an Aerobed, some blankets and pillows and a cooler with stuff to consume. Just go. No jocular host or convivial seatmate. I want to eat at White's in Salem, OR, not Denney's on I-90, Denney's on I-80, Denney's on I-74, get the picture.
Has anyone ever done anything similar and are there enough rest stops with showers, facilities, etc to allow for hygienic basics? Or is it destined to be a Day's Inn fest.
I really long for the freedom and rhythm of the highway as it rolls on by, city lights and rolling thru the backwoods.
Am I dreaming of somthing impossible?
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06-24-2009, 07:17 PM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Brooklyn NY
Posts: 90
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My friend tells me that Wal-mart has places in their parking lots for RV's to stay over why not see if thats true. You can sleep at all the Wal Marts across the country.
__________________
Watching your pennies now will allow you to count them later :)
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06-24-2009, 07:21 PM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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Thanks, that is the type of thing I am thinking. Go in get a 6-pack, and some chow, take along a video player, and just let the Wal-Mart provide my motel parking spot.
Appreciate and will try to get some info.
 Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinnyfrombrooklyn
My friend tells me that Wal-mart has places in their parking lots for RV's to stay over why not see if thats true. You can sleep at all the Wal Marts across the country.
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06-24-2009, 07:37 PM
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#5
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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Martha, thanks for those links, I suspect that that is gonna determine my route. Even I can't go without my daily shower. And others appreciate my fastidiousness, I'm sure. But I want to die with an West-East passage and an East-West passage under my belt and I'll be darned if it's gonna be posh.
If need be, I'll do the Motel 6, Tom Bodette thing, but I want a rough ride, no sissy stuff. Real Americana cross country. Not Tu Pac/Eminem do La to NY via Escalade with posse.
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06-24-2009, 07:37 PM
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#6
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,065
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DH tells me of a time when he and his friend lived out of a car for a while (wow, a loooooong time ago!).
They got free showers by going to gyms and pretending to want a tour/getting a free day pass, etc.
Leave it to DH. What a creative man he is!
__________________
simple girl
less stuff, more time
(55, married; Mr. Simple Girl, 59. FIRED 12/31/19!)
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06-24-2009, 07:58 PM
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#7
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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I suppose you could do truck stops, but then you are just traveling the 51st state.
__________________
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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06-24-2009, 08:06 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Independence
Posts: 7,298
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PX4sc40sw
..
I want to eat at White's in Salem, OR,...
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Better not have breakfast there or you'll never get on the road - eat, founder, take a nap. Get up and look at half your meal patiently waiting for you.
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06-24-2009, 08:07 PM
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#9
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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This trip seems like a recreation of a friends trip in 1970-71, where he bought an old van, left with a girl from Vidalia, GA and went from Macon, GA to Medford, OR and took 4 months to get there.
He is a very senior, tenured professor and he sometimes comments that he wasted his life except for those 4 months. Somewhat overstating I'm sure but.......
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06-24-2009, 08:08 PM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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I'm determined to have that "mess" that you once talked so fondly of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by calmloki
Better not have breakfast there or you'll never get on the road - eat, founder, take a nap. Get up and look at half your meal patiently waiting for you.
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06-24-2009, 08:16 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Boise
Posts: 7,882
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Another place that showers exist at a nominal fee would be public swimming pools.
2Cor521
__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
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06-24-2009, 08:18 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Pittsburgh, PA suburbs
Posts: 1,796
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Showers at the gym
Quote:
Originally Posted by simple girl
DH tells me of a time when he and his friend lived out of a car for a while (wow, a loooooong time ago!).
They got free showers by going to gyms and pretending to want a tour/getting a free day pass, etc.
Leave it to DH. What a creative man he is!
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Funny, but I was going to suggest that if you have a gym membership with reciprocal privileges in various places, you might be able to shower there...and stretch your legs on some of the machines to boot. Have some of the local gym rats recommend dining possibilities and get sightseeing tips.
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06-24-2009, 08:31 PM
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#13
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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The gym membership is interesting. But would I have to get in workouts and work out. Or, maybe I just say, ooops, I feel my back is too tight. I'll just grab a warm shower.
See ya.
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06-24-2009, 08:53 PM
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#14
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
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It gets hot out, or cold. And nature calls at inconvenient times. And the shower thing gets annoying. And truck stops are not always the safest place. And sometimes you just gotta stand up but it's raining out. And a hundred other things not to underestimate.
I can understand your attraction for the open road and the Kerouac lifestyle, but you might look for used Class B motorhomes. For the money you will actually be able to meet your necessities of life with a little style to boot. And many are fairly small (medium van size). There's Roadtrek, PleasureWay, Great West, and many others. They might be cheap nowadays. You can even get a Sprinter chassis with a small diesel engine.
Go for it, whichever way you decide, and keep us posted.
__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.
As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
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06-24-2009, 09:05 PM
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#15
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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Yes, what is fun and adventure at 18 isn't necessarily so fun after 50. How many times do you have to get up and pee at night? 
__________________
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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06-24-2009, 09:58 PM
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#16
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 121
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I like my slide in truck camper and my Silverado. Staying overnight in a non-campground environment is called "boondocking" and you'd be surprised just how many places you can stay for free.
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06-25-2009, 12:51 AM
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#17
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 899
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SecondCor521
Another place that showers exist at a nominal fee would be public swimming pools.
2Cor521
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I suggest looking into a YMCA membership. I think that you can use Y's across the country for free or for a nominal cost.
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06-25-2009, 12:52 AM
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#18
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 899
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Dang, you just had to go and ruin it, didn't you
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06-25-2009, 06:36 AM
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#19
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 161
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Actually, that was part of the attraction. Not the peeing on the side of Wal-Mart at 2AM part, but the idea that this ole 60 year old can get back some of the lost youth. You know, wearing a bandanna over my face and hurling Molotov cocktails at the Berkeley police. The good ole days.
Sheesh, the speeling checker wanted (coercement) me to say "wearing a banana over my face..".
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06-25-2009, 07:27 AM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Jalisco, Mexico
Posts: 1,747
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PX4sc40sw
Actually, that was part of the attraction. Not the peeing on the side of Wal-Mart at 2AM part, but the idea that this ole 60 year old can get back some of the lost youth. You know, wearing a bandanna over my face and hurling Molotov cocktails at the Berkeley police. The good ole days.
Sheesh, the speeling checker wanted (coercement) me to say "wearing a banana over my face..".
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bwa-ha-ha-haaaaa..........you are hilarious!
This site has a lot of tips for staying clean on the road, from the perspective of people living full-time in vans:
How To Stay Clean
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