Long distance driving holiday

[Alan]

Tomorrow we set off driving from Houston on a 5 or 6 month vacation.

We have various cabins, condos and apartments booked, with enough time between where we will stop at hotels as needed.

First major stop is Santa Monica to visit our daughter.

 

[REWahoo]

Happy trails, Alan.

 

[samclem]

Sounds like a fun time. Be careful out there.

 

[REWahoo]

Alan, this might come in handy:

The U.S. Interstate Highways, Ranked | MapQuest

The 66 US Interstate Highways - 47,000+ miles of them - ranked from last to first.

ETA: I-10 (ranked #12) has this claim to fame, "The original In-N-Out Burger had to be torn down to make way for it."

 

[Katiek]

Sounds wonderful, safe travels and have fun!

 

[Evie]

You might want to pick up a copy of "Road Food"... I always enjoy those types of places listed in there!

 

[Dreamer]

Have a great time! I would not even know where to start packing for that long of a trip. How many states are you covering? How long are you staying at the various places? Did your personal travel agent (wife) plan this trip?

 

[Rickt]

Have fun....do share your experiences. Cheers

 

[Moemg]

Have a great time !

 

[Helen]

Safe travels, Alan and Mrs. Alan!!!

 

[Sarah in SC]

It is going to be a blast!!!
I hope you make it to our neck of the woods on this or a future trip.
Safe travels!

 

[Alan]

Thanks everyone.

My wife planned it all and booked all the places, as follows;

Santa Monica - visit daughter
a few days visiting places in the area...
.
.
Santa Clara - visit DW's nephew and his wife
.
.
Brookings Oregon - 1 week stay
.
.
.
Columbia River Gorge - 1 week stay
.
.
.
Vancouver to pick up a cruise ship and meet DD and her SO
Anchorage
Train trip and several days stay in Denali NP
Anchorage for a few days
.
fly back to Vancouver and collect car from airport parking
.
.
Vancouver Island, Sidney, stay 2 weeks
.
Vancouver, stay 2 weeks
.
Whistler, stay 2 weeks
.
Canmore, stay 1 month (friends from Winniepeg come to stay a week, son from Houston comes to stay 2 weeks)
.
.
Glacier NP - stay a week?
.
.
Yellowstone - stay a week? (DD and SO come to visit for a week)
.
from this point we have no bookings, meander back through Utah and hit a couple of our favorite NP's such as Bryce and Zion, then who knows what route back to Houston.

 

[Ronstar]

That sounds like a perfect vacation! Enjoy!

 

[audreyh1]

The best part is your wife planned it!

I wish my husband would act the travel agent sometimes but it seems to fall on my shoulders. I did make him pick the hotel in Strasbourg and he came up with a great one, but it takes him way longer to figure this stuff than I.

Once upon a time he arranged our entire Yellowstone vacation, and it was fantastic. But that 1989 (or so) trip was the last he ever planned!

 

[Bamaman]

I'm jealous that you can get away for so long.

We have a single daughter with 2 kids that keep us from leaving longer than 2 weeks at at a time.

It simply is a trip of a lifetime for most people. The great thing about retirement is that you can go and do another comparable trip next year--if the stock market holds up.

 

[ivinsfan]

On your way thru Utah stay for awhile in St George, Utah, a great town with loads of VRBO listings and check out Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins...

have you done Cedar Breaks or the Brian Head area in Utah, it's great in the summertime, not as hot or crowded as the major parks.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Be sure to drive the Green River Gorge when you pass down into Utah from the parks. We did that and it was awesome! Bit of a grade, but if the bus could make it, I'm sure you can, too.

 

[Alan]

The best part is your wife planned it!

I wish my husband would act the travel agent sometimes but it seems to fall on my shoulders. I did make him pick the hotel in Strasbourg and he came up with a great one, but it takes him way longer to figure this stuff than I.

Once upon a time he arranged our entire Yellowstone vacation, and it was fantastic. But that 1989 (or so) trip was the last he ever planned!

She is brilliant, and loves dong all the research into areas and housing etc. We then decide together on the places and itinerary and I take care of the scheduled payments, booking flights, insurance etc. All in all a team effort, but she certainly does all the most important planning and research, and is definitely the heavy lifter of the team.

 

[audreyh1]

She is brilliant, and loves dong all the research into areas and housing etc. We then decide together on the places and itinerary and I take care of the scheduled payments, booking flights, insurance etc. All in all a team effort, but she certainly does all the most important planning and research, and is definitely the heavy lifter of the team.

I like your team approach. I pretty much do it all. DH is too busy playing. I enjoy some of the research, but getting down to the nitty gritty logistics gets pretty tedious.

I'm the most motivated about the Europe trips is another reason. DH likes chasing wildlife at home. He enjoys the trips a lot. But not enough, I guess, to do any of the planning!

I pass things by him and he usually says - sounds great!

Now when we start visiting Central America, I wonder if he'll pull his weight. That's his territory - being able to chase butterflies, etc. but he hasn't been researching the possible visits! I have a feeling it will be me again too.

 

[6miths]

Wow! Great itinerary! Have a great experience.

 

[donheff]

DW and I want to do a long car trip like that with the bikes on board. We will probably do it after our aging Golden Retrievers die and before we get puppies.

 

[aaronc879]

Sounds like fun. I'm planning to do a significant road trip next year. Probably 1 1/2-2 months. I won't book anything ahead of time so I can go wherever I want with no time constraints. What do you do with your mail for such a long time?

 

[MichaelB]

Have a safe and enjoyable trip.

 

[urn2bfree]

Fritto Misto is a great place to eat in Santa Monica.


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[Dreamer]

That sounds like the perfect trip. Seeing new places, visiting with family and friends. I love the team effort for the traveling plans. Have a fantastic time and do keep us updated, when you have the time.