I guess I misunderstood, I thought the OP was talking about travel to explore relocation - not travel for travel's sake. Now I can't tell, two different questions in my mind...
HI, I am the OP. Thanks for allthe feedback! I was talking about trips to figure out where we want to relocate, not traveling in general. We have talked about just going on a trip "for fun" and we decided we would prefer to go somewhere that we might want to live. (Though I really did push Australia but DH does not want to get sidetracked with that for now.) That being said, we have gone on only 2 trips in the past 2.4 years that we have been FIRE. One for three weeks and one for 2 days (it sometimes can be really easy to determine you DON"T want to live somewhere.)However, we do love road trips. We like the travelling more than getting anywhere. We do not think about how many hours it takes to get somewhere. We think how many day's journey. We limit our day's journey to maximum of about 400 miles. This leaves time for sight seeing when we are settled for the night. We avoid big cities and interstate highways and tourist traps. We eat in local, non-chain restaurants. We look for motels with exterior entrances where you can park in front of your room. These are usually found in the small towns on the older US highways.
Back in the day we made these roadtrips with no advance lodging reservations. Now, that we're retired I do make advance reservations because I have the time and even the most obscure Motel-By-The-Road offers online reservations. Also, my vision is not as good at night as it used to be and I've discovered that I have no business trying to find a motel in a strange place at night after a full day's drive. And, of course, you can almost always save money by making advance reservation.
We travel to cool places in the summer and warm places in the winter. We rarely stay anywhere longer than a couple of days. We used to have a campiing trailer and we have thought about an RV, but we just can't prove it in.
We found that many RV "campgrounds" are more like overpriced parking lots. I really don't miss smelling my neighbor's cooking or hearing their conversations and arguments.
For our road trips we rent an unlimited free mileage rental car. We usually rent from Hertz Local Edition. We get an AAA discount plus there are always coupon deals for weekly or monthly rentals. Also, Hertz allows AAA members to share driving. Both DW and I can drive the rental car at no extra charge.
Also, when I'm driving a rental car with free unlimited miles I feel obligated to put as many miles on it as I can. That's what you are supposed to do on a road trip. Driving my personal car I tend to worry about the miles and scheduled maintenance.
We found that many RV "campgrounds" are more like overpriced parking lots. I really don't miss smelling my neighbor's cooking or hearing their conversations and arguments.
Good description! We used to camp alot when we were white water kaying and we called those places "RV slums". We try to stay at state and nat'l parks.
Very good thing to know!And no matter what park we choose, I know who's been sleeping in my bed.
Anyway, how do the rest of you get motivated to travel?
OP:
When we travel we start out with a direction and tentative objective in mind then play it totally by ear. We don't make reservations more than one or two days in advance. We change directions based on suggestions from other campers, folks we meet at restaurants, the weather and sometimes random signs pointing to the left. We ended up in western Colorado once based on the advise of folks we met at the Oshkosh fly-in.
This country is huge and most of us never take but a little bite of it. If you like to camp go for it. It's not that expensive and it's an adventure not a vacation. And in the end you might find your retirement mecca. If not you've at least had an adventure.
When we travel we start out with a direction and tentative objective in mind then play it totally by ear. We don't make reservations more than one or two days in advance. We change directions based on suggestions from other campers, folks we meet at restaurants, the weather and sometimes random signs pointing to the left. We ended up in western Colorado once based on the advise of folks we met at the Oshkosh fly-in.
We found that many RV "campgrounds" are more like overpriced parking lots.
We do this, too, but the tradeoff is the anxiety of finding a campsite. In '09 we ended up traveling to Arches National Park on a Friday. We thought we were early enough to get one of the first-come sites, but we found that they are all taken by 7:15 AM.
Thanks Lisa, it looks like it may be Lassen National Park to Whiskey Flats to Beatty to Hilltop.
AllStays.com looks good.
This place is one we will avoid:We have been in quite a variety of RV parks over the last four years - some exquisitely nice, and some quite the opposite. Well, Joy Land RV Park in Tonopah dropped the bottom end of that range somewhat lower!I'm also considering what we'll do if we arrive at a a desert campground at 1 PM, with the temperature at 100 degrees, and nothing but this in all directions:
First off, it is set out of town on a side road and the whole park consists of three separate parcels scattered along the road. The other properties along the road have, for the most part, the worst collection of junk and trash that I have ever seen. Not just one property, but one after the other!
Earth to Al-MOTEL?Thanks Lisa, it looks like it may be Lassen National Park to Whiskey Flats to Beatty to Hilltop.
AllStays.com looks good.
This place is one we will avoid:
We have been in quite a variety of RV parks over the last four years - some exquisitely nice, and some quite the opposite. Well, Joy Land RV Park in Tonopah dropped the bottom end of that range somewhat lower!I'm also considering what we'll do if we arrive at a a desert campground at 1 PM, with the temperature at 100 degrees, and nothing but this in all directions:
First off, it is set out of town on a side road and the whole park consists of three separate parcels scattered along the road. The other properties along the road have, for the most part, the worst collection of junk and trash that I have ever seen. Not just one property, but one after the other!
Wow Al, sorry for the snark. There's no way I would go there with no reservations! 108 F is freaking dangerous with no ac not to mention no shade. Good luck
Earth to Al-MOTEL?