During September 2012, Ironman and I took a month-long road trip, looping the southern part of the USA, heading up the west coast and returning to South Carolina through the middle of the country. Seems like just yesterday, but that was already five years ago! And for these entire five years, I've been telling Ironman that we need to do an east coast road trip. I'm super excited to say that we are taking off this Friday and knocking that off the Bucket List on a two week trip! Make sure you follow us on Instagram for all the photos and updates!
However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. In case you live over here on the east coast and you would like to take a road trip to see the west coast, here is the route and stops I suggest you take:
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| Grand Canyon National Park |
Our Route:
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
Nevada
California
Oregon
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Colorado
Kansas
Missouri
Illinois
Kentucky
Tennessee
Georgia
Tennessee
Georgia
Tennessee
Georgia (we went back and forth between TN and GA while driving around Lookout Mountain...half of the mountain is in GA and half of it is in TN)
South Carolina
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| Colorado |
Our Overnight Stops:
Roswell, GA
Cypress, TX
El Paso, TX
Phoenix, AZ
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Palmdale, CA
Cupertino, CA
Redwood National Forest, CA
Rock Springs, WY
Idaho Falls, ID
Buena Vista, CO
Lenexa, KS
Lookout Mountain, GA
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| Redwoods National Park |
Our Sightseeing Spots:
Downtown Houston
The Woodlands
The Alamo
Montezuma Castle
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Grand Canyon National Park
Hoover Dam
Hollywood
Santa Monica Pier
Sailing the Pacific coastline
Pier 39
Ghiradelli Square
The most crooked street
Coit Tower
Apple
Golden Gate Bridge
Redwood National Forest
Crater Lake
Yellowstone National Park
Colorado ranches and mountains
St Louis Arch (saw it from the car)
Scenery of half of the country while driving...
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| Santa Monica Pier (made it to the Pacific Coast!) |
Random facts from our month on the road:
Hours of driving: 127 hours 45 minutes
Miles on the road: 7,801.9
Gallons of gas: 270.4
Gas stops: 30
Days on the road: 27
Nights on the road: 26
Nights in hotels: 5
Nights in campgrounds: 4
Nights in car: 1 (our tent site got flooded)
Nights with strangers: 4
Nights with family: 5
Nights with friends: 7
States we drove through: 21
Creepiest overnight stay: Rock Springs, WY
Worst traffic: Houston and San Francisco
Longest drive: Atlanta to Houston in one day
Hardest drive: 23 hours in two days
Most deserted: Oregon and Idaho
Laziest afternoon: watching John Wayne movies with our cowboy, Ben Temple, in Colorado
Hottest weather: Houston
Sweetest dog: Holly Hoffart's sister's dog in Kansas
Sunburns: a day by the pool with Holly
Least disappointing: Seeing the Mexican border and not crossing it
Best camping: Redwoods
Craziest host: Bob near San Francisco
Coldest weather: Grand Canyon
Never want to go back: Las Vegas
Traffic jams: 3
Grizzlies: 0
Best memory: sitting around the campfire in the Redwoods
Snacks: Twizzler Bites and Combos
Caffeine of choice: Starbucks
Injuries: none
Car problems: on the verge of overheating
Handsomest guy: Nick
Best nap: on the beach in Santa Monica with my cousin Carrie
Hours Emily drove: 0
Most surprising moment: Going to church in California and meeting someone from my hometown in Bolivia!
Audio books: 2 1/2
eBooks: 5
Books: 2
Magazines: 1
Sick days: Nick had allergies
Most expensive gas: Northern California $4.39 per gallon
Least expensive gas: South Carolina...never complain again
Hours of silence:...................
Favorite state: Colorado
We didn't get to see, but wanted to: Alcatraz and Yosemite (still on the Bucket List)
Lessons learned: Don't camp in the rain
Favorite place in the country: home!!!
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| Yellowstone National Park |
Most used sentences:
"I can't believe we're here!"
"I hope the car doesn't break down!"
How would we rate this trip on a scale of 1 to 10?: TEN
Now, if you were reading this and thinking, "I would love to do something like this, but could never afford it", I want you to check out this blog post on how to travel on a tight budget and this blog post on how to save money and travel! Sure, traveling takes lots of planning and sacrifice. But, it makes for some amazing memories and is always worth it.
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