Traveling across USA

Spose this is off topiic but i dont know where else to post this one so here goes.....I`m planning a road-trip across America for myslef and a couple of friends (a lifelong ambition). I should also explain I`m from the UK and although a road trip across the states might be your idea of hell, its somthing i have always wanted to do, so,Starting off in (Miami)Florida, then...Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, (Possibly Texas), Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and finishing in California (L.A.), If anyone has ever done anything similar bofore then some advise would be good, things to avoid or go see etc. Also If you live in any of these states I`d like to see as many car shows etc as possible, so if you have a car show or regular enthusiast gatherings near you then could you let me know where and when so i can plan my trip to include as many as possible. (if there are any street gatherings you know of, you might wanna send the info to my E-mail address instead of posting it on here)
Any other info you could help me with would be fantastic ie places of interest, things not to miss etc. I look forward to hearing from you guys Thanks in advance.
Also cheap places to get a rental car that i can pick up in Miami and leave in LA. I will post my route on here with proposed times and dates of travel on so if anyone would like to meet up and show a bunch of probably very lost people thier Town then that would be cool. Or even join in if you wish?

You listed Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas.......there is not a whole lot to see or do in these states IMO. I'd get out west as soon as youcould, then spend some time in the other states you listed: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada. The scenery out there is simply amazing. The Badlands in colorado, Tetons in Wyoming, Grand Canyon Arizona....the list goes on. As for you proposed route, I dont know how many car shows you will run into until you get into more Texas, Nevada, California. I could be wrong, but If I were you, I'd get west of Kansas ASAP (you'll soon find out that in Kansas all there is is Wheat.......and more wheat) and spend some time in the mountains and national parks.

Would i be better of starting from NY and coming down through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana. I`ve only ever been to the west coast, so no absolutely nothing about the rest of the country?

if you want car stuff, go to indiana and michigan

If you could; yes id start on the east coast, maybe like maryland or north carolina(?) It all depends what youre interested in I guess, but theres a lot of things on the east coast to see; a lot of US history things namely. But yes, from the east coast through pennsylvania area/ over the appalachians, it will be a MUCH nicer and prettier drive than through georgia/alabama. (maybe you would be able to make it up to Maine or Niagra Falls?)

and depending on the time of year you go; (Im assuming Summer?) It would be absolutly FANTASTIC to come here to Michigan for the Woodward Dream Cruise. If you havn't heard of it, its the largest one day automotive event in the world. It spreads over 16 miles, from Detroit to Pontiac, on a 8 lane blvd, and is on the 3rd weekend in august. Last year there were over 30,000 cars, and more than 1.5 million people. Its simply amazing. Check out the site here:

http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com


make sure you check out the Photo Gallery!!!

I agree, start with the Northeast (NY is great, I was born there) and stay as far North as possible (PA, Michigan, Indiana) and you gotta stop off in Chicago (my current residence). I drove from Chicago to LA once, and no matter if you go North or South, the midwest (kansas, nebraska, iowa, etc) will be TERRIBLY boring. Just a warning.

If you really like Mountain driving, you may want to consider going through the Rockies. If not, go south through Arizona and New Mexico. I made the mistake of going North through Idaho.. ugh. Best of luck, keep us up to date on your plans.

if you want car stuff, go to indiana and michigan

we have ALOT of shows here in wisconsin. we have 3 places that have weekly shows (solid gold mcdonalds, and 2 other restaurants.) plus theres always swap meets and races every week.

Agree.. I would start off on the E coast, NY area and work your way west. Two RT's that you can take. One is RT. 40. This is the lower half of US, which is mostly flat lands. SOme sites, but pretty much open.
The other is RT. 80 upper half of US, which will take you through the mountains. A lot to see, but the higher alttitude will push your car alittle harder and eat more gas. So, if $ really isnt a ??, then have fun. Either way it will cost around $500 to 7 both RT's. Give or take.

Driving straight thru, with maybe laying over 2 nights? The trip will take 3 or 4 days.

Have fun, good luck.

http://members.cardomain.com/12311974

Bowling Green, KY has the only corvette plant in the world.

I have three weeks to do the trip in and money isnt really a problem..yet, sounds like my plans may have to change though, Mountains sound good. I`d like to do at least a couple of days stop over in each state, but will have to see how the time goes, thought it would take longer than 3/4 days?

its possible in 3 days; but thats just straight driving, dawn till dusk, sleep, repeat

Route 66 from chicago to california seems pretty popular. After that, I'd go north up 101, check out the bay area, portland, and seattle.

Think I`ll take things a little slower than that. The woodward dream cruise looks good though, shame I`m gonna miss this years, my work contract dosnt finish till sept. RT 80 also looks very promising

Miami is a kick ass town tho, Orlando is hella fun as well ( used to live there ) I would start in miami then drive up to NY..its only a all day drive 9 about 20-23hrs ...then you can swing in richmond...DC ...baltimore and so forth on your way up to Ny, then hit it over to Michigan(used to live there ) and then down and west using St. Louis as your " gateway to the west " !! thats what i would do..spend the extra 2 days of the 20hr dr of stopping and going and check out the east bro.......Id go If i had a vile of lsd for the west...you should look into that..cause the desert is craaaazy

and i dontknow if your in the electronica ( rave ) movement at all but if you schedual it right Tiesto is playing a solo set in DC on June 25th followed by Starscape 9 in Baltimore on the 26th ...thats gonna be a crazy weekend

Tranzlogic- This also souds like a good idea, I`d like to see as much as possible of America, The weather might be a big factor, it will be october at the earlyest before i can start this adventure, not sure what the roads will be like then with Snow etc Obviously this will only be a factor in the northern states (I Think) So it might be next summer before i go? But please dont let that discourage anyone from posting replies cause all this info and ideas are very much appreciated....This might turn into a country wide tour not just a trip across the country.

Unless you plan on going to Alaska, you don't have to worry about driving in any snow.

not in october at least

OK...... thats good.

(tranzlogic's boss) i have driven across the u.s. twice first from portland or. to richmond va. comming down I84 to I80 all the way to richmond then going back i had to take I40 to I5, on the way here it was end of march and along I80 that runs across the mid section of the U.S. i still ran into the interstate being closed do to bad weather, on the way back it was the first part of november so i took I40 that runs across the lower us including the top part of texas, didn't have any problems with weather on that one. i would recomend that if you go through the south you stick to the interstate and not venture off to much, the are still towns where people drive in but they never come out. plus get a book from like travel lodge that will tell you where all the hotels are so you don't have to guess. the gran canyon is only like 40 miles of of I40 so it is worth seeing as well. it is alot of fun but make sure the person you are travleing with will make good company for the whole trip.

we have ALOT of shows here in wisconsin. we have 3 places that have weekly shows (solid gold mcdonalds, and 2 other restaurants.) plus theres always swap meets and races every week.


dude, your in Wisconsin too? where at?



anyways, there are lots of swap meets and races. We have the Elkhart Lake race track and there are some pretty cool races there

(translogics boss) Sounds like a good idea not venturing too far but the way things are turning out i might stick to the northern states Have already been to the Grand Canyon though it was amazing. Funny story there which I`ll tell another day. I visited a friend in LA about 4 years ago ended up staying for a few months so I have seen a bit of the west coast Mainly LA-obviously, San fransisco, Las Vegas-also amazing and a must for this trip. Grand Canyon and a few places in between. LA was great but never had time to visit any cruises there, I will be stayin in LA for a week or so after the trip so if anyone is near by and wants to show me the car scene there then cool.

3 days driving 14 to 19 hr drive shifts.

If your taking your time and $ wont be too much of a issue, then consider leaning more towards upper half of US. RT.80. A lot more to experience and see. RT. 80 will also allow you to interconnect into other highways for a wider scenary selection.

RT 40 gets pretty boring. One can only take so much of flat lands with nothing and more nothing. This RT will not be too fufilling until you reach the NM area, which from what I can gather, what your looking for, this RT will be a wasted trip.
http://members.cardomain.com/12311974

[QUOTE=FireBball972]dude, your in Wisconsin too? where at?


just south of milwaukee...you know where oak creek is?

You absolutely need to stop at Big Wong chinese restaurant off the main Interstate in Kansas. They also have the world's largest praire dog statue. Ah, Kansas...

Someone mentioned Route 66 earlier, make sure to stop off at the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet (near Chicago). So beautiful.

From San Francisco to Seattle would be aprox. 2 days with a good amount of driving.

How far is it across the US? Like how many miles about?

New york to LA is 2911 miles give or take a yard or two

Heh, this is something I wold be interested in trying one day.

Just another thing to add to "the list" I guess.

[QUOTE=FireBball972]dude, your in Wisconsin too? where at?


just south of milwaukee...you know where oak creek is?


definitely dude, i used to live in Wauwatosa

sweet

Alantic City, NJ to Las Veags NV 3267m

A guy says to his wife, "I'm in the mood for some 69."

She says, "It's that time of the month, but if you don't care, I don't care."

They go into the bedroom, and are 69'ing like mad dogs when the doorbell rings.

She says, "Answer the door."
He says, "But my face is a mess."
She says, "It's just the postman. Answer the door, and if he says anything, just tell him you were eating a jam sandwich."

He opens the door and says, "I'm sorry about my mouth, I was eating a jam sandwich."

The mailman says, "I wasn't looking at the jam on your mouth...I was looking at the peanut butter on your forehead."

Thanks to everyone for thier help so far but I`m still after any info on Car related shows, meetings, gatherings, I cant believe in the whole of the US of A there is only two car shows/meets. or is it a case of get of my lazzy ass and do the research myself? there are just some things you cant find out on the net!

Hey nialusa

If you go to this link (http://www.carshownews.com/) you can search by state on any car show being held.

i always wanted to do a cross country trip, but due to time, work and money I never really tried or was able to do it. Sure sounds cool that someone is actually doing it. Have fun.

hmmm Now you got me thinking..If money was no object or time for that matter, I would do a round trip. Start off in NYC (since I live there) go up to Boston, shoot across to Niagra Falls, down to Detroit, to Chicago, back down to Indianapolis (big car town) then west through Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, up to Seattle. Then down the west coast California. Then back east to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Dallas, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, Memphis, Washington DC and back to NY. :smokin:

Sheez, I just got tired writing that, imagine driving it. :lol:

here is a huge tip:

SKIP MIAMI!!! it is the worst city i have been to.