Its still birthday week! Today's post is brought to you by the fabulous Faye! I've known Faye for 5 years? Wow! Anyways, she is one of the craziest, kindest, most AMAZING people I know. Truth be told, I have no idea where she lives these days, or if her activities there are within the limits of the law, but I still love her! You will too...
What I like about this post is that its not all about me! However, little known to Faye, I have been wanting to feature more posts on travel. I love to travel and wish I could do it more. Faye is always on her way someplace or back from somewhere else. I envy her! Thank you for reading my mind Faye! Also for the shower of compliments here, you are far too kind!
What do you people think of Faye? I think she is my new resident travel expert here at 7w/D...I love this post!!! - D
If
you read Seven with Devyn on a regular basis you will notice that Devyn
is great at capturing random moments of life. Like that conversation
you have with a friend about the best sandwich you’ve ever had, and
later you wonder why you’re even friends with a person who puts corn
syrup on their peanut butter sandwich. No matter what the topic, the
blog shows her passion for starting a conversation. She ignites
responses you want to talk about, she makes 7 points that make you want
to add your own 3...4...5, and she rocks at it all!
If there is
one thing I share with Devyn, it’s my ability to be random. I am very
much about living in the moment. Two weeks ago I took a spontaneous
road trip, in 48 hours I drove 16, slept 17, ate for 4, surfed the web
and read city brochures for 2 and then ended up driving around in the
rain for 9. Most people would say that it wasn’t worth it, especially
with the rain…but I say it was time well spent. Travel is my passion; I
have driven cross country 8 times, 12 times from North to South, and
even more flights around the world.
Road tripping is an art
form. First you plan a destination, a route to get there, the people to
invite, the budget to spend…and then…while on the road you have the
freedom to change it all! Magic! There are numerous ways to road trip,
but here are
7 ways to the cross the country.
1.
SOLO:
My favorite way to travel is alone! I hop in the car and go, there is
always enough room for my luggage and no fighting over the music. (oh
and I can sing along with every song!!!) This is a terrific way to get
to know a new destination too. Making a friend at the hotel you stay
at or the near by coffee shop is a great way to find hidden jewels of
the city you’re visiting. Sometimes you luck out and get a tour as
well. I trust my judgment on which gas stations to stop at and rest
areas to avoid, but I always think of the peace of mind that comes with
not fighting over the remote control in the hotel room. Ahhhhh! When I
was living in Las Vegas I recall taking a tourist around the strip and
showing him what was worth paying to see and what was worth just walking
by. I’m an avid lone-traveler, I recommend new tourists to make their
first solo trip with in 3 hours of home. This way it’s not a bad drive
home if you end up not liking your music choices and inner monologue.
2.
FAMILY VACATION: Some of my best memories are on family vacations.
I was 8 when we took our first cross country vacation. It took one
month! Each of us were allowed to pack 1 small duffel back into our
Jeep Wrangler. My dad had the maps, history books and AAA guides out on
the table for weeks leading up to the trip. He drew a red line on the
multi-fold road map for us to see our trip. He circled sites like Mt.
Rushmore, the Hot Springs, the Petrified Forest, and the White Sand
Dunes. Mixed into our travels was a daily fight between my sister and I
scrunched in the back seat ‘she’s touching me’ echoed on the walls of
the Rocky Mountains. We would stop and visit family along the entire
trip. Some I never saw again, but was glad for the memory. My great
uncle was an inventor. He built a 4-runner vehicle for riding on his
property, a traditional wind mill to power all of his electrical needs,
and the icing on the cake was that he built his house on a turn table to
get the most sunlight inside at all hours of the day. Family vacations
are all about being stuck in the car with people you love heading to
towns where people love you.
3.
FRIENDS BONDING: Many trips
with a bunch of friends in the car lead to make-or-break situations.
The friendship either gets stronger or falls apart on the 3rd verse of
“If You Wanna Be” by the Spice Girls. I suggest having some mixed CD’s
and include plenty of older classics. Songs that take everyone back to
their child hood or college days…no one can get mad with Vanilla Ice
singing “Ice Ice Baby.” Again, make sure to be flexible with what you
eat and what you listen to, but make sure to have a hotel booked and
everyone knowing how much they owe you for gas. Money is the last
thing you want to have a fight over on a road trip. Start with a short
drive and a destination, amusement park, concert or winery in mind.
4.
NORTHERN ROUTE: Option one for the drive is to hop on the turnpike
for a while and get a lot of ground covered. Drive through some
beautiful scenery ranging from the changing leaves and forest in
Pennsylvania, to the great lakes, through the St. Louis Arch way and
finally hitting the Rocky Mountains. The most awesome part of this
route is winding around the mountains in Colorado. It’s not ideal for
those who get car sick, but it’s beautiful. The mountains on the left
and the rushing rivers on the right, make a point to pull over to the
side of the road and breathe in this air. Beware of how hard you ride
your car through the mountains. Make sure not to use your cruise
control and to give your car a rest as soon as you make it down the
mountain. Or stop to hike along the river trails.
5.
SOUTHERN
ROUTE: I know this route by heart. My favorite option because it’s
great on the eyes, the car and the pocketbook. The gas prices are
usually low, it’s very flat and easy for on the car, and there are lots
of interesting stops along the way. There is a mix of southern BBQ,
Mexican and all American cuisine. And during the early spring or late
fall you can find warm sunshine and bitter snow en route in a single day.
Be aware of the ’No gas for 54 miles’ signs, it is not a fun walk if
you run out of gas!
6.
FAR SOUTH ROUTE: This route is for
truckers only. It’s too long and too hot, and too dry for me. The only
excuse for this is if you’re already in Texas and near highway 20, or
if you are going from Florida to New Mexico in a day. If this is your
choice route, make sure never to get below a ¼ tank of gas, sometimes
there are 50 mile stretches with no gas stations or rest stops. It’s
important to give your car a break every couple hours as well. Every 2
hours stop and stretch and turn the car off for 10 minutes, especially
in the summer heat.
7.
ON A MISSION: I have moved cross
country for school and for work. I have moved a friend from Alabama to
California. I have driven to Nashville for the weekend, Florida for the
week, Las Vegas for the day and California for 16 hours of fun. When
you have a destination in mind, don’t get distracted or you’ll miss out
on your time there. The standard tips for getting from point A to point
B is to take turns driving and make sure to sleep when you’re not
driving. Peppermint keeps your senses awake, so keep some in the car
along with some chocolate covered espresso beans. Crack the window once
in a while to keep the air from getting stale. Stop and eat your meals
when you stop for gas and buy a pair of trashy sunglasses at the first
Flying J you see!
