Checklist For Surviving A Road Trip
Jul 14 '00 (Updated Jul 25 '00)
With the open road calling out to you, it may be tempting to just take off and leave everyday life behind. Go ahead. Leave your work behind. Leave your worries behind. Just don’t leave the following items behind, which I guarantee will make your life on the road a little bit easier.
[ ] Car Rental - Using your own car may save you a few hundred bucks, but if you have a new car, you may not want to run the mileage up. If you have an old car, you might worry about overheating and other mechanical problems that could turn your road trip into a nightmare. I suggest renting a car or minivan, depending on the size of your party. Choose a company that allows unlimited mileage. Make sure the car has adequate power, which you will need for passing on those desert highways or driving through curvy, mountainous areas. With a rental, you can overwork and abuse the engine without having to worry about the long term consequences you would have to if you took your own car.
[ ] Cooler - There’s just something about a road trip that gives you the munchies and makes you constantly want beverages. Make sure you have a large cooler packed with plenty of your favorite juices, sodas, snacks, and anything else that you may want to keep cold. Keep a plastic bag in the passenger area for any trash you’ll accumulate. A day or two before the trip, make enough ice in your freezer to fill the cooler instead of purchasing it at the store. Sometimes grocery store ice isn’t that great anyway, and you could save close to five bucks that could go toward gas money.
[ ] Blanket - If you have several people in the car who have different ideas of what’s cold or hot while the ac is blasting, a blanket can become the ideal compromise. If you feel weird about sleeping in hotel sheets and comforters, which I sometimes do, you can also take the blanket into your hotel room with you at night.
[ ] Entertainment - Sitting in a car for hours can become quite boring unless you have a conversation going or some good entertainment. Make sure you bring a variety of CDs to accommodate the musical taste of all your passengers. If you’ll be driving through non-scenic routes for an extended time, you might even want to bring along a book, the latest issue of any interesting magazines you subscribe to, or coloring books for the kids.
[ ] Maps - Make sure you have a detailed map of the area you are traveling to, and plan your route long before you hit the road. Also use Mapquest (www.mapquest.com) to map routes from your hotel room to various tourist destinations you plan to visit, or to map routes from one tourist destination to another. Though Mapquest doesn’t always give you best shortcuts, the directions are clear and easy to follow. You’re even given the number of miles between one turn to the next turn along your route, which is helpful in letting you know when you’ve driven too far.
[ ] Cell Phone - Depending on your service provider, you may have free roaming. With free roaming, your local coverage area travels with you. For example, though I have a Los Angeles area cell phone number, when I traveled to San Francisco and made calls to San Francisco area numbers while there, I was not charged for long distance. If you have this feature, it’s handy to pre-program numbers (such as your hotel, restaurants, or tourist destinations) in your cell phone’s address book in case you need to call for further information. A cell phone will also be useful in case of an emergency.
A Suggested Road Trip
I hope this basic list proves helpful and covers a few things you may have overlooked. The items I described definitely made a difference during my one week road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco for the 4th of July. If you plan to go to San Francisco from the Southern California area and have a little extra time on your hands, I recommend going by car and taking the scenic {1} Pacific Coast Highway up the gorgeous coast. I have always wanted to drive up PCH and it turned out to be a very memorable adventure.
Stop in Santa Barbara, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Monterey, or other interesting landmarks. Use them as your "rest stops" while getting a taste of all that the California coast has to offer. There are plenty of photo opportunities in cozy seaside towns or magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean from the cliffs of Los Padres National Forest. By the end of your entire trip up the coast and through San Francisco, you will probably be tired and feel like you've done and seen everything you could've possibly seen and do. Instead of taking PCH back, drive home using the {5} freeway, which will cut your travel time in half.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
nghiemr
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 65
Trusted by: 69 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.