How I did it: I packed the car, got a cat-sitter, and drove with my husband to the other coast.

We didn't have any "have to" destinations along the way, so our stops to see things were serendipitous. There is an amazing amount of stuff to see, and even if you don't stop to see much, the breathtaking landscape alone is worth thev trip.

Lessons & tips: We have two rules for our long-distance drives that we developed from our first cross-country trip:

1. No screaming in Navajo! (My husband decided to play with the radio just as I started to negotiate a very steep, twisty downhill mountain road. He happened to get an incredibly strong signal from a nearby Navajo nation station and our radio's volume was set waaaaaaaay too high. I still don't know how I didn't drive off the road and over the edge!)
2. No Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the car. (Now I LOVE Krispy Kremes. But when you eat them in the car, little bits of icing seem to fly off in all directions, melt, and render the car's interior totally sticky.)

Other tips that worked for us:

• Take breaks. Don't drive drowsy. It's dangerous and no fun.
• Stop for interesting stuff. Some things we saw: the Utah Tree, the Cadillacs-buried-nosedown-in-the-ground sculpture, a fabulous car museum in Reno, the weird, slightly creepy art at the Hoover Dam.
• Try the local restaurants. Our favorite was a family-run German place in Texas where we learned there are three sorts of iced coffee!
• Try chain restaurants that don't exist where you live. How else would we have tried the completely addictive Hardee's burgers?
• Take a laptop or a netbook. Great for making reservations as you go, finding restaurants, directions, gas stations.
• Enjoy the ride!

Resources:

• Laptop!
• Maps and a GPS
• Cell phone
• Comfortable clothes
• A reliable car
• AAA membership - just in case
• Friendly people
• Someone you  really enjoy spending time with who will share the driving
• An open mind

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Nov 11, 2009, 04:02AM PST | 1 comment | 4 cheers