Driving cross-country?

[lifetimestudent]

I'm in the process of planning a 5 1/2-day cross-country trip to get to my new program. Anyone else have crazy driving plans for school? What sorts of things are you planning to do? Are you able to fit everything you need into the car?

Edited July 30, 2010 by lifetimestudent

[Halfpasser11]

I'm in the process of planning a 5 1/2-day cross-country trip to get to my new program. Anyone else have crazy driving plans for school? What sorts of things are you planning to do? Are you able to fit everything you need into the car?

Wow, five and a half days?! That's listening to your whole Ipod full of music.

I don't have any crazy driving plans, in about a week I will be driving from ID to NM. But I'll have my dog so I will be taking my time a little bit and seeing friends along the way. My father is driving from WI with all my stuff so I pretty much free and clear until I show up at my apartment. I just cannot wait to finally GET THERE! I want to see the campus and explore the town. One more week of waiting...

[shaydlip]

I'm in the process of planning a 5 1/2-day cross-country trip to get to my new program. Anyone else have crazy driving plans for school? What sorts of things are you planning to do? Are you able to fit everything you need into the car?

I shipped a bunch of my stuff media mail (books, etc). Get some audiobooks for your iPod (I very much liked On the Road by Kerouac- it was very poignant for my life changes), and if you are driving by yourself try to get a GPS or simplify the amount of roads you're going on.

I was a woman driving by myself, so I also planned my route so that I'd get to my next destination before 6pm. also, because I didn't know much about the cities I was staying in, I stayed at hotels by airports thinking that it's mostly traveling businessmen staying there.

[EbolaZaire]

I'm in the process of planning a 5 1/2-day cross-country trip to get to my new program. Anyone else have crazy driving plans for school? What sorts of things are you planning to do? Are you able to fit everything you need into the car?

My bf and I drove from PA to CA. We decided to make it a true roadtrip and stopped at a bunch of national parks along the way (camping=cheap). We stuffed as much as we could into the car and each shipped about 2 boxes. It's a pain in the ass once you get there, though. We spent a week looking at apartments and are still living in a hotel eating sandwiches waiting for Aug 1 lease to start.

[lifetimestudent]

Luckily I already have an apartment to move into -- I just need to get there with all my stuff. We did the math, having everything shipped (including the car) would have been far more expensive than driving. So here we go... the real question is where to stay. I'd like to go camping but not every day, and often the places which seem to fit well into our driving schedule (e.g. 600 miles on day X) don't really have so many options...

[Clawsworth]

I just finished driving from Southern California to western Canada and I can share some of my experiences. I traveled with my husband and our bird, and we only took what we could fit into our car (and got rid of the rest). We left early in the morning each day to avoid all traffic, and we stayed at two $40-$50 hotels along the way (not the best decision since one of them ended up being in a very bad neighbourhood in Sacramento and we hardly got any sleep through all the yelling outside). We fit a surprising amount in our small car: a desk, 5 trash bags full of clothes, a bird-cage, 5 full backpacks, 1 computer, 1 monitor, 2 laptops, bedding, and cooking supplies.

When the driving got boring I just popped in an audiobook, I'd suggest getting some of those because they passed the time nicely (we ended up listing to the entire Odyssey and then another audiobook of 19th century short stories). We drove for about 8 hours each day, I think I would have gone crazy driving any longer than that (although if you're going with someone else it might be easier to switch off; my husband doesn't drive though). A GPS is also very helpful. It definitely made finding something to eat along the way MUCH easier.

We had a suite reserved ahead of time, but it was a bad idea renting without seeing it beforehand (I've done this blind three times already, but I didn't get lucky this time; needless to say, we'll be moving out of this place as soon as we can). That's really all the advice I can think of with the trip so recent in my mind -- good luck!

[DJLamar]

I'm going to be driving from the Atlanta area up to Ithaca, NY in a couple of weeks. It's about a 16 hour drive (according to Google Maps) and I'm hoping to get through it in one day starting early in the morning... I don't plan on having a whole lot of stuff with me because I plan on mostly buying new stuff for whatever I need -- mainly because every other time I've ever moved I've ended up with big piles of junk that I never actually need. Hopefully I'll have my dad and/or one or two of my best friends from home going up there with me, hanging out with me, and then taking a one-way flight back to Atlanta the day before classes start.

[lifetimestudent]

I'm going to be driving from the Atlanta area up to Ithaca, NY in a couple of weeks. It's about a 16 hour drive (according to Google Maps) and I'm hoping to get through it in one day starting early in the morning... I don't plan on having a whole lot of stuff with me because I plan on mostly buying new stuff for whatever I need -- mainly because every other time I've ever moved I've ended up with big piles of junk that I never actually need. Hopefully I'll have my dad and/or one or two of my best friends from home going up there with me, hanging out with me, and then taking a one-way flight back to Atlanta the day before classes start.

I've done the one day drive before (NY to SC). It is killer. I hope your friends go with you, because you really need someone else to handle some of the driving, especially if you're planning it for one day. But it is way beautiful. One of the most fun drives I've ever done.

BTW, is anyone renting a U-Haul, or a trailer to attach to their car, so they can bring everything that can't fit in the car?

[VictorianTess]

We did something a little different. We actually bought a cargo van instead of renting a uhaul. It's pricey up front, but we will be that money back when we sell it (we may even make a profit since we got a really good deal on it). We got rid of all of our furniture that couldn't be broken down, stuffed the van and our car, and drove from California to Texas in 48 hours.

[rooibos]

My wife and I drove from PA to her mom's house in MS in preparation for moving to New Orleans. She really did all the driving, since I can't drive at all, and I would have been immensely uncomfortable driving the U-Haul even if I could drive (wooo, I come from a developing country where we don't have huge-ass highways!) so I really felt for her. I, however, had my hands full keeping the guinea pigs and hamsters safe and happy.

To those contemplating sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots and the like, the wife suggests staying in hotels in the middle of nowhere, since they're usually a lot cheaper. Also, if you pull up at the Super-8 in Duck Hill, MS, at 11pm on a weeknight, they'll probably be willing to cut you a deal on a room. It won't be swanky, but it'll be a place to crash.

[suspechosa]

BTW, is anyone renting a U-Haul, or a trailer to attach to their car, so they can bring everything that can't fit in the car?

I am! It's Penske though, not U-haul for me. I'm quite nervous to do so, I hope it's not too windy!

It will also be a pain to go like 10-15 under the speed limit. It's going to take for-ever!!!

[rooibos]

You still have to pay money to stay in any motel/hotel room. However, it is free to camp in your car/truck at a Wal-Mart parking lot. Of course, you should buy something from Wal-Mart to thank them for allowing you to park overnight in their lot. I think that buying one item for a few dollars to show gratitude beats paying $30 for someplace to sleep.

Oh, definitely! But I am the wussiest wuss that ever wussed, and I think that the $30 outlay for a decent place to rest my head is usually worth it.

[gsams]

Yes, but for $30.00 you can also get the wonder that is bedbugs. Check the beds before you bring in your luggage. They can cost thousands of dollars to get rid of and plenty in therapy so you can sleep again.

I am only doing an 8-hour trek and already have enough music to get me there!