Road Trips

[DISRAELI]

As some of you may or may not know, we are a Road Trip/ Food family. Never had experiences as a kid with this stuff, so decided one day to start a new tradition with my kids. Since 2014, we average about 45,000 miles a year in a truck to chase down food paradise hot spots in the USA. 

Tons of memories, the kids love it, 32 states and counting, and I couldn't be more blessed with these troopers that love seeing this great land and all of the hidden gems. 

However, with that said, Dad also plans his own trips to add to the bucket list. I bought a Harley and have a dozen bike trips on the docket, I bought a yacht and have some sailing trips planned... wait, I didn't buy a yacht, scratch that, had too much to drink and had dreams again the other night...

Either way, saw this and just died laughing. Mind you, may need help from 2 of my 3 favorite G's to verify (Google and @Gordi ) but if this is legit I'm totally bringing the Harley on an international trip!




Legit or not, what's the best trip you've taken, OR the best trip you can imagine taking? Not opposed to air travel stories, but curious to hear from true wanderers and be inspired. 

Looking at that map in detail, I notice that the climax is a sea-crossing to the Orkney islands. I think the road trip fails at that point.

I've been to the north coast of Scotland. I remember seeing a sign on the bank of a river estuary; "Anyone wishing to use the ferry should stand in a conspicuous place and wave." Good luck on that journey across to Twatt.

[ChiefD]

@BIAD - fantastic story. Seriously, if you ever write a book I would buy it in a heartbeat. And if you've already written one, I will travel across the pond to get an autograph copy!

Ditto! I was captivated by @"BIAD"’s story. Love great stories like that.

[ChiefD]

Thanks for sharing. I enlarged that map, and laughed my ass off reading those names! Pretty funny stuff there. 

When I was 13 years old, my parents decided to sell the house, drive to Arizona, find jobs, and live happily ever after. The drive from Wisconsin was a real eye opener. We played games in the car to pass the time. I wrote down every time a license plate from a different state came by. By the time we got to Arizona, I had all 50 states. There was a horrific storm in Kansas where I saw a funnel cloud outside the car window. 

The radiator on my mom’s Pinto overheated in Oklahoma. We stayed overnight in Amarillo Texas, and I saw cockroaches the size of Texas! Drive through New Mexico and Arizona was hotter than hell. We got to Phoenix AZ. My parents had not done any prior planning and couldn’t find any place for a family of five that was affordable, so off we went back east to New Mexico. We stopped in Roswell, of all places, where my parents found a three bedroom house to rent. 

Roswell was nice enough I guess. We made some friends in our neighborhood, and got a dog. We were there for the 4th of July. I recall really pretty fireworks. I was nocturnal for the time I was there. I would sleep during the day when it was hot, and go outside and play at night when it was cooler. 

About three weeks later, after looking for jobs, my dad couldn’t find anything that paid the union wages he was getting in Wisconsin at his paper mill job, so we packed up, and drove back to Wisconsin, broke AF. Fortunately, my dad got his old job back, but my mom didn’t and had to find another job.

They learned the hard way that if one is gonna move their family of five across the country, jobs and housing probably should be lined up beforehand. But I got to see a lot of country along the way, so I’m grateful for that.

Now that's a trip! Interestingly enough, I sometimes wo Der about the same. Sell the house and leave wisconsin, take the kids on a trip to the South West and start anew. But your story is the exact reason why I haven't jumped. While I prefer my trips with no plan, I also can't bring myself to risk them (if that makes sense). 

But it sounds like a memorable experience even if it ended back in WI! Glad you came back! 

Yeah, I’m glad we came back too. The heat in NM was just too much to take. I think I got more migraines in the few weeks we were there than I had in over a year in Wisconsin. It was miserable for me. I swore I’d never live anywhere that hot, and I hate the desert too. Love the ocean, mountains, forests, but not desert, not a chance in hell.

[DuckforcoveR]

Thanks for sharing. I enlarged that map, and laughed my ass off reading those names! Pretty funny stuff there. 

When I was 13 years old, my parents decided to sell the house, drive to Arizona, find jobs, and live happily ever after. The drive from Wisconsin was a real eye opener. We played games in the car to pass the time. I wrote down every time a license plate from a different state came by. By the time we got to Arizona, I had all 50 states. There was a horrific storm in Kansas where I saw a funnel cloud outside the car window. 

The radiator on my mom’s Pinto overheated in Oklahoma. We stayed overnight in Amarillo Texas, and I saw cockroaches the size of Texas! Drive through New Mexico and Arizona was hotter than hell. We got to Phoenix AZ. My parents had not done any prior planning and couldn’t find any place for a family of five that was affordable, so off we went back east to New Mexico. We stopped in Roswell, of all places, where my parents found a three bedroom house to rent. 

Roswell was nice enough I guess. We made some friends in our neighborhood, and got a dog. We were there for the 4th of July. I recall really pretty fireworks. I was nocturnal for the time I was there. I would sleep during the day when it was hot, and go outside and play at night when it was cooler. 

About three weeks later, after looking for jobs, my dad couldn’t find anything that paid the union wages he was getting in Wisconsin at his paper mill job, so we packed up, and drove back to Wisconsin, broke AF. Fortunately, my dad got his old job back, but my mom didn’t and had to find another job.

They learned the hard way that if one is gonna move their family of five across the country, jobs and housing probably should be lined up beforehand. But I got to see a lot of country along the way, so I’m grateful for that.

Now that's a trip! Interestingly enough, I sometimes wo Der about the same. Sell the house and leave wisconsin, take the kids on a trip to the South West and start anew. But your story is the exact reason why I haven't jumped. While I prefer my trips with no plan, I also can't bring myself to risk them (if that makes sense). 

But it sounds like a memorable experience even if it ended back in WI! Glad you came back! 

Yeah, I’m glad we came back too. The heat in NM was just too much to take. I think I got more migraines in the few weeks we were there than I had in over a year in Wisconsin. It was miserable for me. I swore I’d never live anywhere that hot, and I hate the desert too. Love the ocean, mountains, forests, but not desert, not a chance in hell.

Agree! Desert is an acquired taste. I don't know how @Guohua does it! Arizona can be brutal (although those folks probably think the same about our Wisconsin winters...)

[FlyingClayDisk]

I grew up in the desert.  Granted, the high desert (not Az), but still desert.  Traveled through Death Valley a few times and that was pretty hot.  So, I thought I knew what "hot" meant. 

Boy, was I wrong!!

Here's what I learned...

Zip yourself inside of a giant sealed Ziplock bag, and then do jumping jacks in the sun for about a half hour inside that thing.  Then go lay on an asphalt roadway (still inside that Gawd-forsaken ziplock bag) in the blazing hot sun of Death Valley...and you have Malaysia...where I "lived" for 2+ years.  That place is not fit for humans...period!  THAT...is HOT!!

Completely redefined my definition of the word "Hot"!!!

It's fucking incomprehensible how unimaginably hot it gets there!!  I don't think the temp dropped below 95 degrees the entire time I was there, and the humidity is like 105% all the time!  You can't even take a decent photo there because there is so much water vapor in the air...you can literally see it!  Feels like you can cut it with a knife.

And, not even the tiniest microscopic hint of a breeze or air moving.

That just flat-out SUCKED!!!