<p>Hi,
Son is leaving w/friend on a road trip to Midwest for a convention. From So Cal across to MO and up. Any good suggestions for me? They are taking my SUV-just replaced the tires, bought water and a few snacks. I am having him bring an extra pair of glasses-it was not fun when his fell into a MA river. Any suggestions that you think he might like? We have Cingular-any idea how their coverage is? Also he has a B of A debit card, and Amex (with member since “xx”-before he was born)</p>
<p>Do you belong to AAA? It’s great to have if you experience any kind of car trouble along the way. They also have good guidebooks to help him plan a trip, and free maps of whatever state he needs. They’ll even help him plan the best route.</p>
<p>Has he seen Zion or Bryce in Utah? Rocky Mountain National Park, CO is another great spot to stay for a few days if he’s going the route I think he is.</p>
<p>Well, the Cingular coverage should be excellent. We’ve had it for years, and in the last six months, I’ve been in San Francisco, LA, San Diego, Houston, Chicago (and several destinations in the northeast), and have never lost or dropped a call, or had any problems of any sort, and that includes inbound calls from UK, Germany and UAE, and at that some of the calls originating over Skype. And I talk a LOT, so, lots of opportunities for bad experiences, and haven’t had even one, so, your son’s service should be just fine. </p>
<p>I think the B of A card should be fine too - they have branches and ATMs just about everywhere.</p>
<p>Oh - excellent idea from ASAP - you can actually get him a AAA membership - the premium one has 100 miles free towing - for about $90 it can’t be beat. I’d recommend that even if you have roadside assistance through your auto insurance - it seems like AAA is faster and more efficient than anyone else.</p>
<p>AAA could also help him avoid the wildfires that are raging across the west.</p>
<p>He does have a AAA card-the premium one-with member about 10 yrs before he was born. The two planned the trip using a road atlas and houses to crash. I will get the AAA books on Wedneday. He actually just made it to work before the freeway was closed to fire a few days ago.
Thanks for the info on the B of A card, I also thought of travelers ck’s but I am not sure if they are as useful as they used to be. I will be worried mom for the time they are gone but…</p>
<p>For travel in this country, a bank card that can be used at ATMs to get cash, and a credit card are just about all you need. I wouldn’t worry about traveler’s checks as long as they don’t carry a lot of cash. They shouldn’t need to carry more than a hundred or so, I wouldn’t think.</p>
<p>Road trip queen here - spent some of May heading out to the Midwest, by myself. So some suggestions:</p>
<p>-Car cell phone charger is a MUST.<br>
-“Some” snacks might not cut it. At least for the first day, you can get him a lot of goodies - this is my road-trip secret. You make much better time if you don’t stop every time you’re a little peckish. I’m a vegetarian, so you can add meat options, but I usually pack a cooler with: apples, bananas, plums, hummus, a veggie tupperware (get the flat ones with the dividing sections, because you can put them on your lap and nosh while you drive), crackers, popcorn, pita, cookies, and candy. I swear, the Aries four-star meal is worth it. Don’t put half the stuff in there and call it a day; send them off with everything. Burger King can only get you so far, and it stinks to feel like you’ve been driving all day without a decent meal.
-AAA can make on-the-spot hotel reservations for you.
-get a really, really good map. I get the ones with the yellow cover and the big red lettering that have spiral bindings. The spirals mean that they stay open to where you are, so you don’t have to hunt for the same page each time.<br>
-TONS of water, esp. if it’s the summer. Just throw 2-24 packs in the backseat. Trust me on this one. It’s hard to bring enough; soda dehydrates; and you get really sluggish if you’re dehydrated. Sluggish kids = not safe.
-Frappucinos in the glass bottles if they are going to be doing long drives
-find a map with the Cingular coverage area.
-get one of those oil changes where they check all of the fluids in the car. </p>
<p>Half kidding about this one:
see if any CCers are on the route and would be willing to provide emergency assistance, if needed. Otherwise, certainly have your friends #s handy - in fact, give to your son, in case you aren’t at home to play Mission Control.</p>
<p>Miscellenea:
-if they are driving during the burning hot weather, teach them road trip essentials. Have them start early in the am, drive through the early afternoon, and take a nice long break while it’s a million degrees out. When you do long road trips, it stinks to feel like it’s already lunch time and you’ve only driven 100 miles. Not driving during the blazing hot weather, no matter how good your A/C, is always a good idea. You have no idea how sluggish you can get after several hundred miles under warm sun.
-find the good rest stops.<br>
-generally, rest stops every 2/3 of a tank of gas is a good measure - as in, once the tank is 2/3 empty, look for a place to pull over. When you are with friends, you tend to stop every time someone’s hungry, someone needs a bathroom, someone wants coffee, someone else needs the bathroom, and the car needs gas. One-stop shopping saves an amazing amount of time - trust me on this one. Each additional person usually adds an hour onto every trip.
-make sure they know what driving to endanger is in every state along the way. I mean, he can be a great kid, but kids are kids.
-plan out hotels for about 10-12 hours of driving = 600-900 miles, depending.</p>
<p>Obviously, I end up doing a lot of “driving as a cheaper alternative to flying” trips. Even if they are doing the touristy things, it will still help them to have a better experience.</p>
<p>duct tape and don’t pick up hitchhikers</p>
<p>Aries-THANKS!
How do you find the good rest stops? Several years ago we lived not far from a rest stop that seemed ok, till I read how dangerous it was.</p>
<p>Guess I have a way different interpretation of a road trip. Planning? Ewwww. The fun is to be had along the way, not how efficiently you get there. No Kerouac fans here, apparently.</p>
<p>Cell coverage is generally pretty good along interstates but drops off fast away from them or cities. </p>
<p>If they’re interested in the natural wonders, have them check out Zion and Bryce Canyon NPs in Utah if they have the time. If they don’t want to veer from the freeway that much, have them check out the western part of Zion which is just off of I-15. It’s makes for at least a good leg-stretcher. Utah and Colorado have some awesome scenery. Have them be on the lookout for any interesting sights along the way. It gives them a chance to take a break, refresh, and see something different. It’ll also be part of what makes the trip memorable.</p>
<p>Have them watch out for panhandlers and strange types at rest areas. The best thing to do is to ignore them and NOT give them any money or engage in converstaion with them (college students are at their most gullible and naive point and are targets by panhandlers).</p>
<p>Make sure they don’t drive when they’re too tired. Many people that age have no experience at long distance driving. They need to recognize the signs of sleepiness and stop, take a rest, a hike, a break, and/or switch drivers. They’re better off not doing marathon days with driver switching but rather, have both alert and ensuring the driver’s fully awake.</p>
<p>On these freeways out west (I’ve made the trip through Utah/Colorado many times), it can be tempting to speed even above the 70/75 mph limits. Warn them up front that tickets are expensive and the cops use pacing, radar, and airplanes (I got caught by an airplane in the middle of the desert on I-15 around Baker, Ca. once) and that they end up saving little time and using more gas anyway.</p>
<p>If they’re from soCal, they’re probably not that used to driving in rain. There can be some wicked downpours in the summer in Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and anywhere in the midwest. If one hits, they need to ‘slow down’ considerably and even consider exiting the freeway (if they can) and wait it out for a few minutes until it dies down or passes.</p>
<p>Make sure they don’t let the fuel tank get too low. Around town they know they can always (well, usually) make it to some gas station. Out in the long stretches of rad they’ll be on, they could go great distances between gas stations. They should try to fill up if the tank starts to approach 1/4. </p>
<p>Personally, I generally don’t plan ahead that much on road trips like this since I never know where/when I’ll stop. I’ve never had that much of an issue finding motels although I don’t always get the first choice. this adds to the adventure. The other problem with planning the stops is it may force one to travel further than they should if they’re tired. Remember, they may make an unplanned couple hour stop or two on a day to take in some sights which will push out the stop time. There’ll be other times they really aren’t ready to stop even though they hit the planned stop area and want to contnue another couple hours down the road.</p>
<p>Have them call you once a day to help relieve your anxiety.</p>
<p>Tell them to be safe and have fun. I really enjoyed my first road trips on my own. I still enjoy road trips now many years later. I hope they have a fun and safe time.</p>
<p>My general rules of thumb for rest stops:</p>
<p>-if you’re getting off the highway to get gas, don’t do it in the town with 5 gas stations and one hotel; do it in the town with 5 hotels and 1 gas station. </p>
<p>-if interstate rest stop, go to a well-populated one, obviously. (I only go to ones that are absolutely teeming with people. If that means I wait in line for my gas and for the ladies’ room, fine.) Generally, the rest stops that don’t give me the willies are the ones with a lot more than just gas at them. Look for the ones with a Starbucks. </p>
<p>-Don’t do dumb stuff like leave the windows open or park far away. Park right out front.</p>
<p>-A lot of rest stops are patrolled. The kids can always slow down, get into the rest stop, and cruise through to see if they can see a cop hanging around. </p>
<p>Theory behind both of these is that Starbucks and Hiltons aren’t going to put their businesses in super-unsafe areas. If I’m wrong on this, someone, please correct me.</p>
<p>-Let the locals do your research for you. Do you only see out-of-state license plates in the lot, even though you are near a city? Maybe, then, the locals know something about it that you don’t know.</p>
<p>The final one: truckers. Generally, they know what they are doing - they drive the same routes over and over for years. Ditto for tour buses - dead bodies aren’t good for business. Note, though, that places with a lot of trucks at night can get more than their fair share of prostitutes.</p>