the nitty gritty

I’ve officially begun my summer vacation. I spent a week doing as little as humanly possible & now it’s back to business. Today I filled out a handful of job applications, and my reward has been a bottomless mug of coffee at Panera & some serious planning time for my road trip.

I know it is somewhat pointless to have a set itinerary because that entirely defeats my goal of unabated adventure; but I do want to have an idea of how long it will take me to get from point A to point B, plus an idea of where to stay & what to do. What I’ve done is mapped out my goal location for each day, plus approximated my mileage & necessary expenses (food, lodging, gas). I’ve set a flexible maximum budget of $2,000. As of right now, my estimated “essentials” budget is around $1,600, giving me a $400 cushion for souvenirs, unexpected expenses & the like.

I tried to mix it up in terms of lodging, allowing myself a shower at a motel every other night or so, and camping out to save money. It’s looking like my primary stops will include: Waterboro, New York, DC, Washington National Forest in Virginia, St. Louis, Black Kettle National Grassland in Oklahoma, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, San Diego, Sequoia National Park, San Francisco, Yosemite, Idaho, Glacier National Park, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Cleveland, Niagara, Connecticut and finally back home to Waterboro. Right around 8,500 miles!

I’m also trying to make a list of random expenses that I want to be prepared for, so far I have: laundry, tolls, oil change, windshield washer fluid, and caffeine. Any additional items that I should add? Thoughts? Advice? Must see places?

17 DAYS.