And so it begins...

Day one of my travels was pure bliss. I got off to a later start than anticipated, but successfully navigated my way past the Massachusetts border (for the first time by car), through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania. It didn’t hit me until I crossed the New York state line that this trip is for real.

I spent the majority of my day in New York City, checking out the typical touristy sights: the Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway, and our Lady Liberty. I don’t think I’ve been this giddy… ever. I can’t wait to go back & eat a New York slice to see how it compares to Portland Pie.

As a testament to how inexperienced a traveler I am… today I encountered my first toll ticket. I stopped at a toll in CT cash in hand, when the attendant handed me a ticket and waved me on. I’m quite certain he knew I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with it. Needless to say, three toll tickets later, I get it.

The only minor roadblocks today were a few accidents on the interstate & endless work zones- putting back an hour from when I expected to reach my stopping point for the night.

As for tonight I’m camping out (if you consider a campground with wi-fi “camping”). Expect pictures soon!

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.

t-minus 55 days

I love quotes. I read them for inspiration, comfort and perspective. I recently stumbled upon a quote from Napoleon Hill that just made sense, "Don’t wait, the time will never be just right."

Fact.

I can think back to a thousand moments where I haven’t done something because I didn’t have time, or money, or courage, or a good enough reason. What a waste! As a result I am inspired. This summer I will have friends randomly scattered from California to Connecticut; a perfect opportunity to road trip & visit a few of the places I have always wanted to see along the way.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a teacher; a profession that conveniently provides me more than two glorious months of freedom every summer. Even though I waitress & bartend, I am in no way opposed to taking a month off.

Thus, I have started this blog to track my travels, provide insight to those who are novice road trippers like myself with what I will learn along the way, & offer inspiration to anyone looking for it. I plan on departing Monday, July 18^th after summiting Katahdin & returning August 5^th just in time for the Beach to Beacon & a Guster concert. Nineteen days of pure, unadulterated adventure.

I am still in the planning phase. What stops to make, how long to stay, cost, food & so on. My ideal budget is $2,500… but as I mentioned, I am a teacher. So my goal budget is more along the lines of $1,800.

Step 1: Where do I want to go? (In no specific order)

· New York: Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty

· Missouri: St. Louis

· Arizona: Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam

· Connecticut: East Windsor

· New Mexico: Santa Fe

· Montana: Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park

· California: San Diego, San Francisco, Redwood National Park

· Utah: Arches National Park

· Washington, D.C.

· Ohio: Cleveland

I don’t know if I’ll be able to hit all of these stops in nineteen short days, so I’m in the pruning process. Any suggestions??