Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with crosscountry

vroom, vroom

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:55:21 -0800

RoadtripFilter: Where's a cool place to stop for a night between Chicago and Syracuse? My boyfriend and I are moving to Syracuse, NY by method of cross country road trip! Next week, we're leaving from Kansas City, stopping in Chicago for one or two nights, and then heading to Syracuse on I90.

I know we could tough it out and take the full 11 hour drive in one day, but, while we have a car and are up along the wonderful, lake-y, northern border of the US of A, we want to take advantage of our situation and stop somewhere fun, roughly halfway between Chicago and Syracuse (but that can be fudged a bit for the right place).

Some things that would make a stop appealing: opportunities to hang around near large bodies of water, local vineyards that let one try local wines, secondhand clothing shops, weird museums, old fashioned photobooths, and independent movie theaters. Also, an inexpensive place to sleep, and a safe place to park the car while exploring.

So, where would be the best place to stop, metafilter?

Thanks!

The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond. ~Edward McDonagh

anastasiav — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:05:17 -0800

My husband and I have a longstanding dream of driving cross country on the small highways and byways of America. As we inch closer to this reality (we're now fairly firmly looking at doing this in five years, when our son is old enough to remember the trip), we've started doing the financial planning for it. My question to you: What is the best car (type or brand) for a very tall family of three to drive across America in? We do want to take gas milage into account, but can't imagine that doing the trip in a Prius (for example) would be comfortable in the long run. But, on the flip side, we don't want a huge van or RV either.

Help us plan! What's your pick?

X-country Near DC

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:33:25 -0800

Good cross-country skiing near Washington, DC? I've seen sites that compare various downhill sites in the area, but little about the x-country opportunities.

I'm not looking for anything extreme, just some nice, well-groomed trails, and rental facilities on site. And the shorter the drive from DC the better - I'd hope for around 2 hours max drivetime.

Snowshoeing, skating, or skiing for n00bs

lukemeister — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:45:32 -0800

How can two oldsters, two college students, and a 15-year-old boy have fun in the snow or on the ice? My 21-year-old nephew and his girlfriend are coming to stay with me, my wife, and son in the Denver area right after New Year's. We'd like to take them to the mountains for a day trip or possibly overnight, but we're totally lame and don't know how to ski or skate. They probably know how to skate, but I don't think they ski. What would be fun and easy to learn? My wife has rheumatoid arthritis, so downhill skiing is right out.

Scammed by the movers

Nickel — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:55:46 -0800

Interstate movers gave a binding estimate ($2300) based on an accurate list that we supplied, but after all the furniture was loaded on the truck they told us it was more than twice the price ($5300)! What can we do? We paid half when the furniture was loaded and the movers want the other half in cash upon delivery. We're tight on money and will have difficulty raising $2500 in cash. I don't want to make it sound like we're complaining just because we don't have the money. I think what the company did with the estimate was shady. The list of items that we sent them was completely accurate with what they actually took. How can the difference between the estimate and actual price jump $3000 when we didn't add ANYTHING? They knew EXACTLY what they were picking up, how can they tack on so much extra money after they made the estimate?

I've done some research and the following aspects of the move seem shady:

Apparently, they CANNOT charge more than their binding estimate if we don't send extra stuff. We didn't.

They charged us by cubic feet, which might be illegal according to this thread

This website says movers can charge by cubic feet, but only if the estimate was in cubic feet. Our estimate was based on weight.

The company didn't do a physical inspection of our furniture before the day of the move, which doesn't seem exactly kosher according to some of these websites.

Is there any way we can get the charges reduced? We're not trying to get out of this bill, we just don't think we should have to pay more than our binding estimate. If we call the company and bring up the points listed above, will they knock off that extra $3000? Is there some kind of oversight organization to which we can report them? Can we sue? (although I hate immediately jumping to the "let's sue them!" thought)

Or should we just suck it up, find the cash, and take this as a life lesson?

Flying a dog cross country?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:08:19 -0800

Flying a dog cross country? I need to get my dog from California to North Carolina in the beginning of July. I'm personally flying AirTran. It looks like they only allow dogs to be brought as carry-on items but I don't think that my dog (25 lbs) will fit under the seat.

Is it worth shipping him as cargo on a different airline? Times don't matter that much, I just want to get him safely there (and eventually safely back!)

Has anyone found a reasonably priced, safe way to ship a dog across the country like this?

I did see this http://ask.metafilter.com/75945/Hoggle-needs-your-help but the carry-on isn't an option

Anonymous because I'm trying to surprise someone :-)

There's got to be an easier way...

Oktober — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:19:58 -0800

Is there an easy and relatively inexpensive way to ship a pallet of furniture and household goods halfway across the country? Basically, I'm looking for a company that will drop a pallet off in northern va, then pick it up once it's all loaded up, then ship it to Chicago. I know I've heard of this service before, but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called. Ideally, I'd like to pay no more than $200 or so for it.

From DC to Dallas.

SNWidget — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:20:38 -0800

My girlfriend and I are moving across the country, from DC to the metro Dallas area. I've never moved cross-country on this scale, so what tips/advice/warnings can you give me about this sort of move? The Background: My girlfriend and I are moving to the Dallas are so that I can begin graduate school in Denton, TX. She'll be working in downtown Dallas, so we'll be trying to live some place that splits the distance.

The Equipment: We've got 1br worth of stuff, with our largest item being a leather sofa that she got cheap and isn't too keen to part with. I have a pick-up truck that we'll use for the drive, and we can get some, but not all, of the small stuff in there.

The Question: How do we do this? I've read past questions on cross country moving to get an idea, but I'm still a bit overwhelmed. Should I get a pod, a portion of a truck, or just get a Penske truck and drive it to Dallas?

The Bonus Question: Any suggestions on where to live in Dallas? I'm a Texas boy originally, but from the Rio Grade Valley, not the big city. We were looking in Carrolton, Flour Mound, or Lewisville. We're generally looking for nice apartments (generally, 1br+study/extra room) and are willing to spend basically up to $1200 to get something.

Et cetra: Beyond any of this, any general cross country moving/driving/packing tips are more than welcomed. I'm in the dark, generally, so I throw myself to the mercy of the Hivemind.

Seeing the 2nd largest ball of twine

hwyengr — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:23:03 -0800

Driving Chicago to LA: Interstate or backroads? Next week I'm setting off for my new life in Los Angeles. My relocation package said I could either ship my car and fly, or get mileage to drive. 50 cents for 2000 miles plus lodging, I'm driving. I'm leaving mid-day Thursday, and I'm supposed to be in LA for work on Monday. But, that can slide to Tuesday if I need it to. So that's 4.5 days max. How should I get there?

I've done the drive via Interstate before, taking the north out and the south route back. I liked the north route more, since I could live out my Smokey and the Bandit fantasies at the Coors Brewery. And, there's Vegas. South has the Grand Canyon, and I've already been there.

The only major new sight along the backroute would be Four Corners. Which I've always wanted to see. And I'll hit the Grand Canyon again. But is that, along with getting a little more culture, worth the extra 15 hours of driving? (Google says 30 hours for the north route, 45 for "avoid major highways"). That's quite a bit of extra time, and I'm not going to be able to stop in every little town and take in the experience. It'll be like I'm on the interstate, except going much more slowly. I've linked to the Gmap backroad trip, so if anybody knows of something absolutely worth seeing along that route, I'm all ears.

Where should we go?

Lizc — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:22:42 -0800

Planning a multi-state road trip - where should we go and what should we see? States include: IL, MN, SD, NE, WY, CO, UT, NV, and CA. In June my SO and I will be taking a road trip from Chicago, IL north to St. Paul, MN - then west through South Dakota and Nebraska (to the Chimney Rock National Park) and then west to southern California.

What are some interesting things to see along the way? We'd really love to pick the hive-mind for recommendations of any cool/interesting places to stop along the way. Any fantastic local events, delicious food & drink, haunted ghost towns, picturesque roads, historic spots and natural wonders -- anything we'd be silly to miss.

Length of trip is no option, if it's cool, we want to see it. We probably won't get the chance to travel for awhile after this trip, so we want to make it a good one.

Thanks!!

Phoenix, AZ to Portsmouth, NH

MiaWallace — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:08:00 -0800

I'm driving from Phoenix, AZ to Portsmouth, NH next week. Which route does the hive mind recommend? My two main concerns:

1. Speed. I'd like to get there as quickly as possible. I'm not interested in sightseeing... I just need to get my butt out to the east coast ASAP.
2. Weather. Driving through as little snow and ice as possible is preferable.

Thanks guys ;)

Advice on driving cross-country and back?

lunit — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:17:22 -0800

How long will it take, and how much will it cost, to drive cross-country and back? Hi all. I'm planning a road trip for this summer, and I'm looking for some idea of what to expect.

The plan is to drive from Providence, RI to Seattle, WA via a northern route (through Chicago and etc). From there, we'll go down the West Coast through Portland, San Francisco, and LA - stopping in each major city - and then drive back via a southern route, preferably through Las Vegas, parts of Texas, and New Orleans. Eventually we'll want to end up back in Providence. I'm open to suggestions of cities to make sure to stop in, as long as they're compelling.

We're tentatively budgeting to make the initial drive out to Seattle in a week, spend a week on the West Coast, and then drive back in a week. Is that realistic, or should we count on it taking longer? We don't really need to see the tourist-y spots, but it'd be nice to spend at least part of a night in each place we stop.

Assuming we can stay for free with friends in cities across the country, what is a reasonable amount of money to allocate for this trip? We'll have 4 people in the car (gas/4). While we'll be low on funds, we'd like to realistically estimate the amount of money we'll need for gas, food, etc., assuming we travel modestly.

Any advice, anecdotes, etc. would be very helpful. Thanks!

How do we go from NYC to LA in a week in the most interesting way?

minicloud — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:38:47 -0800

My brother is moving to LA and I'm going to drive out there with him. I can only take about one week off of work so we want to keep it within 8 or 9 days. Where should we stop on the southern route from NYC to LA? We're thinking route 81 south then another highway west to California. Basically does anyone have any advice for a trip of this short a length along that route? We want to see some sites, but still get enough driving done per day. Also, its going to be the end of January so daylight time is much shorter. Any recommendations for sites, cheap but clean and/or interesting Inns/motels (we're both on a tight budget), music venues to check out in Austin or New Orleans for indie stuff, etc? Any help is appreciated!

Crossing the Nullabor + cat + furniture = insanity?

indienial — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:31:52 -0800

How do I move my life from Perth, Western Australia, to Middle-of-Nowhere, QLD with a cat and my sanity intact? In three weeks I'm moving to a rural town, 6 hours drive north of Brisbane (inland).

I'm still working out whether to bring my furniture or not, because I have some pieces (a dresser and a couch) which I am particularly attached to, but all the quotes I've had for moving just the couch, dresser and about 6 packing boxes have been around $5000. Does this seem reasonable?

The problem is that even if I leave the furniture, quotes for moving 6 boxes (only the essentials: books, clothes, personal effects) across country still come to around $4500, which seems crazy. It'd probably end up cheaper flying back and forth six times and taking a big suitcase load every time!

Does anyone have any better ideas? Driving is out, unfortunately, for many reasons!

Also, my cat will be joining me as soon as I'm settled in (hopefully no longer than six weeks or so), does anyone have any recommendations for companies who specialise in moving pets, or any advice for moving animals within Australia?

Any other general "moving-your-entire-life" advice anyone wants to offer? I have searched but much of it seems specific to the USA and Canada.

Thanks in advance for your help— I hope the hivemind can help stop me tearing my hair out!

Driving from D.C. to Sacramento

mikoroshi — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:49:03 -0800

Suggested routes from D.C. to Sacramento, C.A.? All of my previous cross country driving has been back and forth to Seattle, but this summer I'll be driving to Sacramento twice (the second time to stay) and I'm really unfamiliar with the middle states. With a 5 to 6 day driving budget what shouldn't be, and very much should be, missed on the way?

robo-tourism

logicpunk — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:40:17 -0800

I'm thinking about taking some time off between jobs to travel around the U.S., and I'd like to see some robots. I've been working in robotics/machine learning as a grad student (and now postdoc) for the last 5+ years, and I'm a little burned out on the field. I always get a kick out of telling people what I do because almost everybody is immediately enthusiastic about robots, and it's fun to talk about without all the academic baggage. So what I'd like to do, as part of my get-re-excited-about-robots initiative, is to go around the country and talk to people who are building interesting robots for the fun of it.

I'm aware of most of the super-serious robot researchers in the country, which I'm not so interested in seeing. I'm more interested in the garage hobbyist who came up with something neat, or moxie-ridden high schoolers. Things of that sort. Also welcome is information about robot displays, events, museums, etc.

Also, since I'd like to see a bit more of the U.S. at the same time, anything not on the east or west coasts would be a plus.

Please help us find the right vehicle for a cross country trip.

sequential — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:39:07 -0800

My fiancee and I are planning to drive cross country and back for our honeymoon. Please help us find the right vehicle for such a trip. The plan is to leave sometime mid to late spring from New England, travel to the west coast and back. Neither one of us has made this long of a trip over such a short period of time, though we've done the length of Interstate 95 various times. She'd like to sleep in the vehicle we travel in, but would prefer to not have an RV. We own a 2000 Honda Civic DX, which is too small for the two of us to sleep in comfortably for a couple of weeks. Ideally, we'd like to borrow or rent something slightly larger, but given that we'll be putting over 6,000 miles on the vehicle, buying a used cargo van or VW bus is potentially more economical. We've also considered smaller, more economical vehicles like older Saab hatchbacks and Volvos since either would provide us with a much needed second vehicle.

We're happy to keep clean along the way at America's finest truck stops or the occasional hotel. The point of the trip isn't so much luxury as it is exploring. Furthermore, we're equally happy to use the facilities at gas stations along the way. Therefore, running water and a lavatory are items we're not looking for. We are, however, looking for something that's reasonably safe to sleep in at truck stops or rest areas, something that provides a modicum of privacy, and something that is large enough to comfortably call home for a couple of weeks.

What vehicles will yield the highest combination of reliability, safety, comfort, and economical cost for our purpose? Our budget is rather flexible, especially if we're buying a second vehicle to use beyond this trip. Lastly, in case we've overlooked something obvious, what other issues should we consider in our selection?

Biking Across America?

DMan — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:20:19 -0800

Considering riding a bicycle cross country and trying to plan a bit. I read a news article a few months ago about a reporter who rode a bike cross-country, and it recently occured to me that this might be something I'd like to try. The idea of traveling from one end of the country to the other, with few worries and all the time in the world, really appeals to me. I've already figured out that my graduation from college 4-5 years from now would be a great time, although I could also go during a summer.

But I'm too analytical to just say "Okay, let's go!", and so here I am, trying to determine just how realistic my dream is. This is certainly a bit in advance, but I know that I'll need to begin planning early, and I'd just like to find out some more about the subject.

So without further ado, let me list a few questions.

1. How realistic is my plan? Will it be fun? Can I pull it off? This is the most pressing question. I'm an adventurous type, and I feel that I would enjoy it immensely, but would I end up dealing with many unforeseen problems and general stress? What type of things would be likely to crop up that I might not be anticipating?

2. I know that I would need to train for this, and that my mileage per day would vary greatly, but what would be a reasonable estimate of how long it might take me? I don't plan on being in a rush at all, and if I go over my expected time, that's perfectly alright, but I'd love to have a general idea.

3. Day-to-day stuff. Sleeping is certainly a concern; I certainly can't get a hotel everywhere, nor would I really want to. I've considered camping, and think that would be my best option for all but the worst of weather. Is this a reasonable idea?

I would love absolutely any input on this that any of you can give. This is in the purely conceptual stage, and I'm trying to figure out if I should do it, and enough specifics to allow me to begin the very early stages of planning. Any personal experience would be extremely helpful, but all opinions are certainly welcome. I'd be particularly interested in any online resources that you could point me to that might help me.

Thanks for reading this far!

Should we fly or drive from Indiana to Florida?

web-goddess — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:38:36 -0800

Overseas visitors planning to travel from Chicago to Orlando in the US. Which will be less hassle/expense, driving or flying? (Are one-way car rentals *really* that expensive?!) Okay, I'm an American but I've been living overseas for the past seven years (since pre-9/11). I've been home to Indiana a few times since then, and it just seems like the airports are more and more of a trial each visit. My Aussie husband and I are planning our next visit home to Indiana in April. I'd also like to visit my grandparents in Florida as well. Our original plan was to drive a rental car from Indiana, and then fly out of Orlando. We kinda like the idea of a road trip, especially as my husband's never seen that part of the country before. I've been pricing one-way car rentals though and it's just ridiculously expensive (around $100/day). So I've got some questions:

- Is there any way to get a cheaper one-way car rental? I have some sort of vague idea from the Internets that there are websites and message boards in the US where you can potentially find someone who needs a car transported cross-country. Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?

- I've found some great (non one-way) car rental deals with "unlimited mileage." How likely is it that they'd let us drive to Florida and back? If they forbid it, how much trouble would you get in if you did it anyway?

Basically, I guess I'm just torn because friends in the US have said that they prefer to avoid airports and flying whenever they can these days. Given unlimited time (but not unlimited money), what would you do?

Devil went down to Georgia...and Louisiana...and Texas...and Arizona

fuzzbean — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 08:06:25 -0800

Planning a cross-country road trip--Florida to California: How do I do this? I'm going to be driving my aunt's Jeep from Jacksonville, FL to Los Angeles, CA. For those of you playing along at home, yes, that is from one coast to the other, all along the southern border. Google Maps informs me that this is roughly 2,500 miles.

I've never done a road trip before. I will be traveling alone. (For the record, 23-yo woman, not very imposing.) I am okay with both of these. I will likely be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday (leaving Nov. 16/17 and possibly taking up to Nov. 30). I will get the car fully serviced and tuned up before I go.

I want to spend a few days in Baton Rouge/New Orleans (as that's where I grew up). I'd also like to spend a night or two in Austin.

Aside from that....I'm flexible.

1) Tips for traveling long distances. What have you found absolutely invaluable to have in the car? Any food/snack recommendations? Great books on tape? Great music for road trips? Seat covers that will make my life glorious?

2) How many miles should I plan to cover each day? The longest trip I've done thus far has been Boston to NJ (about 300mi). I would guess that I'm comfortable traveling for six to eight hours a day; is this too ambitious/lax? I would also be happy to have a day where I drive for twelve hours and then spend a couple of days in a city at the end of that. In short...I'm super-flexible.

3) Any cities, sites, restaurants, oddities...etc. that you'd recommend I stop at along the way? Is one highway better than another for some reason? Anything to be aware of wrt local cops, etc.? In the northeast corridor I've never had any trouble doing 80 in a 65mph zone (just keeping up with traffic). Can I expect the same to be true in the South?

4) How would you recommend I handle hotels and accomodations? I'm not made of money, and I'm kind of tempted to hostel-hop my way across the US, as I think it would be a lot cooler than just doing a Comfort Inn in each city. How safe is this? Is this a good idea? (I've never been in hostels before.)

5) Safety along the way. Usual rules apply, obviously, no hitchhikers, no strangers, AAA membership and charged cell phone, regular check-in times with family...any other tips, tricks, or warnings. Insert Texas Chainsaw Massacre joke here.

6) I will have more or less all my worldly possessions (clothes, mostly) in a cloth-top Jeep with me. Nothing except my laptop is very valuable, but it would be nice if it all stayed in my possession. I could also, in theory, travel with a duffel or two and ship the rest to California. Any suggestions?

7) Theme suggestions? I'd love to blog this.

8) Catchall - anything else I'm not mentioning that I really should know about?

And hey, if any mefites live along that route and want to grab a beer when I swing through your town...

Driving from Alabama to Seattle.

bamassippi — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 19:17:55 -0800

I'm driving cross-country and I'm looking for an online guide as to what I need to see along the way. I'll be driving from Jasper, Alabama to Seattle, Washington within the next 2 weeks.

I'm looking for particular websites/sources that will show me what will be in my area as I drive 2,600 miles across America.

Anybody?

Looking for work in all the wrong places (LA->NYC Move)

PissOnYourParade — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 09:13:52 -0800

So I have a friend, okay my boyfriend, who I convinced to move to NYC from LA. Problem is, he left a job in media post-production technology for, well, me and nothing. Now we don't quite know where to even start looking for places that would find his skills useful in NYC. The movie and TV industry seem to all be based elsewhere. Can the Hivemind help? Out in LA, he worked on the I/O and data wrangling end of companies like Sony and Digitial Domain with some movement to the creative side of the world. What I'd love to help him with lists of industries or companies or even places to look. Help me help him stay and work in New York.

Where to stop on a cross country drive?

jur777 — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 19:44:25 -0800

Driving across the United States and looking for the hidden diamonds. As you can see from my plan below, I have all of the major stops covered - the big cities, the major national parks... What I'm looking for (for example) is the cool places in the middle of Minnesota off route 90 to stop at when I need a break from driving.

Timeline: Early September through October (about 2 months)

The path: Starting in early September, I'll head out in a northwesterly direction from NJ towards Cleveland and Chicago. Then from there, through Wisconsin and Minnesota to South Dakota and the Badlands
From South Dakota, to Yellowstone in Wyoming then to Glacier NP in Montana. I'll roughly follow the US - Canadian border heading towards Seattle, Washington, Vancouver, British Columbia and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. From Seattle, I am southward bound, through Oregon (Or'gan) and California, hitting Yosemite and San Francisco. I will drive the Pacific Coast Highway as far as it goes through Cali. San Diego. Yes.
After San Diego things get a bit fuzzy, but I have to go to the Grand Canyon, re-visit some of Utah and Colorado, back down through New Mexico. Then we have the gigantumongous state of Texas. Not sure what route I'll take to traverse that... maybe follow the Rio Grande. Somewhere I will turn off and head for Austin and eventually New Orleans.
Being an east coast boy, I will skip much of the eastern seaboard and Florida, instead choosing to visit Memphis and Nashville. From there, I might visit a friend in DC and then make my way home.

Bicycle! Bicycle!

fandango_matt — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:19:05 -0800

I'm thinking about riding my bicycle from San Francisco to New York City next summer. Has anyone here done it? What should I know? What routes do you recommend? On which highways and interstates are bicycles allowed? What special things should I see? How do I build a solar-powered charger for a cell phone? I'd spend this year planning, training, and saving money, so I have some time to prepare.