Things You Should Know When Traveling Coast-to-Coast

Do you ever get to urge to just leave?
I do all the time.

I love going to the beach for the day, or driving up to the mountains for the weekend. I think its really important that you take time out of your busy life to travel and experience it all.

One night I couldn't sleep for the life of me. I was so stressed out with my life and thought, "I need a vacation". Where did I want to go? Anywhere. In all reality, I couldn't make up my mind.

Then this crazy thought came into play - just pack your car & go!

So I did.

Obviously I didn't leave that very morning but once I had the itch to do it, there was no turning back. Nothing could stop me. For once in my life, I felt free. This was happening one way or another. 

I decided to give myself a week to prepare. It was definitely overwhelming to think of all the to-do's - so naturally, I started to jot things down.

Here's my list of to-do's:

-get an oil change

-check all other auto fluids (washer fluid, brake fluid, coolant)

-inspect tire tread & air pressure (I actually bought 4 new, all-season tires 1 week prior)

-find your spare key! (just in case)

-choose destinations beforehand (or wing it, if you'd like!)

-let your friends and family know your exact route and potential stops along the way

Here's my super long list of items you should have:

-extra coolant, oil & washer fluid

-plenty of clothes (and a variety depending on where you're going)

-plenty of shoes (again, a variety.. boots, sneakers, flip flops, etc.)

-chapstick

-hand sanitizer (I bought a tiny bottle that clips to my rear-view mirror for easy access!)

-wet wipes, napkins, toilet paper

-plastic utensils & paper plates

-a cooler

-laptop

-kindle , books & coloring books

-chargers for all electronics

-batteries

-battery-operated mini fan

-an atlas (I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS!)

-printed directions (although you have a GPS, you will definitely lose service in parts of the country)

-plenty of water (and ice)

-plenty of caffeinated beverages

-snacks (think fruit, veggies, granola bars.. you will need plenty of energy if driving long hours)

-pillows & blanket
-a tent
-sleeping bag or air mattress

-a big bag of change (for the tolls and possible parking @ a meter)

-camera

-sunglasses

-plenty of hair ties (I cant tell you how many I lose....)

-any medications or pills you may need (aspirin, tums, etc)

-a positive attitude & an open mind!

After packing my car, I went through the list twice and checked everything off. It was time to hit the road!

Did I mention I wasn't going by myself? That thought alone scared the living daylights out of me - so I brought a friend.

Coming from Boston, MA, our destination was Palmdale, CA. We wanted to take a more scenic route, so instead of driving straight through, we did a loop around the country.

Destination # 1

Boston, MA ⏩ Myrtle Beach, SC

This was the first leg of our trip. Roughly 14 hours.. add in some stops to eat and use the restroom..15 hours total. New England has plenty of tolls, so please be prepared. Then you hit New York, New Jersey.. more tolls. Once you're out of Virginia you're in the clear when it comes to digging for change. As for the driving, New York obviously sucked. You think people from MA drive like nuts? Welcome to New York! Also, when you hit North Carolina be prepared to be in that state for a while. I remember seeing the sign for South Carolina and crying tears of joy. It finally hit us that we were on vacation when we saw our first palm tree.

 

If you ever take a drive down the east coast - Myrtle Beach, SC is a MUST! We couldn't wait to hit the beach, walk the boardwalk & relax after a long 15-hour troop. There are numerous hotels to chose from, a great variety of restaurants and even an amusement park right on the beach! 

After a long day in the sun - it was time to rest up for our next destination. We ended up going to the"Art-Sushi-Burger" Bar for dinner (definitely a MUST TRY if you go to Myrtle Beach) and spent the night at Captain's Quarters Resort, which had breathtaking views and was reasonably priced!

 

Destination #2

Savannah, GA

The drive only took us 4 hours and it was such a relief! When I put this destination on the map I didn't know what to expect. I had never been to Georgia but I always heard that Savannah is a beautiful, historic place to visit. From the Spanish-moss trees to the old buildings and cobblestone roads, it was everything I had hoped it would be!

     

*Suggestion: Georgia is famous for its peaches. If you ever go to Savannah, check out "Your Pie". This pizza joint is known for their peach & prosciutto pizza. It was SO GOOD!

Although we didn't spend the night in Savannah, we had a wonderful time strolling the streets and checking out what this beautiful city had to offer. On to the next adventure!

Destination #3

Destin, FL

This one was a little bit of a hike, that's for sure! It took us 7 hours to reach Destin Beach. We did stop in Jacksonville to visit an old friend which was great but after we left her house, we were spent. We ended up sleeping in the car at a rest stop...and all I can say is "humid as hell". Luckily we had purchased a battery-operated fan so that helped somewhat BUT if you can avoid sleeping in your car when in Florida..I strongly suggest you do. After getting 4 hours of sleep we were ready to go!

Let me just say...I have never really spent a lot of time in Florida. Everyone says that the Key West is the top destination to visit but I disagree. If you want to swim in crystal-clear water and bury your feet in soft, white sand without breaking the bank, then Destin Beach is the spot! There was a toll we had to go through once we made it over the bridge (photo above) but we did find free parking as well as a free, public beach known as Henderson Beach State Park.

If I could live anywhere in the country, this is where I'd be.

Destination #4

New Orleans, LA

After a long day spent under the sun at Destin Beach, we booked a room in New Orleans and hit the road again!

If you think New York or Massachusetts holds the #1 spot for reckless drivers.. look no further! I was definitely driving a solid 80mph and people were flying past me like nothing. It was a little scary, not going to lie.

It took about 4 hours to arrive. We booked a hotel in the French Quarter District and it was absolutely gorgeous! A little creepy? Yes. But we wanted the real experience while visiting New Orleans.

There was so much life and character to this city, it was UNBELIEVABLE! From the Voodoo shops, to the art galleries - the authentic food (Creole is so delicious) and last but not least... the entertainment. After dinner, I remember the waitress asking us, "Would you like a drink to go?". I looked at her puzzled, "What do you mean? You can drink in public?". When she said "yes", it was all over. We went from bar to bar and shortly after, our visit was a blur. The variety of music they have to offer is insane.. one club would have hip-hop, the next was a live punk-rock band and then you take two steps out the door, turn left and there's a jazz band! New Orleans had everything you could possibly think of. That was a night I never wanted to end.

   

Destination #5

Marathon, TX

This was the worst hangover of my life. Partying it up in New Orleans .... and we had yet another 14 hour drive ahead of us. Damn. I remember being so hungry hangry and I couldn't wait to get a burrito! Mexican food is my absolute favorite. This hit the spot!

Alright - back at it. Another 9 hours and 17 min to go. *ding ding* OH we're low on gas....lets stop for some fuel.

Perfect! Lets fill it up for cheap. Wait....what....the..............

                

Alrighty then.... is anybody gonna claim this pupper? (He was so cute and I wanted to take him with us)

It was time to collect my thoughts, stretch, down a Red Bull and get back on the road. 

All I could think of was that dog though. What was his name? Where was his owner? Was he a good boy? Its sad when you see a cute dog but you never get to pet them..

I'm clearly in desperate need of a nap at this point.

We drove for another 2 hours until exhaustion really kicked us in the you know what. I know I had mentioned earlier that Florida was humid.. but Texas was a lot worse. We had 0 tolerance when it came to sleeping in the car again, so we decided to look up nearby campgrounds.

We stumbled across this website on Google that showed free camp sites..."Freecampsites.net." All you do is type in your location and a map will load with all your options. We also learned that many National Parks offer camping as well, which is definitely something you can use to your advantage while traveling.

We decided to stay at Stephen F. Austin State Park in San Felipe, TX for the night. This park wasn't free unfortunately, but it was close, there were plenty of open sites, and it was only $15.

This was absolutely, without a doubt, the worst night of the trip. It must have been 95 degrees and the humidity was at 100%. The mini fan did nothing. We ended up stripping down and jumping in the cooler to get comfortable (not joking). You're probably wondering why I have a sweatshirt on? There was an infinite amount of bugs... Just AWFUL.

*birds chirping*

So happy that's over! Back on the road.

Another 7 hours and we will arrive in Marathon, TX. This small town is located right outside of Big Bend National Park. It is known to be the darkest place in the country. I have always had an obsession with the night sky so I was very excited to see what Marathon had to offer.

Of course when we finally got there, the sky got really dark. We had already paid for a camp site; however, the most insane lightening storm I had ever saw in my life started to occur a few miles out from us. There was no way in hell we were sleeping in a tent. With that being said, we ended up paying for a room.

Marathon Motel was a great place to stay. The owner was extremely nice and welcoming and they had no issue upgrading our tent site to a room. The room itself was small, but cozy. Overall, it was a great experience - definitely recommend staying here.

There is also a small BBQ joint next door known as "Brick Vault Brewery and Barbecue." This place is phenomenal. They have a flavorful selection of beer on tap and their food is to die for! I actually went there twice in one day.... If you ever have the opportunity to check it out, I highly recommend the Mexican street corn, pulled pork and BBQ ribs. I'm not a big BBQ fan at all, but this place has the best BBQ food I have ever had in my life.

The following day, we wanted to check out one more location before saying goodbye to Texas.

Destination #6
Terlingua, TX
Ghost Town

Yup. You heard me...Ghost Town. An actual ghost town. This experience was amazing. Not only did we get to see the ruins of old buildings, but we also got to walk through an ancient cemetery.

*Note - this town is basically on the Mexican border. We had no cellular service and our phones were roaming.

After this, we couldn't WAIT to get out of Texas. I think it took 3 days or so to drive through the state.....

Peace out!

Destination #6
Phoenix, Arizona

This stretch was 13 hours, including our stop for dinner in New Mexico. Luckily, we had a relative out in Phoenix. We didn't have to get a hotel, we could actually get some laundry done and just relax for a couple days. It was very peaceful.

***PLEASE NOTE - ARIZONA IS EXTREMELY HOT.
Do not leave anything in your car that can melt or explode under hot temperatures...
example: makeup, electronics, anything in a plastic bottle!!
This is no joke... Arizona was at 115 degrees and numerous items in my car melted....
*ALSO - make sure you keep an eye on your coolant and temperature gauge. It is not uncommon for your car to overheat while driving in Arizona.

Destination #7
Las Vegas, NV

Vegas baby!!!! Here we come :-)

I love to Gamble. I enjoy going to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun quite often...however; I have heard from many people that nobody ever wins in Vegas. Is that true? I don't know. I can tell you this... I only brought $100 cash with me to the casino because I wanted to save for other things (shopping, eating, etc.). And I'm glad that's all I brought because I lost it all within 15 min.

Well... that was fun.

After the casino, we were wicked hungry! So we walked around looking for a place to go. We decided to go to "Dicks Last Resort", which we do have back home in Boston.. I have never gone though. Anyways, this place was pretty cool. The food was decent and the waiter was an A$$HOLE....not joking. When you go to Dicks you're literally paying for a terrible waiter/waitress. Its all part of the experience! They also come over and place these paper hats on your head with awful things written about you. It is pretty funny, I must say!

Naturally, after dinner we wanted to drink and walk around some more - so we did!

These drinks were only $8 or so? It took me about 40 min to drink. I don't recall it having enough alcohol to do the trick but it was yummy..

On our way back to the room we came across this candy store...I'm not a sweets person but I figured, 'why not?'.

YES - That's exactly what it appears to be. Its the Statue of Liberty made out of chocolate. My friend wanted to give this a lick so bad. You only live once, so I kind of wish he did!
I wonder how many people have actually done it? Gross.

This store was super cool though. They had a Reese's section (my fav candy) with pillows, shirts, flip flops, huge bags of candy, pretty much anything you could think of!!

And there it is! Beautiful hotel, right? We stayed at the Excalibur. Looks can be deceiving..................
The staff was very rude. They shut the pool down 2 hours earlier than promised and gave us no explanation as to why. They gave me a room that didn't have the view that was portrayed on the site when I had booked it. When we complained about the room and the pool closing, they told us "why don't you go somewhere else then". Couldn't believe that.....

Although we didn't have the "tower view" we had paid for, we had a nice view of the strip. When the sun came up - we appreciated it. It was breathtaking. What a lovely sun rising up over Motel 6 and Hooters!

 

Destination #8
Rachel, NV
AREA 51 - HWY 375

If you know me personally and you're reading this right now, you're probably saying to yourself "That's so Holly. Of course she would go there!".

It was an easy, painless, and peaceful 3-hour drive. This is where your atlas and printed directions come into play. There is absolutely NO CELLULAR SERVICE out here and if you see a UFO, you better run!

Our destination was an odd, little diner known as Little A'Le'Inn. They have rooms to spend the night as well, if you're to chicken to camp out in the desert.

We met a young kid that worked here (cant remember his name for the life of me) but he was super down-to-earth and welcoming. We sat at the bar for hours and talked about Area 51 over some whiskey. He was very informative and even gave us a map of the area.

*NOTE - If you go to Area 51 - there are signs that say "No Camera's" "Do Not Trespass" "Use of Deadly Force Authorized". This is for real. Don't even mess with it. We didn't.

Once we had the map and all the information we needed, it was time to explore. We then drove to the "Alien Research Center" in Hiko, NV. This wasn't an actual research center but it was a really cool gift shop! Anything alien you could think of..it was here. I ended up buying a bracelet and a few bumper stickers for cheap.

Marilyn Monroe totally looks better as an extraterrestrial!

After visiting the gift shop, we decided to go back to the bar and grab another drink before pitching our tent.

On the way back, we also found this little spot in Hiko, known as "E-T- Fresh Jerky". They had the obvious.. beef jerky! This was the BEST jerky I have ever tasted. Selections included beef jerky, turkey jerky, spicy jerky, teriyaki jerky, etc. They also had custom soda's to choose from!



It was now time to pitch the tent. I really didn't want to spend anymore money at a motel and I was obsessed with the idea of sleeping in the desert...If you ever travel the 375 Extraterrestrial Highway and you want the real experience - camp out in the desert.

When we spoke with the dude at the bar, he assured us that people do it all the time and that there's nothing to worry about. You can literally pull off the side of the highway anywhere you'd like! Just make sure you're a good 40 feet away from the road.



This was our spot for the night!

 

And this was the view from our tent - no words needed.


Destination #9
Palmdale, CA

This was a 6 hour hike. Luckily, my cousin lives here so we didn't have to book a room. We spent a total of 3 days here and it was a great time!

First and foremost, I want to give a huge shout-out to my beautiful and successful cousin, Heathyr Frances. She was a wonderful host who showed us the top spots in the LA area - such as Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood Boulevard.

Before I get into the highlights of our California trip I want to also suggest you check out her website, (www.lovedab.com/about) The Dab Company (Down and Beautiful). Here you will find a colorful blog filled with advice, tips, stories and more! Her mission is to "enrich the self-esteem of young women, helping them to enhance their own “Dazzling And Beautiful” individuality. "

She is also the owner of The Dab Company YouTube web series. 
Subscribe Now

  

Once we arrived in Palmdale - the plan was to check out LA. It took about an hour with traffic, but the ride was totally worth it.
                             

                            


After grabbing lunch, we began our journey down Hollywood Boulevard.

  

Lots of walking - tons of people - so many neat things to check out in this area.

 

If you happen to walk by LA's Museum of Illusions, definitely stop here! This place was so cool and its a great opportunity to take some interesting pics.

 
 
"But the most beautiful things in life are not things. They're people, places, memories and pictures. They're feelings and moments, and smiles, and laughter."

 

Back on the road! With Santa Monica as our destination, this was another hour drive.

It felt so good to see the ocean again! Growing up in New England, this is one thing in life I don't think I could ever live without. The pacific coast is definitely different from the east though. If you go swimming please be cautious of sea urchins, jellyfish, stingrays and (the obvious) sharks!

If swimming isn't your thing, you can always take a stroll on the pier. There are a ton of gift shops, restaurants and even an amusement park!

Destination #10

Denver, CO

Palmdale to Denver was a long drive. 15 hours straight through. Luckily, we had a friend to stay with once we got there.

When driving through the canyons, you will see numerous signs that mention "falling rock".......

45 minutes away from Denver, this happened.

Mmmmmhmm. And there's no advice I can give to you on this because it can happen and there's absolutely nothing you can do to avoid it.

So much driving in such a short amount of time - you may ask, "what the hell do you do to keep yourself busy on the road?".

For me, it was easy to stay occupied. I never really left New England, so the road itself was a distraction. Going through numerous states I had never been to, gazing upon beautiful landscapes and just breathing in the fresh air was such a true feeling of happiness.

Personally, I love the road. I cant get enough when it comes to driving, but obviously I had to switch off with my friend when exhaustion kicked in. There were times, especially at night, where I got a little restless and bored.

I had a handful of things to keep me busy:
-taking selfies
-updating my photos of the journey
-coloring/drawing
-reading e-books
-watching movies

TIP: If you have Google Play, download the movie before hand. That way, when you have no service, you still have some form of entertainment. This also goes for music.. download songs directly to your phone so you have something to listen to when all the radio stations in the area suck or if you have no service on your phone for Pandora, YouTube, etc.

That's Denver? Kind of looks like Boston... I felt like I was home again.

At this point in the game I was so sick of spending money..but as I mentioned before, we had a friend that kindly let us stay with her. If you have relatives or friends along the way, I strongly suggest you stay with them if possible. Booking a hotel every night would add up real quick.

When I came up with my list of destinations, I didn't book in advance but I knew where I wanted to get a hotel and planned it out accordingly. That way, you have an idea of how much money you will be spending.

Denver is one hell of a time! You want to go shopping or out to eat? Go downtown. You want to go camping, hiking, swimming? Go up to the mountains.

Colorado is the place to be if you really want to explore all the beauty that nature has to offer

Rocky Mountains

Final Destination ⏩ Home

One last drive.

This was 29 hours and we drove straight through - only stopping to use the bathroom and grab some food. I didn't take many photos during this time only because there's really not a lot to see going through the middle of the country. I honestly don't understand how anyone lives out here...corn fields...and corn fields..and more corn!

Overall, this was the trip of a lifetime. If you ever have the chance to do it - don't think - just GO. Don't be afraid to leave home or step outside of your comfort zone. If you don't take the chance or opportunity now, you may never get to again.

"Its not about the destination, its the journey"

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Also, follow me on Foap - I have plenty of photos from my adventure!

Happy Travels :-)