Tag Archives: Road Trip

3 Secrets for Planning a Unique Road Trip

As I explained earlier, we have a habit of going somewhere that is a detour from our original destination.  In this case, today, as this hits the Internet, I’m on my way to Florida. But after three days there for a wedding, Ken and I will fly to Atlanta and launch a road trip to three southern states I’ve been wanting to check off my list of state’s visited: Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. Additionally, we’ll be spending time in Tennessee and passing through South Carolina.

As I was planning the trip, I was doing my usual frugal searches for hotels, and my usual Internet searches for interesting sites.  But then I realized that I was overlooking three perfect tools for planning the road trip.  I’ll be telling you more about how all these things worked out, but for now, here are  three secrets to planning a unique and interesting road trip.

Endless road
Endless road

1. Get Off the Highway and follow the Byways

Fortunately there is a website directing you to nationally outstanding  byways, selected not only for scenic beauty, but also for historic and cultural interest.

The official Department of Transportation site starts with a map showing the location of 150 America’s Byways. You can click on a dot on the map (almost every state), or plug in an address and find something nearby. Although the site includes a brief description of each of the featured byways, you have to go else where (click on the title of the byway) to get the details, like maps, time estimates, attractions along the way, etc.

With a site like America’s Scenic Byways, there is no excuse for sticking with the boring wide, truck-crowded freeways. That site lists not only the official Byways, other scenic roads, roads through BLM lands and Forest Service Lands, Parkways, but also All American roads.  You can browse through each category, or search by state.

And don’t forget to go to the state you are interested in. Do a search for “StateName byways” and you’ll find a treasure chest of information for the location you’re visiting.

How are we using this?  Well, I wanted to travel across just the northeast corner of Alabama, because we’re headed for Chattanooga, one of my favorite cities.  Looking at maps, I didn’t see anything very interesting in that corner of the state. However, I found not one but TWO Byways that cross that area, conveniently connecting us from Atlanta Georgia to Chattanooga.  That’s just one of the Byways in our itinerary, which I’ll be talking about.

2. Skip the Motel and try a different lodging provider

Thank goodness for motels.  When my mother was taking road trips in the 20s and 30s, she had to stay at some pretty rough places.  But after the war, in the late 40s, people hit the road in a big way, new highways were built, and motels came into being. Chain motels soon developed with dependable, cookie-cutter decor and service. But sometimes you need a change.

In Florida, we’re staying for the first time in an Air BnB facility. I’ll let you know later how it works out, but it is very conveniently located and my grand daughter who lives nearby, drove by and confirmed that it looks perfect for us.  It will be a nice break from the and get us out of the rut of taking the easy way out and booking at ubiquitous motel chains. Variety is the spice of road trips. We’re used to staying at VRBO or other apartment rentals when we’re staying for several days, but this will be only three nights.

Another lodging choice was the vary last I booked, and leads to my final tip.

 

3. Take a Break at a State Park

I’m assuming that if there are any National Parks or Historic Sites on your route, you’ll know about them and visit them.  But sometimes we forget that many states have excellent state park systems.  While they may offer active recreation like boating or water skiing on lakes and hiking or trail biking, they may also house historic sites or be located in urban areas.

The State Parks will almost certainly have picnic grounds, and you can either stop at a grocery store or pick up some deli/restaurant food and get off the road and into nature for a couple of hours when you stop to eat.

And many State Parks offer cabins, lodges, or motel rooms in addition to the expected campgrounds. In fact, we honeymooned at a state park in Ohio (a very long time ago).

So why did it take me so long to realize that instead of settling for the overpriced “cheap” motels in one area, that I should look at the state parks?  Although generally you must rent for longer than one night, it does not hurt to ask, and in this case, since it was a Sunday night, they were more than happy to put us up for the one night.  (I’ll describe the cabin later, but I’m thrilled!)

One caveat, not all states have the same quality of lodging. And just because it is a rustic cabin does not mean that it will be cheap. Because of high demand in the summer, the prices may be on  a par with one and two start hotels.

I hope you’re coming with us on this road trip. I think we’re going to have a wide array of unique experiences packed into 10 days and five states.

A Trip to Crete in 1994

Twenty years? YES, it has been twenty years since this trip to Crete but it is as clear as yesterday. A totally memorable trip  Tomorrow, you’ll see a review of a book by Barry Unsworth about his trip to Crete ten years ago, and I’ll add more explanations of the pictures below.

Road Trip in Crete, 1994
Road Trip in Crete, 1994

Dogtripping – An American Road Trip with 25 Rescue Dogs

Pet Travel Tuesday

Destination: California, Maine, cross-county continental United States

Book: Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure (NEW) – David Rosenfelt

By Pamela Douglas Webster

What’s crazier? Living with 25 dogs at a time? Or deciding to drive them across the United States?

Let’s hear from the man who actually did it and wrote about it in Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure—David Rosenfelt.

He wrote, anticipating the trip:

Someone once said that the difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude. That’s how I knew I was in for an ordeal.”

But Dogtripping is only partly about the trip across the country. It begins with Rosenfelt explaining how he started rescuing dogs.

A beautiful pound pup in need of rescue.

Rosenfelt is not the type of man most people would imagine running a dog rescue. When he and his wife, Debbie Myers, first began rescuing dogs from their local shelter, he was a film marketing executive turned mystery writer, and she was a former film executive who had moved to a high-level job with a national fast food chain.

Nevertheless, despite busy schedules that caused both of them to travel, the couple felt a burning mission to save golden retrievers, golden mixes, and many special needs dogs on death row in the Los Angeles shelter system.


Why? Because of Tara, the beautiful golden retriever living with Debbie when the pair met. Rosenfelt called Tara the best dog ever. She even inspired a recurring character in his Andy Carpenter mystery series. But a soft heart for all dogs, not only goldens, meant that their home was also filled with a variety of dogs who just needed a good home.

The couple matched adoptable dogs with forever homes, meeting and screening every potential adopter. Dogs that had recently been slated for death in a shelter found good homes. Dogs whose age or infirmities made them unlikely to find a home became permanent members of the Rosenfelt/Myers family.

After struggling with the challenges of keeping a large pack of dogs from disturbing their near neighbors, the pair bought acreage in rural Maine and supervised, long-distance, the renovation of a house to meet their animals’ unique needs. When Debbie retired, they would move to their new home.

But how would they transport all the dogs?

Rosenfelt reached out to his readers for help. Some suggested he ask John Travolta or Oprah Winfrey to lend their planes. When the celebrities did not make the offer, Rosenfelt considered commercial airlines. The cost of flying 25 dogs was prohibitive.

Finally, they rented three large RVs to make the trip. Eleven volunteers—some of whom were fans of his mysteries that he had never personally met—stepped up to assist him and Debbie in transporting the dogs.

Team Woofabago, the name one volunteer gave their vehicles on social media, planned the route, drove the 3 RVs, and cared for the dogs along the way. At every stop, the volunteers set up an instant dog park with 200 feet of light fencing. Even a short rest break took close to an hour. Staying on schedule so that the volunteers could make their flights home from Maine at the end was a major challenge.

A dog waits in an RV.

Rosenfelt attempts to bring his reader into his world. The book is arranged in alternating chapters with one describing the individual dogs and what it’s like to live with them and the next describing the planning, logistics, and the drive. The daily life chapters used roman type while the trip chapters were set in italic.

At first, I found his choice confusing and irritating. Especially since, in the planning stages, there wasn’t much to distinguish the italicized “trip” chapters from the daily life chapters. As the story went on, however, I adjusted to the device and it stopped bothering me.

As for the stresses Rosenfelt experienced on the road, I can personally relate. As much as I love dogs, I’d rather be buried in an ant hill and smeared with honey than to spend endless miles on a highway in an RV with a barking band.

A Traveler’s Library exists to share books that inspire travel. While Dogtripping is a light, somewhat comical read, it won’t inspire me to road trip with 25 dogs any time soon. But I left the book feeling inspired by Rosenfelt’s and Myers’ compassion and dedication. And it’s hard not to enjoy a story about former death row dogs and their people ending their travels in a place they could all call home.

Photo Credits: Pound pup and RV Dog are images found on Flickr and used under Creative Commons licenses. Learn more about the photographers by clicking the pictures. To see photos taken on the trip, visit David Rosenfelt’s website and on the Woofabago Facebook page.

Disclosures: The link to Amazon from the book covers gives you an easy way to buy Rosenfelt’s books. When you shop through my links at Amazon, I earn a few cents. Thanks for your support!