I don’t own a car, so I never really think about road trips. The last real road trip we did was back in the summer of 2018 when we toured colleges with my daughter: we referred to it as the Most Beautiful College Campus in America Tour. Charlottesville, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore- much fun to see things I’d never seen but I wasn’t a fan of living out of a suitcase…

So if I were to take a road trip, I would need to figure out how to do a great one suitcase capsule wardrobe. Then I would need a fun route- to me, going along major highways like 95 or the Jersey Turnpike would just not work for me. I would need a really nice car- in my mind I imagine myself as Grace Kelly in a vintage convertible, Hermes scarf tied neatly around my hair, cats eye sunglasses shading my high from the brilliant sunlight. Alas, as I know myself I figure I am more likely to be Bridget Jones showing us with Medusa like hair…so I think I would opt for a car with a sunroof- best of both worlds. But I still would be wearing awesome sun glasses…

And the route…

Well, I guess it would have to be Route 66- the quintessential American Highway. Also known as the Mother Road, parts of Route 66 no longer exist- however-thanks to some preservation efforts, you can still drive parts of it. It originally went for almost 2,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. We drove parts of it when we were in New Mexico and bought the “I got my kicks on Route 66” sign, which my daughter still has on her bedroom door.

Why Route 66? I guess because of its kitsch value. I love kitsch. I also love touristy things. I love seeing little pieces of history. And 66 is a great combination of all these things. I would love to imagine the people that went on this trek, the things they saw, the food they ate, the stories they told. I would think about time before smart phones and GPS and making the destination more important than the journey. I would like to think about the freedom of just being and driving and looking our the window, with local FM radio narrating the passing miles.

So that would be my road trip.

Who’s in?

77 thoughts on “Bloganuary Day 2: What is a road trip you would love to take?”

  2. I’m not fond of mid-century stuff or kitsch, so I’d pass on the Route 66 tour. But I’d love to go back through Colorado on I-70, head back through Glenwood Canyon, and see more of the beautiful little mountain towns off the interstate along the back highways. Or, I’d love to drive up back up through Montana and get into the mountains, rather than just seeing the prairie up there.

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      1. I-70 through the Front Range and into central Colorado is amazing! It can be a scary drive, though, because it’s up into the mountains, and people drive fast. But once you get off onto the little highways, you can take your time and really look around. A friend and I took the wrong exit and ended up in a little town called Minturn, and it was one of the prettiest towns I’ve ever been to.

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      2. Perfect! But I’d need a really good driver leading me around! Love when you happen upon things that are wonderful!

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      5. Yep. I’m from Colorado. Didn’t appreciate it, though until I got older and saw it through people’s eyes that had never been there.

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  4. A road trip in the US has been on my bucket list since I visited the States for the first time in Jan 2020. I definitely want to do it one day but probably once the pandemic is out of the way. Maybe something to plan for a big birthday trip ☺️

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    1. Oh, and apparently WP doesn’t want me to play anymore after only 1 day. I never received the email with today’s prompt so I am glad you joined in and are posting early so I can get prompts.

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      4. Well at least we aren’t alone, but I don’t understand why. Except that it’s WP and I have come to anticipate a lot of negativity surrounding this platform. Good plan though, I’ll just check the community page going forward. Thanks.

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  13. We had a plan to travel the states visiting all the major league baseball stadiums and Cooperstown and my husband golfing in all the mainland states. His back injury has definitely cancelled those plans but perhaps a cross country train ride would work.

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  15. I think the entire look of your road trip as written seems a bit romantic. Done 66… I think there are nicer roads to enjoy and have just as much kitch if that is what you need in a road trip.
    I think I would complete the Mississippi River Road trip I started before COVID. I did MN to St Louis. So maybe St Louis to Gulf of Mexico.
    Great dream project. Thanks LA!

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  18. I love a road trip, and here in Australia we have H U G E L Y wide open spaces to traverse! But in America, I’d like to see the desert, the snow, and massive trees. Ooh, and that canyon of red/purple rocks… so I need someone to guide me… and I’d take a Hybrid car, to use less petrol 🙂

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  19. I’ll skip Route 66, as I’ve seen most of those parts of the country. I’d love to do spring in the Deep South, I’ve been through part of Mississippi, but haven’t seen Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. The other big trip would be in the Maritime provinces of Canada and then maybe all the way across that country. I’ve been to BC, but not much else.

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  20. I’ve done a lot of motorcycling in NM and agree that it is a great place for the open roads. I’ve thought about following the journey of Lewis and Clark for a road trip. That would be fun, cover a lot of territory, and give a different perspective on history.

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  21. Love this! What a picture you paint with your Grace Kelly esque description. Route 66 sounds interesting. I watched a documentary about it once. A lot of little towns that depended on tourist dollars are now ghost towns. Would be a fun adventure to do that drive, even if only in parts. My dream road trip would be through Italy. I wrote about it today.

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  24. Route 66 is on our list. This summer, we’re driving to the northwest, through several states I’ve never seen. Coming back through Yellowstone and the Black Hills. In a few days, we’ll leave on a three day trip to Florida. Our goal is to get there, but I hope we can also enjoy the journey.

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  26. I’m in! We took a small group tour from Vegas to Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon and drove along part of Route 66. I’d like a road trip to tour Revolutionary War battlefields and some colonial-era attractions. It’s on the bucket list…along with a scenic drive from Savannah to Charleston.

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  27. My niece runs a restaurant that is on part of Route 66, and she gets lots of people from all over stopping in for a meal as they explore this favorite route. She says its especially popular with Europeans, although she’s not sure why. But she does love all the interesting people she’s met. If you ever do take that road trip, let me know and I’ll give you the name and location of her restaurant if you’re interested!

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  29. Italy or France – in late Spring or early Autumn so the temperatures are clement without being overly hot. Stopping overnight in little Agriturismos or Gites along the way, eating the local fare – everything from basic to top notch and back again. Heaven!

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    1. It’s funny but I just read about this English island that is looking for someone to run it’s pub and be king of the island…so I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to be on an island too

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  34. My last road trip was last July, right during Covid. Drove with my friend, Mike, from Washington to Arkansas. We stopped at almost every state in between. We went there to meet the guy that is listed as my dad on my birth certificate. We can’t wait now to go on another. I love road trips. Everyone should somehow try to do one!

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