driving across the USA - provisional itinerary

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:12:51 -0500, Vicky wrote:

In article , B Vaughan
wrote:

... From there, you will take
I-95 south. It is the same as the New Jersey Turnpike, a toll road, at
that point, but later branches off to follow a more easterly route.
I-95 goes all the way to Philadelphia.

(Note: that should have been "westerly".)

Just a note - the New Jersey Turnpike does not go through Philadelphia
directly. There are several ways to get to Philly from the Turnpike,
but one must get off it first and then do some maneuvering.

I thought the above made it clear that I wasn't suggesting taking the
Turnpike to Philadelphia. I would take I-95 to Philadelphia, not the
NJ Turnpike. However, the two roads are the same when you are that far
north. I usually leave the turnpike at New Brunswick (exit 9) and
follow Route 1 until it connects with I-95 again near Princeton.
However, if you want to avoid traffic lights and wall-to-wall shopping
centers, a slightly longer route stays with the turnpike until the
vicinity of Hightstown where it connects with either I-295 or maybe
it's I-195, in any case it's the official route of I-95 and is also
better signposted. The New Jersey Turnpike follows a more easterly
route that takes longer and then you have to navigate unlovely Camden
NJ to get to Philadelphia.

One certainly wouldn't want to take a wrong turn in Camden. I did that
once late at night after having first mistakenly taken the bridge to
NJ instead of the entrance to I-95. I just kept driving for miles
until I was out of Camden before stopping to consult a map. And I am
not a person who gets nervous in dicey neighborhoods. I've lived
happily in dicey neighborhoods. However, Camden resembles a city that
has survived a bomb attack.

rob tyler wrote:
"Karl Wagner" wrote in message
...

"rob tyler" wrote in message
...
We have now put together a rough outline of the itinerary for our drive
across the USA from New York to San Francisco via New Orleans and Santa

Fe.

This is my first trip to the USA.

SNIP

As someone who's driven through some 30 states over the past 6 years, I
heartily recommend that you stay OFF the interstates. They are "the

fastest

was of getting from A to B WITHOUT SEEING ANYTHING". Eg, I did the Route

66

from Chicago to LA in three weeks ENTIRELY off the interstates (as much as
possible). I sincerely urge you to rethink - Interstates are dead boring.
Take more time / fewer miles, and go cross-country. Also, bear in mind

that

the weather can be quite cold. There's snow half the year in Santa Fe, the
North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed in winter due to snow.
I'm currently driving from Miami to Tucson, but I got several months to do
it in... :-)


I would be pleased to drive off the Interstates if there are alternatives.
I presume even though snowed up it is still possible to get to Santa Fe: we
are just about to book a hotel there (the only one we are booking ahead as
well as SF) as it's Christmas.
What's the attraction of Tucson to you?



I much prefer taking US 90 from San Antonio west and up to Carlsbad. You
can still drive 70 mph except for a few small towns - largest is Del Rio
which you can get through in 20 minutes, max. (Two lane highways in Texas &
NM are every bit as good as the Interstates). You seem to be allowing
plenty of time for sightseeing. 300-400 miles/day is what more people
drive. If you do stay on I-10, stop and visit Fredericksburg and/or the LB
Johnson visitors center & ranch for a feel of the Hill Country of Texas.
Best route would be skipping San Antonio and taking US 290 from Houston to
Austin - see the new "Bob Bullock" state museum and the outstanding movie
there on the state and what it means to be Texan. Then continue on 290 to
Fredericksburg for some good German food, shopping, and back to I-10. IMO
the Caverns of Sonora down a couple of exits off I-10 are also much better
than Carlsbad. If you do stay in Beaumont, see the "Texas Energy Museum" or
Spindletop Mounument and village at Lamar Univ. How discovery of oil in
1901 changed the state and nation forever.

Of course, being a Houstonian I'd also recommend NASA's Manned Space Flight
Center

Marv

Dennis P. Harris wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 08:48:28 -0000 in rec.travel.usa-canada, "rob
tyler" wrote:


30th December, Tuesday Bakersfield CA 286 miles


Like most of Texas, Bakersfield is an armpit, not worth spending
*any* time in unless you like looking at oil derricks.

Better to skip Bfield and go to Yosemite instead. It's waaaay
overcrowded in the summer, and might get busy during the
Christmas-New Year week, but it's spectacular any time.

You spend far too much time driving *every* day. I would drive
longer periods and spend more days in a given area. I also
suggest flying to someplace like New Orleans or Santa Fe and
starting from there.

Texas is not worth driving across. IMHO the only 2 cities in
Texas worth seeing are Austin and San Antonio, and the only rural
area worth seeing is Big Bend National Park. The rest of Texas
is a very flat wasteland, sparsely populated by folks that have
an inflated opinion of Texas.

You've obviously not visited East Texas with its Big Thicket cypress swamps
and the large nat'l forests and rolling hills - end of the "piney woods"
which start in the Carolinas and end at Houston. Or the Hill Country with
fertile rolling hills NW of Austin. Or the Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons in
the Panhandle. Or the Gulf Coast.

http://www.traveltex.com/regional.asp?SN=3878928&LS=0

MTV


If you really want to see the American West, fly into Phoenix or
Denver and start from there.

"rob tyler" staggered to the nearest
keyboard and wrote:

ta hambu - do you know Roanake?

Haven't been there in years, though they do have a nice little
airport. When I was a kid Roanoke had little to offer other than an
amusement park, but things may have changed in the past *cough* years.


--
hambu n hambu hodo

Why would anyone from Europe care about Route 66? It may be dear
to your heart because of its history but in the final analysis it
is just an old road and almost none of it original anyhow.

We aren't talking about the Via Appia here.





Route 66 is a fabled road in the U.S. See especially The
Grapes of Wrath.

I agree with this advice, (except about Sonora Caverns being
better than Carlsbad),
and I'd definitely recommend San Antonio to a visitor over
Austin.




I much prefer taking US 90 from San Antonio west and up to
Carlsbad. You
can still drive 70 mph except for a few small towns - largest
is Del Rio
which you can get through in 20 minutes, max. (Two lane
highways in Texas &
NM are every bit as good as the Interstates). You seem to be
allowing
plenty of time for sightseeing. 300-400 miles/day is what more
people
drive. If you do stay on I-10, stop and visit Fredericksburg
and/or the LB
Johnson visitors center & ranch for a feel of the Hill Country
of Texas.
Best route would be skipping San Antonio and taking US 290 from
Houston to
Austin - see the new "Bob Bullock" state museum and the
outstanding movie
there on the state and what it means to be Texan. Then continue
on 290 to
Fredericksburg for some good German food, shopping, and back to
I-10. IMO
the Caverns of Sonora down a couple of exits off I-10 are also
much better
than Carlsbad. If you do stay in Beaumont, see the "Texas
Energy Museum" or
Spindletop Mounument and village at Lamar Univ. How discovery
of oil in
1901 changed the state and nation forever.

Of course, being a Houstonian I'd also recommend NASA's Manned
Space Flight
Center

Marv

You're forgetting visitors usually haven't seen the kind of
things that you consider an armpit. They are often fascinated by
miles of flat land, lack of trees, grazing cattle, cactus
growing, scenic canyons, oil derricks,
etc.

Like most of Texas, Bakersfield is an armpit, not worth
spending
*any* time in unless you like looking at oil derricks.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 03:12:43 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada,
"DiggerDog" wrote:

You're forgetting visitors usually haven't seen the kind of
things that you consider an armpit. They are often fascinated by
miles of flat land, lack of trees, grazing cattle, cactus
growing, scenic canyons, oil derricks,
etc.

well, maybe that's because i grew up in and live in a bigger
state than texas, that has real mountains.

and i have seen much of texas, except for the east texas which
made another poster wax poetic. sorry, i live in a rain forest,
and a "forest" of spindly dried out pines is not my idea of a
forest.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 03:01:07 GMT, "DiggerDog"
wrote:

Why would anyone from Europe care about Route 66? It may be dear
to your heart because of its history but in the final analysis it
is just an old road and almost none of it original anyhow.

We aren't talking about the Via Appia here.

All the same, I have seen a lot of fascination on the part of
Europeans for Route 66. It maybe fascinates Europeans more than it
does Americans.

DiggerDog asked:
Why would anyone from Europe care about Route 66?

Why would an American want to visit the Italian hill town of San
Gimignano or the village of Sarlat in the Dordogne? Because they are so
far off the main track that they have been able to preserve their charm.

Bob McNabb