Speaking of the critical importance of research and planning...

[Magpie]

If they (those "other people") chose to do no planning other than hopping in their car and driving until either their money or their gas runs out, it is not our job to judge them.

You're certainly free to drive until your car dies and you've stranded yourself (in your own country - see postscript).

And I am free to think you're a fool, if this is your vacation "plan". And say so, publicly!

Lots of people do things I think are foolish, unwise, even dangerous. Sometimes I do things that other people think are foolish, unwise, even dangerous. An example from my own family: When my mum went on her 70th Birthday Celebration trip, touring Eastern Europe (Romania, Germany, Macedonia, Montenegro, down to Greece), she didn't purchase any traveler's insurance. None! And she doesn't have any through work, either, as she's retired. I told her to her face I thought she was being a fool. She ignored me, went, and fortunately nothing bad happened.

Mind you, the fact that nothing bad happened doesn't mean I now think my mum's right for not purchasing insurance. It just means I think she was a lucky fool!

Everyone has an opinion. Message boards are all about expressing opinion. I may think your opinion is wrong, you may think mine is wrong. We'll both make our cases. And eventually we'll get bored and wander off, still secure in the knowledge that each of us were right and the other was wrong. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Basically, judging the actions of others on a message board isn't a "job", it's a hobby. It's why we're all here, yourself included.

(PS - if you try to enter a foreign country without a clear plan beyond "driving until my money or gas runs out" you run a very good chance of getting turned back at the border. Neither the US, nor Canada, looks kindly on people who try to enter the country without a plan. Border guards get really judge-y about it. That's why they ask you, "Where are you going? Where will you be staying? How long do you intend to visit?" If the answer to any of those is, "I'll figure it out when I get there!" then you'll almost certainly be asked to pull over, while they search your car, look at your finances and figure out if you can reasonably support yourself while you're in the country.)

 

[hiroMYhero]

Dropping in to remind everyone to continue the discussion in a non-name calling, civil manner.

There are many planning threads currently on TPAS and some of you may want to join in elsewhere for a more friendly environment.