What would your ideal road trip be?

[MickeyBA]

I'm getting married in late May and we are trying to decide what to do for our honeymoon trip. We had thought about an exotic beach vacation, something super relaxing. This is my second marriage and I have 2 girls, 9 and 13 that will be staying behind. We got to thinking that it might be fun for just the 2 of us to drive all over and see a bunch of different places. The beach we would totally do with the girls, a 10 day road trip.... No thank you!

So, we have up to 10 days. Late May/early June. We will be getting married at the lake in the Ozarks (my mom and dad's house on the water) on a Saturday and leaving there early evening. We'll want our first stop to be someplace fairly close (6 hours or less) from the wedding so we won't feel like we have to rush off. We don't mind lots of driving. Would love to find 3 or 4 good stops.

So far I am considering

Eureka springs, Arkansas - spa day, ghost tour, shopping and touring historic district

Savannah, Georgia - need to research what to do here.

St. Augustine, Florida - lots of cool historic stuff, beach

I would love to know if anyone has any great ideas. I'm open to anything.

 

[Hoodie]

Many years ago I took a road trip around California, Arizona and Nevada. Someone recommended Road Trip USA. What a great book! My edition is now sorely out of date, but it's really interesting to see things somewhat off the beaten path.

I can guarantee I would have never seen the Burlesque Museum in Helendale, CA (on a goat farm) without it!

 

[MickeyBA]

Many years ago I took a road trip around California, Arizona and Nevada. Someone recommended Road Trip USA. What a great book! My edition is now sorely out of date, but it's really interesting to see things somewhat off the beaten path.

I can guarantee I would have never seen the Burlesque Museum in Helendale, CA (on a goat farm) without it!

Great idea! I'll see if I can get that book on my nook right now. That's kind of what I'm looking for. I want to make sure and have lots of fun little things planned so we don't end up wasting days just not knowing where to go and what to do.

 

[KellyWasHere]

I love road trips and planning road trips. What a cool thing to do for a honeymoon.

I really like your plan. But I'd be more apt to head west and visit some national parks. I'd love to go to Colorado Springs and see Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site and Garden of the gods. Then Monument and Zion National Parks.

Followed by many more sites in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Dream trip.

 

[KellyWasHere]

Many years ago I took a road trip around California, Arizona and Nevada. Someone recommended Road Trip USA. What a great book! My edition is now sorely out of date, but it's really interesting to see things somewhat off the beaten path.

I can guarantee I would have never seen the Burlesque Museum in Helendale, CA (on a goat farm) without it!

I got this book for Christmas last year. I have been thumbing through it, it's fantastic!

 

[lovemygoofy]

If you are getting married on Lake of the Ozarks, which I love by the way, I would head west.

You could jump on Route 66. It would a beautiful drive and still not very hot at that time of year.

 

[MickeyBA]

I love road trips and planning road trips. What a cool thing to do for a honeymoon.

I really like your plan. But I'd be more apt to head west and visit some national parks. I'd love to go to Colorado Springs and see Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site and Garden of the gods. Then Monument and Zion National Parks.

Followed by many more sites in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Dream trip.

West would definitely be our other option. That is what is getting me stuck. I can't decide which direction we should go. I originally thought about going towards Florida because our original plan was that we were getting married at a house we rented in St. Augustine and then found out that the house got sold and it was too late to find anything else we liked. I had already looked into what we could do around there. I just don't know.....

I'm definitely more excited about the trip than the wedding. I have zero plans for that yet! I figure we're married no matter how that happens, but a vacation is a vacation!!!!!

 

[LuvOrlando]

So romantic my DH and I have had some of the best times & conversations driving together. There is just something about setting out on an adventure together that puts me in the best mood. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage and best wishes.

I keep trying to convince my DH that a RV trip is the best idea ever for an upcoming trip. So far he's not giving in but I've got time on my side

 

[MickeyBA]

If you are getting married on Lake of the Ozarks, which I love by the way, I would head west.

You could jump on Route 66. It would a beautiful drive and still not very hot at that time of year.

I'm really excited about the wedding. We just need to start planning! I think it's going to be nice at the lake. My mom and dad have a beautiful yard and the view is mostly trees and not other lake houses. They are on a really calm part of the lake in Warsaw.

I hadn't really considered the heat. West would probably be a much more comfortable trip for sure!

 

[LuvOrlando]

double

 

[MickeyBA]

So romantic my DH and I have had some of the best times & conversations driving together. There is just something about setting out on an adventure together that puts me in the best mood. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage and best wishes.

I keep trying to convince my DH that a RV trip is the best idea ever for an upcoming trip. So far he's not giving in but I've got time on my side

Thanks! I think it's really going to be a great trip and the best way to get the most out of our time. We aren't alone much. My kids are with me 99.9% of the time so this is going to be a real treat for us. I don't want to waste 2 whole days flying.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm really excited about the wedding. We just need to start planning! I think it's going to be nice at the lake. My mom and dad have a beautiful yard and the view is mostly trees and not other lake houses. They are on a really calm part of the lake in Warsaw.

I hadn't really considered the heat. West would probably be a much more comfortable trip for sure!

I don't think heat will be THAT much of an issue but yes you know as well as I do it gets quite warm in that area by June/July.

If you really don't want to go west, how about heading east. Spend the night in Little Rock, stop for lunch and a tour around Memphis and then spend the night in Nashville. You can go downtown and see some live music or the country music hall of fame or just walk around. The Opryland Hotel is simply gorgeous and fun in its own right.

From Nashville, you could either head on east to Gatlingburg/Piegon Forge and stay in a cabin for a day or two. The Smoky Mountains are gorgeous and the cabins can be very romantic!

If you don't want to do the Smoky Mountains, you could go south to Chattanooga which is another fun stop and then continue on to Atlanta. If I did this route, I would turn and start going away from GA and start making my way back through MS and maybe even LA even if I had time.

 

[disney1990]

I live on the East Coast. My idea road trip would be a trip across the country and back with no time restrictions.

 

[MossMan]

Two ideas:

Once you decide on the area you would like to explore, make a conscious effort to stay off of major highways. Whenever possible, take the secondary route. My favorite road trips are the ones where I feel like I'm discovering something.

Once you have the actual route sketched out, research interesting place to eat along the way. For instance, try to hit as many place you can featured in the Food Network show Diners, Drive-in and Dives. Here's a website that has has mapped all the restaurants the show has featured.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Sounds very FUN!!!

Figure out your destination first, then backtrack. Things of interest for me going south is...

Hot Springs Arkansas
New Orleans and then travel the coastline

 

[agnes!]

Darn, I can't remember the name of the book, but there's a book, written by a husband/wife team that is all about cafes & dives and off-the-beaten-path places to eat...(and I just see now that I'm repeating MossMan about this next one but I bet Guy Fiori (Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives) has written a book.) In addition to Road Trip USA, I'd stock up on some books like that. Ooooh, and maybe some bed & Breakfast /Romantic Inn type guidebooks...nothing wrong with Motel 6 but this is your honeymoon, stay in some nicely-memorable places that are couple-friendly.

You could always make parts of this journey a literary road trip... Travels with Charley, Blue Highways or visit places made famous by movies/TV shows(example: you mentioned Savannah, Ga...Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil) or if history's your bag, do a 'Famous' adventure, visiting famous authors' homes, famous architecture and so on.

Maybe plan out a couple of *completely* different trips....decide on one and then keep the others in the hopper for a special occasion like an anniversary .

agnes!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Cross country, stopping in Canton, OH, Chicago, Mt. Rushroom, Yellowstone, Seatle, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Washington DC, and then home.

 

[HM]

We has also thought we'd do the beach vacation for honeymoon, but ended up in Flagstaff AZ. We had a condo to stay in and each day took our rental car out to explore. We did Grand Canyon, Sedona, Meteor Crater, indian ruins, ghost town, etc. Great honeymoon.....

 

[Nik's Mom]

If you do decide to go south, then what about visiting Graceland Mansion in Memphis? It may not be the most romantic spot, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

I love road trips! If you have AAA, they offer great maps and guides that you can pick up for free. You can also order them from their website.

 

[MickeyBA]

Thanks so much for all of the ideas! The food network thing is a great idea. And mapping out a couple of different options is great too. I'm getting more and more excited for it!