The Classic American Road Trip

I’m finally back in the US of A after a cancelled flight from South Africa and three long days of travel trying to make it home. I got back on the 13th around 1am, my friend from Germany flew in on the 14th, and we left town for our classic American road trip on the 16th (note that I said ‘classic’- not ‘classy’).

I met Stella in April 2010 in Kenya on a volunteer project and we hit it off immediately. We spent about a month together there, and then I visited her in Germany on my way home in November. It was then that we hatched a plan to do a US road trip. It was an impulsive idea, we went to the bookstore and ordered a guide book, and that was that. Our dates got messy once I accepted a job in South Africa, but we were able to switch her flight, and here we are!

It is unbelievable just how much we have seen and done in the first few days. We visited bourbon distilleries in Kentucky. In Memphis we visited the Civil Rights Museum, rode in a pink limo, chatted with Elvis’ #1 fan, saw the Peabody ducks, and went out on Beale St.  In Nashville we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, attended a Nashville Sounds game and a high school football game, hit up the honky-tonks on Broadway, and made a post-drinking stop at the Waffle House.

So, aside from a couple more posts from South Africa, you’ll start to read about our ridiculous road trip! (I should probably mention that our Abe Lincoln bobblehead will make appearances every now and then as well). I wanted to share with you a rough itinerary and get any and all feedback/ideas that you may have. Not only do we want to hit up the typical tourist sites, but we want to see all of those ridiculous things along the way as well… like the Cadillac Ranch, the house made of beer cans, or the world’s biggest rubber band ball. Any and all ideas are welcome :) We are staying with friends and family, couchsurfing, and camping most of the way, but don’t have all the details worked out yet. Obviously, there are some places we will need to stop at in between and if you think there’s someone we must stay with…like your friend’s mom’s best friend’s crazy aunt that would be quite a character, then please let us know!

Completed:

Bardstown/Elizabethtown, KY
Memphis, TN
Nashville, TN
Columbia, SC

Up Next:

Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Jekyll Island, GA
Miami, FL
Tampa, FL
New Orleans, LA
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX
Sedona, AZ
Grand Canyon, AZ
Mesa Verde, CO
Arches Nat’l Park, UT
Zion Nat’l Park, UT
Bryce Canyon Nat’l Park, UT
Las Vegas, NV
Yosemite Nat’l Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA

My friend flies out of Los Angeles on October 1st. After that I’m back in San Francisco for a few days, then off to Portland, hopefully swinging through Utah, visiting new friends in Colorado, and then heading back to the East Coast.

Have you done a US road trip? Any must-see places or events?

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