Planning Your Perfect Road Trip

By Theresa L. Goodrich

A Step-by-Step Guide to Hittin' the Road and Planning Your Road Trip Adventures

 

Ready to hit the road?

Skip the stress and have an amazing adventure with this no-fluff guide to planning your perfect road trip.

 

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to plan a seamless and unforgettable journey, whether you're traveling solo or with others. 

 

From selecting the perfect route and budgeting for expenses, to finding the best places to eat and sleep, this guide has you covered. 

 

With tons of insider tips and tricks from a seasoned road tripper, you'll be able to plan the perfect trip tailored to your interests and preferences. 

 

So pack your bags, gas up the car, and hit the road with confidence – your dream road trip awaits!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Theresa L. Goodrich
• Release date: Feb 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781958187074

Book preview

Copyright © 2024 by Theresa L. Goodrich

Published in the United States by The Local Tourist

thelocaltourist.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any

information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in

writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

or as allowed by copyright law.

ISBN 978-1958187074

Every effort has been made to provide accurate information at the time of publication. The author does not assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites, or for whatever shenanigans road trippers get into.

Contents

Introduction

The Joy of Road Trips

How to use this book

How current is this information?

Where can I find online resources?

What about checklists, itineraries, and planning pages?

Is there really such a thing as a perfect road trip?

Getting Started

What Type of Road Tripper Are You?

Steps for Planning Your Road Trip

Top Tips for a GREAT Road Trip

Getting Organized

Why Being Organized is Important

How to Organize Your Trip

Choosing Road Trip Destinations

Choosing Road Trip Destinations

Tools to help you find road trip destinations

Useful Websites for Road Trippers

Online Trip Planners

Handy Road Trip Apps

Real world trip planning tools

Using Social Media for Road Trip Planning

Your Road Trip Budget

Creating a Road Trip Budget

How to Save Money on a Road Trip

Save Money Driving

Save on Accommodations

Save Money on Food and Drink

Save on Attractions and Things to Do

Where to Stay on a Road Trip

Things to Do on a Road Trip

Road Trip Food & Drink

Tips for Planning Your Meals

What to Eat on a Road Trip

Food Storage and Cooking Essentials

Before You Go

Before You Go

Packing: What to bring on a road trip

Vehicle Organization

Road Trip Essentials

On the Road

Road Trip Safety

Eco-Friendly Road Tripping

Traveling with Others

Traveling Solo

Staying Healthy on a Road Trip

After the Adventure

Resources, Checklists, & Worksheets

Resources on The Local Tourist

Checklists & Packing Lists

National Scenic Byways & All-American Roads

About Theresa L. Goodrich

TO JIM

The best road trip—and life—partner EVER. Thanks for spending so much time in metal boxes with me.

Introduction

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Hi! My name’s Theresa Goodrich, and I’m addicted to road trips.

It all started when I was a little girl. My dad was an artist and the whole family would often join him at his art fairs. He pulled the seats out of the van so there’d be room for his artwork, and my brother and I would sit in lawn chairs—which should tell you how long ago this was. When Dad took a turn a little too sharply, so did we.

When I wasn’t reading a book or playing MadLibs, I would look out the window (no tablets, smart phones, computers, or even portable DVD players—or DVDs—back then) and wonder about the places we passed. Because of those trips, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: a writer who traveled the country and told its stories.

Fast forward a few decades. I graduated with a degree in journalism, moved to Chicago and waited tables (because that’s what you did with a journalism degree in 2001; or at least, that’s what I did). I quickly fell in love with the city and launched The Local Tourist as a guide to my new downtown neighborhood. The site grew to cover all of Chicago and became my full-time job in 2008; for the next eight years I continued to be all Chicago, all the time. I loved the city, but I missed the open road. The little girl sitting in that rocking lawn chair in the back of the van wanted to explore beyond the Windy City. One of the few times I left town was in 2011. My boyfriend and I took sixteen days and drove The Mother Road in a Camaro convertible, and that trip made such an impact, a few years later we got married on June 6, or 6/6.

However, I still hadn’t pursued my childhood vision. In 2016, I visited a tiny community in rural Iowa. Their public library had an art collection to rival that of museums in much larger cities. On display were works by Rembrandt, Dali, Gauguin, and so many more.

That was it, my sign that I had to get out of town, so to speak. It was time to stop dreaming and start doing. It was time to make my childhood vision a reality.

In 2017, I exhibited at the San Diego Travel & Adventure Show. It would be my third year in a row, and I asked my road trip partner, who was by this time my husband, how he would feel about driving instead of flying. I knew this would be a bit of a commitment since we lived in the Chicago suburbs.

His response? Sure. How long do you think we’ll need? Three weeks? A month?

I love that man.

We drove, taking 31 days. A week of that time was spent in Southern California, and yet we still managed to cover 6,479.5 miles. It was an epic trip, and when we got back, I made ten-year-old me very happy by writing my first book.

In 2018, we drove 6,832.9 miles over 35 days to the Oregon coast and back, and my 2nd book came out in December of the same year.

We’ve also taken shorter trips. Up north to Marquette and Traverse City, Michigan. Frequent hops to Iowa and Indiana. Annual visits to Asheville, North Carolina to see my parents. In 2020 and again in 2023, I literally drove around Illinois, sleeping in the back of an SUV, to research the state for Midwest Road Trip Adventures and Midwest State Park Adventures. In 2021, my husband and I took six days to get to the Gulf of Mexico from Northern Illinois so I could teach a writing workshop, interrupting my chemo treatment during a pandemic. (Yes, my oncologist approved this. He even encouraged it.) In 2022, I spent 93 days traveling, including a drive up the Pacific coast, round trip to Denver, and a five-week adventure to eastern Washington and back.

Like I said: I’m addicted to road trips.

Over the course of all those miles I’ve learned a thing or two about planning, experiencing, and remembering road trips. This book grew out of Planning your Perfect Road Trip, a presentation I’ve given at multiple Travel and Adventure Shows around the country, as well as virtual and live presentations and the many, many articles and guides I’ve written on the subject.

This is the third iteration of this book. The first and second were chock-full of info, but I wanted to include more. So here we go: a greatly expanded volume that goes even deeper into the how as well as some of the why of road trips.

I’ve also included a list of all the officially designated National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads to give you a starting point for planning your routes.

Road trips are my happy place, and I hope that this book will help you experience the wonders of your own American journeys like the carefree road tripper you’ve always envisioned yourself to be.

Happy road tripping!

Theresa L. Goodrich

The Joy of Road Trips

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So many of my happy childhood memories are in a moving vehicle. When I was growing up, we took road trips out of necessity. In the ’70s and ‘80s, flying was too expensive for our family of four. While I also love flying, and even worked at a General Aviation Airport for a time, road trips are my first love.

What is it about road trips? It’s more than nostalgia, although that’s a big part of it. For me, it was simpler than it is now, and I’m not talking about a white-washed wish for some fictional lifestyle. We had no devices to distract us, although I did bury my face in books. Road trips were enforced proximity. We had to spend time together. Granted, my brother and I often thought that was torture, but I don’t think either of us, looking back, would change it.

I remember singing along to Kansas, the band, in the back seat of the car, and Mom and Dad telling me to stop because I was off key. (The downside to being the child of parents who met while studying music.) I remember their search for a station that played classical music, or anything but country, and the static in between. The lunches of KFC with dripping coleslaw and those gawd-awful goopy mashed potatoes and brown gravy that somehow tasted perfect at a picnic table.

I remember the thrill of going to some place new. It all felt magical.

I’m not alone in my affection for hittin’ the road. Road trips have increased in popularity over the last several years, even before they were the safest, and often only, mode of transportation available during lockdowns. In 2019, a survey by MMGY Travel Intelligence revealed a 64% increase in respondents reporting they’d taken a road trip since 2015.

That survey also indicated that road trippers are not inherently budget travelers. However, I still include lots of advice in this book on saving money. Why waste it, right?

The magic I felt as a child is still there every time I go on an adventure. And they are all adventures, each and every trip I take. They’re adventures of wonder and mystery, of comfort and kindness.

Traveling by car, motorcycle, SUV, RV, etc. is intimate. It’s less restrictive. You can leave your belt, jewelry, and shoes on. You can take detours. You can travel on your own schedule.

Road trips are a manifestation of freedom.

Road trips capture the imagination like no other travel. There’s an innate sense of independence when you shut the car door and make that first turn onto a road to anywhere. For years I’ve exhibited at Travel and Adventure Shows across the country and I speak about road trips. At these shows, I hear story after story of road trip memories. A woman traveled in a camper for years with her partner, who had passed. She religiously journaled their experiences, so when she gets lonely or feels wanderlust, she can reminisce through her own words. A motorcyclist got caught in a hailstorm in Sturgis and was miffed when a cop tried to roust him from the vendor’s tent where he’d found shelter. Didn’t stop the cyclist, though; I’m always looking for road trips, he said. An older couple was giddy as they told us their story. The day after he retired, they jumped into his Miata and drove cross-country from San Diego to Florida. Then he said to his wife want to see your sister? and they continued to Vermont. The sly gent told her