Getting my car ready.

Took my car in to the mechanic yesterday for a check up before I leave. If it's one major to do before any road trip, it's getting the vehicle checked over.

The last thing any road tripper wants is to break down in the middle of nowhere. Most of the time, breaking down can be avoided by getting your car checked, especially important things, like belts, hoses, fuel lines, battery, tires, fluids and suspension, BEFORE a trip, at least a week before. 

Also, it's often a good idea to bring a full gas can, just in case you run out of fuel. Some roads easily have 300 or more miles between gas stations,  and do not depend on small town gas stations, as often they are closed or run out of fuel!

Having A A A or comprehensive insurance coverage helps, but what if you can't find a working phone?  Always plan for the worst. Have an emergency auto kit in your car, at the very least!

Thankfully, the only things my car needed were a new battery and wiper blades. Toyota also offers a fairly good guarantee,  so if I do get stuck, I can call the closest dealership and they will come get me. :)

Why I prefer a road trip over an airplane.

Many people have asked me why I don't just take an airplane to my destination. Well, to be honest, I loathe airplanes. First, they're tiny, cramped little sardine cans.

Flying is also notoriously expensive. Plus, they are flying disease farms: the seats are almost never cleaned between passengers, and the air is recycled, so if one person is sick, well, you can be sure you'll catch it.

Add in the horrible security walk through, where you pretty much have to strip down to your base layer just to pass through. Overpriced food and drink, your bags often don't make it to your destination...

Lastly, you miss all the cool stuff in between where you leave from and your destination! That's part of the road trip fun... everything you see on the way!

I think Cheryl Wheeler sums up everything I hate about airplanes in her song "on the plane."

Have a listen!

Cheryl Wheeler - On the Plane

Mapping out the drive!

It's a good idea to copy pages from your up to date road atlas so you can mark all over them. Or, just make marks in the road atlas.

However, I prefer to mark on black and white paper, because it's easier to see the marks. Especially if you use a colored highlighter.

Map of my travel route.

Here is a map of my basic travel route. Major cities I will be driving through will be Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT; Albuquerque, NM and Amarillo, TX before reaching my destination in Oklahoma. This is just my basic route, I may or may not veer off course from this, depends on if I see something nifty or not along my journey!

New blog, and road tripping to the midwest!

And a new blog has begun! This blog will detail my travels from Olympia, Washington (my hometown) to various places!

I've done more in state road trips than I can count, and a few out of state road trips in my lifetime, including Washington to Southern California(twice), Washington to Idaho (three times, twice to Boise and once to Sandpoint), Washington to Montana (Plains and Missoula), and Oregon, but I don't really count that, because it's so close to Washington.

I've taken the train from Olympia, Washington to eastern North Dakota, then back from Duluth, Minnesota. I've flown to Alaska and Minnesota as a kid, and Florida as an adult before my son was born. Through my travels, I have determined airplanes are expensive and terrible, trains are time consuming, relaxing and amazing, but the most you can see and experience is by the good old American road trip!

My upcoming trip is a long, 2,102 mile road trip to the Midwest, and then the journey back home to Washington. My current route will be taking me through the northeastern corner of Oregon, the southwestern corner of Idaho, most of eastern Utah, the northern half of New Mexico, the north Texas and ending in southeastern Oklahoma.

Driving to the Midwest will be the longest road trip I have ever undertaken. Having never been to the Midwest, I'm excited about what I will see and experience from here to there, while there and back home to Washington, and this blog will be a way for me to share my experiences and sights.

So sit back, read on, posts will be starting to flow as the trip gets on it's way. Only 12 days to go!