Travelling across America: on the road with user (sic)

Hi guys it’s me. I’m buggering off around the world for six months and will be in North America in July and September, roughly speaking. This is a thread for me to ask where I should go and what I should do when there during road-trip bits, ask general advice, suggest FAP*, get pointed to city-specific threads that I don’t know about and post about what’s happening, probably.

So! I’m just sticking this here for now. General suggestions welcome, specific exhortations to visit places encouraged, if you know nice non-murdery people with profiles on couchsurfing.org then I am keen to be “introduced” to them :D


*NB: if you think I’m a dick on here, or have never seen me but clicked on the thread anyway**, I promise I am pleasant and charming in person. Dozens of ILX0rs can attest to this, or sentiments in the vague vicinity thereof, and I would be delighted to meet any and all others.

** Hello! I am Australian and moderately tall. totally call me Kit (in any thread you like but especially this one. I am not a typographical joke, I am a free man)

New York is fun!

and if you come here i will get you in to see some good music

Should be in NYC last weekend in June for a few days, then again late September - I'm already ;_; about how much $ummerstage this doesn't match up with! totally down for an IRL Tofu Hut experience instead

hm. last weekend in june is the Big Star show and Canada Day with LIGHTS... tho saturday is also Os Mutantes and Janka Nabay at Celebrate Brooklyn! so good options. But look me up for anything!

Joe Bataan on Tuesday looks good too

(FTR, Americanadians looking at this thread in future months: I am probably down for whatever non-usurious gigs, or openings, or dancing, or stand-up, or your friend's band playing their third show ever in a basement, or dancing, that happen to be going on)

*** CARS ***

A general overland question: East coast I’m going to do intercity stuff on cheapo buses. West coast I figure makes sense to rent a car, or maybe meet people in hostels and split rides. But I want to do some middle states in a meandering, make-it-up-as-I-go-along fashion, going roughly from Toronto/Chicago to New Orleans, but zig-zagging around as whim and suggestion take me.

Are there car rental places I could pick up and drop off so far apart? Would it be feasible to buy a cheap car in Canada and sell it in the Southern US? Is it dumb to aim to drive solo and should I do buses instead? (Is that going to end up more expensive overall?) [Stevie D?] If renting, should I get something I can sleep in, instead of a regular car?

i'm not really an expert but i'd think if you used any of the national car rental agencies the pickup/dropoff would not be a problem (basically at airports). it would, however, be pricey for the length of time i think you're talking about.

if you're the enterprising type i could see the case for buying, tho you'd incur any maintenance costs obv.

tough to say more w/out having a feel for your budget. oh, and if you come to boston some ilxors will hang out with you.

Intercity stuff on cheapo busses is absolutely the way to go on the east coast IME (the three I've used are BoltBus, Megabus, and Greyhound Express which is fancier and often cheaper than regular Greyhound). On the west coast it's v easy to get rideshares (which is how I got from Seattle > Olympia > Portland > SF > LA > Vegas). Rideshares seems like a pretty west coast thing though and it seems hard to get reliable ones elsewhere in the country.

The rideshares I've done are via Craigslist btw

Also Couchsurfing is a good thing if you like to engage w/ ppl and have them show you around cities and tell you cool things and hang out, but a) it takes a bit of effort as you have to like read profiles and find ppl that seem like matches, and then message a bunch of them, and then hope that one of them can host you b) is not a free hostel; you're kinda expected to like engage w/ ppl rather than just sleep on their couch and peace out the next day.

cheers CAD - yeah this would be for several weeks, and I figured a national agency is likely to be more costly than somewhere you return to the same lot too. I figure my best/ideal option would be buying off some other travellers who've just finished a trip, then selling to a dealer to save time at the other end (will be flying from New Orleans to Central America so will have a deadline. also iirc from when I was 11 [reliable!] NO can be handled way easier on foot than most American cities)

Boston is a definite - late September at least, but maybe first week in July. esp if that suited for FAPpage!

I bet if you stopped in Philly that a Stevie wd kick it w/ you

ta Stevie - I knew abt Megabus and Boltbus, could be handy to know a fancier option is also worth looking at ($1 fares WTF?!).

yeah, the social and local recommendation aspect of Couchsurfing is something I'm into; would absolutely rather have ppl tell me something to do in their city than roll up at a train station and pick up a leaflet. and I dig meeting/putting up* people off the internet and showing/suggesting them things in Sydney they might like. will probably need to budget a day or two a week to decompress but hey

Craiglist is not really a ~thing~ in Australia. You're saying I can get driven from city to city for free as long as someone's filming my feet in the back of a van, right? Sounds fair.


*have not done this via organised bespoke website though!

xpost - would be honoured to kiw!

Mega and Bolt are kinda annoying at times (the free wifi is really buggy and also a lot of the power outlets at the seats don't work) but I've never had a major issue with them. Also, Bolt has a rewards program (buy 10 get 1 I think?)

and yeah w/ rideshares you just split the cost of gas or let them film your feet

Train from Chi to NOLA is an option; you could make lots of stops along the way (Memphis!) & even rent cars in places if you like. I live along the path fwiw (out of country until August though)

NOLA is the best; it's the only American city that's really its own world rather than playground for the aspirational

Catching the Megabus is a great experience because it's got all the hopelessness of lining up for security at the airport but without any evidence that anyone, anywhere is in charge.

Go to Washington, DC and go to some of the finest and absolutely the free-est museums in America. Really the importance of "free museums" to having a good time in DC cannot be overstated.

I can definitely vouch for the bonafides and awesome FAPtimes of Mr Kit, fwiw. Totally jeal of your big roadtrip! I know ive floated the idea myself more than once and it never came to be.

Several people would probably say hi and drink in Chicago. We have a thread, it's easy to find.

Go to Washington, DC and go to some of the finest and absolutely the free-est museums in America. Really the importance of "free museums" to having a good time in DC cannot be overstated.

Ditto Cleveland, where we have the always-free Cleveland Museum of Art and its award-winning, groundbreaking Gallery One. And within a couple blocks of it, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Botanical Gardens, the Western Reserve Historical Society and the Museum of Contemporary Art, all in the beautiful University Circle neighborhood, home of Case Western Reserve University. Plus, to top it off, Severance Hall and the Cleveland Orchestra. You can enjoy all of this, plus great restaurants and bars and an awesome atmosphere, without ever even seeing downtown Cleveland!

one other thing to think about on the car-buying tip--the car will have a title and a registration and stuff (and may be required to have insurance, and if not you'd be smart to get it), and if you're a visitor without a fixed address i'm not totally sure how easy all that stuff is to deal with.

like, i'm sure it can be done but it might be kind of a pain in the ass.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lveks5mvM11qcyuhro1_500.gif

get me to the Cleve!

One way rental is not totally out of the question and the longer you have the car the less the difference in price between a one way and a round trip rental

1) Google up some discount codes for the rental companies, they normally come from airline loyalty programs etc. and can be good for 10% off. In theory they should check your membership card at the rental desk but I've never had that happen. That said, joining Delta or Southwests loyalty scheme is free so why not.

2) Kayak can help you serach across rental websites and owners

3) Check to see if your credit card, travel insurance or car insurance policy will cover you for renting a car. Rental insurance from the car rental company can often be more than the cost of rental. My creed card has insurance for $14.99 for up to 45 days rental and it can often be close to that a day from the rental company.

4) Look for secondary large rental locations in big areas, they can often be cheaper. eg. Ontario. CA Airport ratther than LA has often been a lot cheaper for me.

5) Look for regional variations to exploit. In Pittsburgh where I live Sales Tax is higher than the surrounding counties and Allegheny County levies a vehicle rental tax. If I take a city bus over the county Line to Westmoreland County it can be 10% or more cheaper because if this. Airports often levy a fee on the car rental companies as well. That said airports often have the best stock and offer the best deals.

6) Car rental websites will almost never display the economy car without an extra click.

Many thanks Ed (and everyone! will reply more tomorrow)

You can also buy 3rd party rental insurance. It is always cheaper than the rental companies offer.

Mega and Bolt are kinda annoying at times (the free wifi is really buggy and also a lot of the power outlets at the seats don't work)

this is an amazing 1st world problem!


Train from Chi to NOLA is an option; you could make lots of stops along the way (Memphis!) & even rent cars in places if you like.

main reason for wanting to drive in this part is to be able to see non-city American places & meet people with rural and small-town life experiences. being drenched in US media all our lives over here makes the "flyover country" phenomenon a weird blind, or at least myopic, spot in our idea of the States. also just the pleasure of driving!


NOLA is the best; it's the only American city that's really its own world rather than playground for the aspirational

yeah, was meant to be going earlier, and meeting up there with a friend who's over for six weeks right now; will be a different vibe not to have someone to share impressions with


Catching the Megabus is a great experience because it's got all the hopelessness of lining up for security at the airport but without any evidence that anyone, anywhere is in charge.

:D

Go to Washington, DC and go to some of the finest and absolutely the free-est museums in America. Really the importance of "free museums" to having a good time in DC cannot be overstated.

yeah, planning on spending a few days museuming in DC. especially the spy museum! I'm not bothered about govermental buildings and such, so museums and a Go-Go show are the real draws. is Monica Lewinski's dress on display somewhere?


Several people would probably say hi and drink in Chicago. We have a thread, it's easy to find.

Chicago probably around the second week in July, I'll be finding the thread for sure. 'sup to jaymc


one other thing to think about on the car-buying tip--the car will have a title and a registration and stuff (and may be required to have insurance, and if not you'd be smart to get it), and if you're a visitor without a fixed address i'm not totally sure how easy all that stuff is to deal with.

like, i'm sure it can be done but it might be kind of a pain in the ass.

party pooper, sober counsel. a hope is that if I'm buying off some other traveller they've already gone through the same stuff and know the problems to be dealt with

ta all!

I used to use Hotwire for car rental, if it's still going. There are always extra charges above the listed price but it used to have V good rates iirc

MOBILE TELEPHONY!

does America have cheapish and easy pre-paid sim card thingers that you can top up as you go, like in lands of Britishes and Australia? Or does your weird phone service monopoly ruin things for everyone? Are txts still ludicrously expensive, instead of being essentially free-flowing, like water filled with lols?


if I'm in Canadia for a week or few days at a time, will I need a different sim or service?


what's the situation in Central America / Mexico / whatnot? I mean obviously I can live without txting people in countries where I don't speak the language, but JUST SAY WHAT IF I take a really sweet photo of an ocelot or my balls that I want to snapchat?

go 2 national parks, consider buying a national parks pass if you end up wanting to, it'll be way cheaper

Canada and the US run on completely separate plans; calls/texts btwn them are counted as international. We do have prepaid/pay as you go stuff but idk much about them.

Cricket, Boost, MetroPCS are some of them, and I know ATT and T-Mobile have prepaid plans as well. There's tons, really.

wait or this http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414494,00.asp

obviously a road trip calls for something through the southwest if you want to do it right.

Stevie you rule

homodeuce my impression of the southwest is: fucking gorgeous and would suit camping and climbing and chilling BUT vast swathes of desert = bad idea to road trip solo. is this a wrong assumption based on the enormousness of Australian desert? holla at me

there's a chance of venturing further if I meet ppl doing the same while I'm coming down the west coast, but that's obv not super-plannable. am going to try an have a stop off somewhere between Mexico and Vancouver, but that's a plane leg atm.

why does desert=bad solo road trip?

days between human settlements -> car overheats -> eaten by buzzards

there's a walmart every fifty miles at least

yeah somehow i dont imagine the US has those vast deadly swathes of absolute nada that we do here that engenders such risk, i'd imagine.

stay on the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Defense Interstate Highway System and you're not gonna die.

I traveled all over NM by myself one trip, and I live in AZ now and hit the road solo a lot, it's no big deal. In NM I felt like I was really in the middle of nowhere, pulled off the side of the road to eat some crackers or something and 1st car that drove by stopped and was all "you ok buddy??". If you stick to highways (ie not just Interstates, but US and state routes...def recommend perusing a list of designated scenic byways and picking out a few to explore), you'll be fine. Really remote places require off-road vehicle, anyway.

Don't leave the road in Death Valley or you will never be heard from again, though

I traveled all over NM by myself one trip, and I live in AZ now and hit the road solo a lot, it's no big deal. In NM I felt like I was really in the middle of nowhere,

NM is like 1/7th the size of NSW, which is one of the smallest states. It's pretty difficult to get perspective on sizes and distances for the US from here!

(Britain is easy: from London you can catch a train to another country for a gig and have hours in the pub beforehand, or catch the train home in time for work from a beachside holiday destination. From this I extrapolate that anywhere east or west is a day's stroll.)

basically count on 5-6 hrs to get from middle of one state to middle of the other in Southwest, w/o stops, fastest route. like denver to albuequerque to phoenix to LA are nearly all 6 hr trips. obv mountain roads can double or triple that easily, which may be another factor you're not too familiar with?

Winding roads on the side of mountains are occasionally a thing of my experience, but long distance travel in Australia is very largely set up to avoid them.

Just googled Motel 6 to make sure it was a real thing and not something made up for old TV like 555 phone numbers. Room rates are now $100? wtf, update your name, people.

Features include: modern furnishings influenced by European and boutique hotels; flat-screen televisions; brighter paint accents and soft goods packages; wood floors; increased storage space; ergonomic workspace and Wi-Fi access; updated bathrooms with glass shower doors and granite countertops.

Are there still places at roadsides and on the edges of towns where you can get a mattress full of dead skinflakes, held together with dried semen and murderblood, with a non-functional CRT, for bugger-all $?

I know there are places in LA like that but idk abt edges of towns

Room rates are now $100? wtf, update your name, people.

fwiw, it's usually cheaper in nowheresvilles like most of Indiana.

But in my experience, Red Roof Inn is always cheaper (usually around $50, never more than $75).

There is a chain called Microtel, most locations are in smaller cities/towns, but they are in the Wyndham group and the website will show you other nearby hotels in the same group, like Travelodge.
I *think* they have free breakfast, but I don't know if they all do, the one we stayed at did.

airbnb really

^ ta

last night flights from Portland to San Francisco were $145. This morning they were $220. wtf, America?!

lol otm

so should I faff around and see if they go down again on collective airlines' whim, or panic and buy now?

Someone told me once that Tuesdays are the best days to buy tickets, no idea if that's true but try tomorrow.

thanks, will hold you responsible & punch you in the face tomorrow night if this lead does not turn out to be 100% reliable obv

tbh I got from PDX > SF via rideshare for $50 and it was actually kind of fun!

And yes OTM abt tuesdays being the best day to buy tickets; something abt carriers unloading leftover seats to start a new cycle on Wed? I think?

had to fly this leg, because a friend is flying in from Toronto for three days. Tuesday didn't turn out to be any better though

I may finally look into ridesharing SF -> LA though! was talking about renting and driving, cos I still haven't driven in the US at all, but was told the road is completely terrifying due to sheer drop. which might be too much to pay attention to while I'm remembering to stay on the wrong side of the road

i doubt there's any sheer drop on I-5?

I think the drops would be along the coast on the scenic view roads? idk

yep

Drives btwn PDX - SF - LA are some of the most incredible car trips I'v ever taken. A+, would recommend

I mean in terms of scenery. Idk what Oz is like but I'd never really seen anything like it on the east coast

Highly recommend doing some of Hwy-1 if you can manage a detour, I drove it from Monterey to SF & it's gorgeous. (It goes all the way to LA)

Route 1 an absolute must.

it is all beautiful, 1 especially but also 101 further north

are you all talking about the same road or

route 1, hwy 2 'the 1', it's all the same thing

101 is diff

lol that should've been 'route 1, hwy 1, 'the 1' it's all the same thing'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_101_in_California

And yes OTM abt tuesdays being the best day to buy tickets; something abt carriers unloading leftover seats to start a new cycle on Wed? I think?

This seems to be wildly inaccurate, or at least unreliable, for anyone who might ever stumble across this thread btw. Trying it has cost me about a grand in the last couple of weeks.

ack! fuck! I am sorry :(

totally not blaming you or silby! I'm pretty convinced that US airfares are ridiculous and unpredictable generally.

The secret is to clear your cache before you search. They keep an eye on repeat visitors, and you're more likely to get a "clean" rate if they think you've just started your search.

wouldn't that be cookies?

yah

so I'm heading to the airport in the next hour

it's been real, America

Safe journeys home! Sorry we didn't get to meet in Dallas, but honestly you spent your time in more interesting places.

Another three months before I'm home! Flying to Madrid tonight.

and yeah, sorry too! but if it helps, I got food poisoning in DFW airport that travelled with me for two weeks

Ugh that's awful! Bon voyage!

farewell, blue-haired man

come bak (sic)

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh200/jdschuster411/LazyMonday/IMG_0420.jpg

Americans = wild things
sic = Max

aw<3

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/818963/sic.jpg

did herself feel mollified

busted! http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30305971

That one doesn't include a list of the top 15 "funniest" requests received, shame on the BBC's self-respect

tbf I did go to the consulate in San Francisco and hang around for half an hour writing consecutive numbers in boxes on a huge sheet of paper with a blunt pencil

sic I still need u to make an u&k poll of the vhs tapes you found in my apartment

POLL: this box of VHS tapes found in Stevie D's apartment

!!?

sic, guess what hotel this happened in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Philadelphia_Legionnaires%27_disease_outbreak

Just want to say, I support this project.

The Very Fugly Caterpillar (sic) wrote this on thread “Happy Birthday Baby!” Talk about Russian Doll on Netflix on board I Love Everything on Feb 11, 2019

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steven, soda jerk (sic) wrote this on thread Ernie Bushmiller's "Nancy": C/D? on board I Love Everything on Apr 1, 2019

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blokes you can't rust (sic) wrote this on thread Robag Wruhme - "Wuzzelbud KK" on board I Love Music on Apr 12, 2019

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blokes you can't rust (sic) wrote this on thread Creation Records on board I Love Music on Apr 16, 2019

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blokes you can't rust (sic) wrote this on thread Beatles biographies? on board I Love Music on Apr 23, 2019

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blokes you can't rust (sic) wrote this on thread US Politics May 2019: " If I was burned at the stake, I would ask for a mirror" on board I Love Everything on May 16, 2019

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blokes you can't rust (sic) wrote this on thread 2020 Democratic presidential primary on board I Love Everything on Apr 18, 2019

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#1 sic shtick

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Five bucks!? Getouttahere.

https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki/post/3lnvge5igbw2b