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Traveler’s Night In: Road Trips

Our Road Trip to Mammoth, Ca

This week’s topic on Traveler’s Night In, a “tweet-up” for travelers, was Road Trips.  Ten questions were asked, tagged #TNI, and afterwards I was ready to pack the car, sing along to my favorite tunes and explore the road ahead!

And, of course- best quote of the day goes to @Banff_Squirrel  for his tweet of “Are we there yet?”!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Longest road trip you’ve been on?

  • @donnadeau 5 awesome weeks camping southern Africa
  • @WheresAndrew Uh, DC to Antarctica. 10,000 miles and change. 42 days on a bus, hitchhiked across Nicaragua.
  • @adeej Brisbane – Cairns return
  • @HyattPier66 Fort Lauderdale to New Jersey and back
  • @ecuadorguide Longest road trip involved hauling a 4×4 by bamboo pole & rope from Ecuadorian rain forest along donkey tracks, suspension bridges
  • @ryanxchow Longest Road Trip: 6 weeks overlanding from Cape Town, SA to Nairobi, Kenya.

Q2. Tips for making the time pass while on the road?

  • @SingleOccuBlog Making videos a great way to pass the time and to preserve the memories
  • @breathedreamgo: Q2 I don’t want time to pass, I love time on the road – I want to savour it and make it slow down 
  • @pamstuckytoo I’ve played the Alphabet Sign game many a time. Find “A” on a road sign. Then “B” etc.
  • @khegre Pass time on road? A2. My boss created a photo book on his laptop one trip. Had whole vacation in album by the time they got home
  • @AmericanSahara Tips for making time pass on the road? Stop when you see something interesting. Else it’s just transportation, not travel.
  • @TiptoeTraveller Reading the guide out loud help us when travelling through New Zealand. And stopping often breaks up the journey if you can

Q3. Craziest story while on a road trip?

  • @theexplorateur Car accident in Pisa with the best looking guy I might have ever seen- he hit me but I let it go!
  • @RickGriffin:  Got 2 speeding tickets from the same cop – one on the way to NC, another on the way home
  • @allaboutmexico In Belize staying in a hut, a guy we met that morning was drunk and came banging on our door at 3 a.m. SCARIEST DAY OF MY LIFE
  • @ZipSetRachel 5 girls1 jeep. No airconditioning. Driver side door fell off. Boombox w/ NSYNC: Dayton 2 Daytona.
  • @Journeywoman Craziest? Driving w/two 20something Chinese guides between 2 towns. They played Chinese pop tunes+taught me how to sing the chorus

Giant Sausage of Mundara, Alberta photo by @banffrocks

Q4. Must-haves while on a road trip?

  • @christinenspain A good conversationalist. Nothing like a good talk to make miles of highway pass quickly
  • @AnnaParry Water, snacks and good music! Oh and a great driving companion, otherwise it’ll be one long drive
  • @travelgirlmag Bugles, Tootsie Roll pops, trashy magazines, “Radar Love” on the radio
  • @sabrina_scott Other than a car – nothing is really a ‘must have’ for a road trip. Everything else just adds to the adventure.
  • @davidmfrey GPS. Opens possibilities to explore, not just stopping at closest truckstop.

Q5. Dream road trip? Vehicle?

  • @LifeOutofaSuitc Dream trip would be across Canada or across parts of Europe
  • @cjguest Dream road trip? Vehicle? A5 Road trip through the South (US). Including Natchez Trace in a convertible car
  • @jetsetfarryn Alaska to Mexico – Volks. bus, US Army Jeep or a tour bus (in case the Stones are reading…)
  • @friedman_rachel  Italy, stopping at every vineyard along the way.
  • @chippy2u Route 66 in a convertible red mustang!

Q6. Iconic road trip books/films that have inspired you?

  • @thecitizeNY That’s easy. Easy Rider.
  • @kymri The Who – Quadrophenia – driving scooters through rainy Britain 🙂
  • @ehalvey: Crossroads featuring Britney Spears of course…hahahaha!
  • @Jodi_Kendall:  The Motorcycle Diaries!
  • @BtayTC Into the Wild, wait that didn’t end well did it? Alaska just looks awesome though

Trying on the World's Largest Panama Hat, photo by @ZipSetRachel

Q7. What is on your road trip playlist?

  • @esthercrumpet SAFETY DANCE. ‘We can go where we want to! Night is young and so am I.
  • @FlyingPhotog Tom Petty, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Johnny Cash
  • @GAT_ChinaTours Rodrigo y Gabriela. They make the most boring of trips epic. Also, lots of celtic punk and a dash of metal for even more epic-ness.
  • @itchyfeet_kg Mr. Brightside by the Killers. Can’t really go wrong with that.
  • @rtwdave Lots of Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Ween, Pennywise, Bob Marley, RHCP

Q8. Favorite road-side attraction?

  • @MalloryOnTravel A very cute female hitcher!
  • @giopalatucci Anything involving food. Love pop-up fruit/veggie stands.
  • @AnnaParry A8 Wall Drug in South Dakota. Biggest tourist trap ever.
  • @ecocolorstours ChichenItza.. its a must if driving through Mexico! Amazingg!!
  • @raisethatglass: How could anyone not say “restrooms?”
  • @WeekendInParis Anything w/a giant Lobster in New England, anything saying BBQ in Texas & anything saying Wine in California!

Fun Road side signs photo by @vagabond3live

Q9. What are your road trip road rules?

  • @LondonGirlinLA: 1) ride the fast lane – fast. 2) co-pilot cant fall asleep 3) resolve arguments quickly! 4) have fun
  • @bestraveldeals No mud, no cigarettes and no crumbs in the car rental!
  • @marisagreen Rules: give degrees of warning if you need a bathroom (not all of a sudden “WE HAVE TO STOP NOW”). Help the driver stay awake
  • @ZipSetAndrea You’re not allowed to call “shotgun” until two months prior to your departure date

Q10. Pros/Cons of road tripping vs. flying?

  • @Mi_Schu Being in control, aka not at the mercy of TSA
  • @Pepificio Pros – Endless / Cons – Money
  • @Picture_Philly Cons – less time to spend at your destination
  • @worldswaiting No duty free on the road
  • @katyabroad roadtrips are great for really exploring and seeing a place, finding things you’d otherwise never know existed
  • @BootsnAll With driving, it is about journey, not destination. But w/ limited vacation time, flying sometimes makes more sense.

Miss #TNI this week?  Join in with your answers to the questions in the comments below and make sure to join us next Thursday from 3:30 pm EST- 5:00 pm EST for all the fun!

Thanks to the ZipSetGo girls for organizing a conversation with travelers from all over the world and to YOU for participating in this great group!

If you have any corrections or issues with the post, especially if it involves your tweet, please e-mail us (go@vagabond3.com) to have it addressed in the fastest way possible.

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