Tag: Road Trip

Our Western Migration: The Route

Chris and I leave for Los Angeles on Monday, and we’ve finally sorted the route. We’ll take six days to make the trip from my parents’ house in New Hampshire to Ventura, CA, stopping to visit a few friends and family along the way.

Our destinations each day:

  1. Erie, PA, with a stop at Niagara Falls (610 miles)
  2. East Troy, WI (531 miles)
  3. Manhattan, KS (651 miles)
  4. Grand Junction, CO (735 miles)
  5. Kingsman, AZ with a stop at the Grand Canyon (609 miles)
  6. Ventura, CA (362 miles)

If we stick to this route, we’ll cover 3,498 miles along the way. My 2007 VW Rabbit averages between 30 and 33 mpg, so the journey should take about eight tanks of fuel.

We’ll see 15 different states as we go: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and California.

Though we’ve only planned stops at two attractions along the way, Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, I fully expect we’ll interrupt each day’s drive as we notice amusing or interesting things our route takes us near.

I’ll post photos at https://i.ethitter.com/ as we proceed.

My Southern Excursion, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the first half of my recent trip to Georgia. I headed south to visit my brother and, suddenly finding myself with unexpected free time, I decided to visit the Gulf Coast. Then, after spending a week touring Fort Benning and the surrounding Columbus, GA area, it was time for me to head north again. Thankfully, I wasn’t in much of a hurry.

In light of my obsession with federally-protected areas, I planned my return trip with an eye towards visiting as many National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and so on as was feasible. To that end, I set out for Macon, GA and the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. As it turned out, however, my visit coincided with the refuge’s annual hunting season (bizarre, I know), which meant that without a special permit, I could venture no further than the parking lot. After taking a few pictures to prove that I had at least made an effort to visit Bond Swamp, I found my way to Interstate 16 and set off towards Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, on the other side of Macon. My plans were interrupted, though, when I noticed a familiar green mark on my Google Map.

Continue reading My Southern Excursion, Part 2

My Southern Excursion, Part 1

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit my brother in Georgia, where he is stationed at Fort Benning in Columbus. Departing New Hampshire on a Wednesday, I planned on arriving in Georgia the following day. As such, I had no plans to stop at any attractions as I headed south, instead saving those sightseeing opportunities for my return trip. As the Army is wont to do, however, my brother was placed on a last-minute detail, giving me an extra, unplanned day of travel. Being that I was already in Georgia, and that I’d never seen or swum in the Gulf of Mexico, I set out on Thursday to extend my journey southward. In a manner similar to that which began my obsession with federally-protected areas, as I headed south on US-431 through Alabama, I stumbled upon Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.

Continue reading My Southern Excursion, Part 1