6-Week Cross Country Road Trip
From April 7 to May 17, 2015, I went on a spontaneous 6-week cross country road trip with one of my best friends. Saying it was an unforgettable trip would be a massive understatement. I knew it would change my view of the country as a whole, but interestingly enough, it also had a positive impact on Raw Athletics as well — which I discuss in more detail here.
For now, I just wanted to share my experience seeing this amazing country by posting my daily journal I kept along the way, along with my major take-aways.
Trip Facts
- 40 Days
- 27 States
- 13 National Parks
- 11,376 Total Miles Driven
Trip Awards
- Favorite bar: Peacock Bar & Grill, Corvallis, OR (May 6)
- Favorite city: Austin, TX (April 17)
- Favorite national park: Yellowstone (May 12)
- Favorite hike: Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park (April 26)
Things I learned—
- Everything east of the Mississippi River arguably looks the same
- The geography west of the Mississippi is unique and cannot be found back east
- Driving behavior significantly affects gas mileage
- It’s impossible to grasp how massive this country is until you’ve driven 8+ hour stretches at 85mph+ and still feel like you’ve made no progress
- When showers are not readily available, you can clean up surprisingly well with facial towelettes
- Adnan Syed is probably innocent (I listened to many podcasts using Podcast Republic)
- Tim Ferriss & James Altucher have awesome podcasts
Itinerary
- Tuesday April 7 — Washington, DC
- Wednesday April 8 — Washington, DC to Atlanta
- Thursday April 9 — Atlanta to Boynton Beach, FL
- Friday April 10 — Miami, FL
- Saturday April 11 — Delray Beach, FL
- Sunday April 12 — Boynton Beach, FL
- Monday April 13 — Orlando, FL
- Tuesday April 14 — Orlando, FL to Mississippi
- Wednesday April 15 — New Orleans
- Thursday April 16 — New Orleans to Galveston, TX to Austin, TX
- Friday April 17 — Austin, TX
- Saturday April 18 — Austin, TX to Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Sunday April 19 — Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Monday April 20 — El Paso, TX to White Sands National Monument, to Albuquerque, NM
- Tuesday April 21 — Albuquerque, NM to Colorado Spring, CO
- Wednesday April 22 — Colorado Springs to Denver
- Thursday April 23 — Denver
- Friday April 24 — Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park
- Saturday April 25 — Rocky Mountain National Park to Boulder; to Arches National Park, UT; to Cedar City, UT; to Zion National Park, UT
- Sunday April 26 — Zion National Park, UT
- Monday April 27 — Zion National Park, UT to Bryce National Park, UT
- Tuesday April 28 — Bryce National Park, UT to Grand Canyon South, AZ
- Wednesday April 29 — Grand Canyon South, AZ; to Joshua Tree National Park, CA; to San Diego, CA
- Thursday April 30 — San Diego to Pacific Coastal Highway
- Friday May 1 — Pacific Coastal Highway to San Luis Obispo, CA; to Carmel, CA; to Monterey, CA; to Sacramento, CA
- Saturday May 2 — Sacramento, CA
- Sunday May 3 — Sacramento, CA to San Francisco, CA to Yosemite, CA
- Monday May 4 — Yosemite National Park, CA
- Tuesday May 5 — Napa, CA
- Wednesday May 6 — Eugene, OR and Corvallis, OR
- Thursday May 7 — Portland, OR
- Friday May 8 — Seattle, WA
- Saturday May 9 — Seattle, WA
- Sunday May 10 — Seattle, WA to Spokane, WA to Glacier National Park, MT
- Monday May 11 — Glacier National Park, MT to Bozeman, MT to Yellowstone National Park, WY
- Tuesday May 12 — Yellowstone National Park, WY to South Dakota
- Wednesday May 13 — Mount Rushmore to Badlands National Park to Minneapolis, MN
- Thursday May 14 — Minneapolis
- Friday May 15 — Minneapolis to Chicago
- Saturday May 16 — Chicago
- Sunday May 17 — Chicago to DC
Detailed Daily Journal
Tuesday April 7 — Washington, DC
The 6-week road trip officially starts tonight at my brother’s apartment in Sterling, VA. I have already been here for a week since I moved out of my apartment a week prior. Bill will get here later tonight and we will hit the road early tomorrow morning. Consistent with my usual pattern, I’ve been procrastinating on almost everything related to this trip up until today– just started packing my bags and belongings for the trip, have not logged a single second behind the wheel of a manual transmission car even though the car we’re taking is manual, and aside for a very general route, have not done any research on specific sights to see or things to do. On top of that, I’ve been scrambling to get a lot of important business done before the trip, but looks like I’ll have to tackle a few of these projects from the road as there’s just too much to do and too little time. Bill got to my brother’s apartment at about 11pm. We got some basic planning done but decided to get to bed before we went through everything because it had already gotten to be 1am and we had to be up by 6am to hit the road so my brother could lock the door behind us as he left for work.
Wednesday April 8 — Washington, DC to Atlanta
We woke up at about 5am to pack the car and make sure we had everything. It was raining aggressively, and we had to make multiple trips to and from the car. It was raining so hard that even though the car was only about 10 feet from the cover of my brother’s building, we got soaked within seconds of stepping from under the cover. As if being soaked in everyday clothes isn’t uncomfortable enough, imagine knowing that you’ll be sitting in those clothes in a cramped car until you dry– fun way to start the trip, but weirdly enough didn’t dampen the excitement one bit. Once everything was packed and we said bye to my brother, we sat in the idling car for a few seconds in silence before it hit us– we didn’t exactly know our next destination, but since we had about 12 hours to figure that out, we just inputted “Atlanta, GA” into Google Maps and hit the road. (Note: This set the tone for the rest of the trip– not knowing exact details, just winging it as we went.) Straight shot to Atlanta. We stopped about halfway in a tiny parking lot of a church in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina so I could get a quick crash course on stick shift. We arrived in Atlanta just in time for evening rush hour traffic, and met a friend of mine at Piedmont Park for a beer– it was a beautiful day, perfect weather, and the park was fairly crowded. Granted I only saw that one snapshot of Atlanta, but it seemed like a young, active population. After the park, we then went to visit some of my cousins for dinner at their house, and then back to my buddy’s place to crash for the night after a long day of driving.
Thursday April 9 — Atlanta to Boynton Beach
We got breakfast in the morning with my friend and Bill’s friend. After eating and saying bye, Bill and I found ourselves in the exact same position we were in nearly 24 hours earlier– sitting in the car with only a general idea of where we wanted to go but unsure of the exact details. We originally planned to visit Charleston and Savannah on our way down to Florida and potentially staying the night in one of those places, but because they are decently close to home we figured we could easily make a trip back to either one any time, so we decided to skip them and make a straight shot down to my parents in Boynton Beach, FL. About an hour south of Atlanta, we stopped at a KFC in the middle of nowhere so we could grab some food. I also took this opportunity to practice driving manual in the KFC parking lot. First two times trying to put the car into gear, I stalled out, as opposed to my practice session yesterday that was flawless. Very frustrating, but practiced for about 10 more minutes until I was comfortable enough to test the road. I continued driving until about Jacksonville, and then Bill took it from there. We got in late, around 11pm, putting us at 1,250 miles in the book within 48 hours.
Friday April 10 — South Florida
Slept in until around 9am, made a large breakfast and then hung out at the beach for a few hours. Since we knew we wanted to hit the road again early Monday morning to get to Orlando, we decided to go out in South Beach Miami tonight so that tomorrow could be a break from the road. Got to South Beach around 8pm and went to a cool bar along the intercoastal with a pool and patio. Then we met up with Bill’s friend at another bar around the corner. We ended up leaving about 3am, got pizza and then drove home. Got back to parents house around 5am. Although it was only about a 90-minute drive, we had to switch driving in the middle so neither of us would fall asleep at the wheel– this was my second stint on the road in a manual car. Still alive.
Saturday April 11 — South Florida
Woke up late, made another large breakfast, and had a very stress-free morning and early afternoon while also getting a bunch of work done. Decided to head to the street fair in Delray Beach to walk around for a bit. Then I drove around my parent’s neighborhood for a little to get a better handle on stop-and-go driving– my big break here was learning the finesse of going from completely stopped to a crawling pace, as if inching up behind a car at a red light.
Sunday April 12 — South Florida
Did a lot of nothing today– woke up late, made another large breakfast, relaxed at my parent’s house, and got a lot of Raw Athletics work done in preparation of hitting the road again and not having a solid work space for a while.
Monday April 13 — Orlando
Woke up semi-early, drove up to Orlando and got in around 1pm. First, we were all lounging around the hotel room getting work done for about an hour, then we went down to hang out by the pool for a little before it started storming. Then four of us went out for dinner and drinks in the touristy part of Orlando- went to Senor Frogs, then a cigar bar, then a self-serving beer-on-tap place, then the hotel bar, then bed.
Tuesday April 14 — Orlando to Mississippi
Wednesday April 15 — New Orleans
Thursday April 16 — New Orleans to Galveston to Austin
Woke up surprisingly early and hit the road again. Next destination was Austin, TX, but we decided to drive through Galveston because we had just started watching The Jinx on HBO. Our first stop was the beach and then bar right along the beach. We met a girl who was currently in the Coast Guard and who had made a day trip to Galveston to relax on her day off. She told us about the area and about growing up and living in the south. Then we drove by Robert Durst’s Galveston apartment as well as the place he dumped Morris Black’s body. We then continued on to Austin. Got in late, decided to sleep in the car in a Walmart parking lot.
Friday April 17 — Austin
Saturday April 18 — Austin to Big Bend National Park
Sunday April 19 — Big Bend National Park
Monday April 20 — El Paso to White Sands National Monument to Albuquerque
Tuesday April 21, 2015 — Albuquerque to Colorado Springs
We woke up and had breakfast at Frontier Restaurant—I got an insanely delicious breakfast burrito and cinnamon bun. Then we drove straight up to Colorado Springs. We got in fairly late, decided to see if there was a spot for us at the Garden of the Gods RV campground but they were already closed. We went to Starbucks to figure out our plan for the rest of the night and tomorrow. We decided to check out this old school that was converted into a bar & restaurant, and then headed downtown and ended up at a sports bar. We decided to crash at a Walmart parking lot again for the night.
Wednesday April 22, 2015 — Colorado Springs and Denver
Woke up early, hiked Garden of the Gods trail, then drove up to Denver. Took a shower at Bill’s friend’s house where we were staying, then went to REI and drove around downtown. We stopped at a brewery up in Golden and got some beers on the patio, then went to a restaurant close to the house and got wings and more beer. Then we watched one episode of Jinx before calling it a night.
Thursday April 23, 2015 — Denver
Woke up, went to Starbucks and got a lot of work done. We then drove around downtown a little more before checking out Red Rock Ampitheater. We then went back downtown to check out another great Denver brewery called Great Divide. We then made our way back to the house, stopping at a small market on the side of the road to grab some things to grill for dinner. We then watched the final three episodes on Jinx before calling it a night.
Friday April 24, 2015 — Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park
Woke up, showered, went to Starbucks to figure out our plan for the next few days, then grabbed lunch at BD’s Mongolian Grill. We said bye to Bill’s friend, grabbed our laundry, packed our bags and hit the road towards Rocky Mountain National Park. On our way, we passed through some really cool small towns, one particular one called Lyons. The views along the drive were amazing, especially inside the park. We went on a quick hike around the campground before the sun went down. Decided to claim a campsite and go to bed early so we could wake up early and get a good start to the day.
Saturday April 25, 2015 — Rocky Mountain National Park to Boulder to Arches National Park to Cedar City to Zion National Park
Sunday April 26, 2015 — Zion National Park
Monday April 27, 2015 — Zion National Park to Bryce National Park
We decided to sleep in today since the prior night was a short night. Woke up at 10am and decided to get one more hike in at Zion before leaving. We made it up to Emerald Pools, starting at the northern part and ending at the southern part. The upper pool was very serene, except for the fact that there were about 40 other people there. There was a very subtle waterfall that made just enough noise to be calming. It filled a pool against the side of the wall that flowed into the river below. The lower cliff was more of a cave. To leave the park, we drove out towards the east— the same drive we did in the middle of the night when we first arrived. It seemed much shorter in the daylight, and had amazing views. We then drove towards Bryce National Park, driving through Red Canyon, which was very peculiarly shaped red rocks, hence the name. We decided to stop at a coffee shop just outside of Bryce in order to get some internet and make some phone calls, since we were unsure of how much service we would have in the park. We ended up staying at there for 3 hours talking to the owner and one employee—it was awesome hearing their perspective on the Baltimore riots, their tiny town, their religion, etc. We then made it to Bryce around 9pm, found a parking spot, and went to bed.
Tuesday April 28, 2015 — Bryce National Park to Grand Canyon South
Today I woke up at 7:30am for a phone call, then we drove around Bryce Canyon. We got off at a lookout and went for an hour hike that started around the edge and then took a path down into the valley. Then we drove around a bit more, saw the sights and random lookouts, and left the park towards Grand Canyon South, since North doesn’t open until May 15. We briefly stopped at Big Al’s Burgers, and then McDonalds to get Wifi. We made an impromptu trip to Flagstaff after driving past Grand Canyon because we really wanted to be in a city environment for the night, and considered driving all the way down to Phoenix but decided against it. Stopped at Starbucks in Flagstaff for a little, then went back to Grand Canyon. It was much more commercialized than I expected. We found a spot on the street next to a hotel, and slept there for the night.
Wednesday April 29, 2015 — Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree to San Diego
Thursday April 30, 2015 — San Diego and Pacific Coastal Highway
We woke up, got a breakfast burrito at Kono’s, and then separated for a bit— I went to Starbucks and worked for about 2-3 hours and Bill hung out on the beach. We then regrouped at Starbucks, drove up to Mt Soledad, drove through downtown La Jolla, then got my favorite fish tacos at Mitch’s Seafood, and then met up with my friend and her boyfriend in North Park. We went to a bar about a 10-minute walk from her new house. We then showered at her place and hit the road again. Got north of LA and slept in Oxnord, CA— first posted up in a Walmart parking lot that ended up having a bit too much activity for our comfort considering it was 2am, so we left and found a WinCo parking lot and slept there.
Friday May 1, 2015 — Pacific Coastal Highway , San Luis Obispo, Carmel, Monterey and Sacramento
We woke up and immediately hit the road with the goal of getting to Sacramento by the evening. From Oxnord, we took 101 North until we got to San Luis Obispo to stop at a Starbucks. Instead of getting back on 101 North, we went to Pacific Coastal Highway and took that all the way up to Monterey, driving through Los Padres National Forest– THIS is what I imagined PCH to look like! Amazing, winding road along the coast– rigid mountains to your right, steep cliffs towards the beach to the left. As we got further north, I saw a sign for Monterey, and wanted to check it out so I got off the exit. I quickly realized that Monterey was still a little more north, but the town where we ended up — Carmel by the Sea — was amazing as well in it’s own little quaint, small town way. We decided to park along the main street and walk around a bit. We then continued on and drove through downtown Monterey, and continued north to Sacramento. We finally met up with our friend, showered, and went out for the night with him and his coworkers.
Saturday May 2, 2015 — Sacramento
Sunday May 3, 2015 — Sacramento to San Francisco to Yosemite
Monday May 4, 2015 — Yosemite National Park
Tuesday May 5, 2015 — Napa
Woke up, drove towards Napa and went straight to a Starbucks to figure out where exactly to go, and decided to head to downtown Napa. We first checked out the visitor center and then a market before making our way to a tasting room right on the main street. We were there for a few hours and met a couple from Montana that gave us some places to check out in Montana on our way back east. We each grabbed a bottle of wine, and then hit the road again to get as close to Eugene as possible, but again, didn’t make it the entire way so we found another Walmart and crashed in the parking lot for the night.
Wednesday May 6, 2015 — Eugene and Corvallis
Woke up about an hour south of Eugene. Went straight to a Starbucks. We then went to campus to walk around— VERY similar feel to University of Maryland. There was also this really cool street fair going on in the middle of campus. Then we went to a few bars, but decided to hit the road to get a bit closer to Portland before calling it a night. As I was driving up Route 5, I saw a sign for Oregon State University, and at the very last second decided to take a quick detour and check out Corvallis. So glad I did. Once we got in Corvallis, we quickly stopped in a McDonalds parking lot to Yelp the best bars, and saw there were two that were consistently recommended– Peacock Bar & Grill, and Downward Dog. Decided to go to Peacock Bar & Grill first. Immediately inside, it looks like any bar– a large bar at the front with a crowd surrounding it, along with a dance floor and pool tables in the adjacent room. We hung out here for a while, not knowing there was more to the bar, until we noticed people coming and going from a staircase in the back. We were about ready to leave to check out the other bar, but decided to see upstairs before leaving. As you take the last few steps at the top of the staircase, we could hear country music blasting– already a good sign. Immediately upon entering the bar it immediately cemented itself as my favorite bar of the entire trip, and we still have a few weeks left to go. They were playing exclusively country music, everyone was wearing plaid clothing, and the dance floor was packed with people line dancing. They were playing fairly popular country songs, but each song has a specific dance to it, and it amazed me that everyone knew the dances. Then midnight came around, and the DJ abruptly stopped the music and played Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American“, followed by Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of Red White and Blue“, followed by the National Anthem, followed by a spontaneous “USA, USA, USA!” chant — and then back to the music and line dancing. No bar’s environment will ever live up to that ever again. We stayed until closing, didn’t even make it to the next bar. We then hit the road and got as close to Portland as we could before calling it a night at a random Walmart parking lot along the way.
Thursday May 7, 2015 — Portland
We woke up and made our way to Portland, quickly looking up things to do. We first made it to Powell’s City of Books, then went to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Gardens, then went to a very unique-looking Starbucks to look up more things to do. We decided to head to Pearl District to park the car and walk around. We ate at a rooftop sports bar, then walked around a bit. Saw a cool street fair with a lot of repurposed wood furniture, then we walked to Pioneer Square Park. Obama was in town, so a lot of the streets were blocked off. Then we went across the river to check out some other bars—they were exactly what I expected Portland to be. We went to a bar called Roadside and played pool, then drove by a few others but just decided to call it an early night. Parked at Walmart about 40 minutes north of downtown Portland.
Friday May 8, 2015 — Seattle
We woke up about 3 hours south of Seattle. Immediately went to the closest Starbucks to find an Airbnb for the weekend but ended up not booking anything. Hit the road, got into Seattle around 1pm and went straight to WeWork to get some work done and regroup for a bit. Got lunch at a bar with nice courtyard patio, had a delicious Moscow Mule. Went back to WeWork to try and figure out our plan for the rest of the day, and decided to go see the sunset at Kerry Park and then head out to Capitol Hill. We then drove about 20 minutes south of the city to sleep in a Walmart parking lot.
Saturday May 9, 2015 — Seattle
Sunday May 10, 2015 — Seattle to Spokane to Glacier National Park
Monday May 11, 2015 — Glacier National Park to Bozeman to Yellowstone
Tuesday May 12, 2015 — Yellowstone to South Dakota
Wednesday May 13, 2015 — Mount Rushmore to Badlands National Park to Minneapolis
Thursday May 14, 2015 — Minneapolis
Slept in today and was moving very, very slow throughout the morning and early afternoon– the long, consecutive drives finally caught up with me, and although the trip has been a blast, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The rain didn’t help much either. We finally gathered ourselves enough to go and walk around the Mall of America. After making one loop, we were surprised that one of the largest malls in America might be smaller then we were expecting– then we realized all we had done was complete a small loop that was within a much, much larger loop, and had only covered one of the many floors. We walked around a little more before deciding to drive downtown to see a bit more of the city. We drove past the Mill City Museum, where an old flour mill used to exist, but was shut down in 1965 and suffered serious fire damage in 1991 that was never rebuilt. We then drove through downtown a bit, but it was already rush hour by this time so we just decided to head back to my friends house so we could all grab dinner. We ended up getting Juicy Lucy’s. Then we just went back to their house to relax and get to bed early.
Friday May 15, 2015 — Minneapolis to Chicago
After saying bye to my friend, we hit the road for Chicago, and got in around 7pm, just in time to pick up Bill’s girlfriend from the airport. We then went straight to our friends place to drop off our bags and watch the end of the Wizards-Hawks game before heading out. Was able to meet up with a friend from DC who also happened to be in town the same weekend. We went to a few bars and then went back to our friends place to crash for the night.
Saturday May 16, 2015 — Chicago
We all woke up fairly early and grabbed brunch together before heading our separate ways– our friend who’s place we were staying at had some things to get done, Bill and his girlfriend when on the architecture boat tour of Chicago, and I met up with a buddy from high school for a little. We met up again at Millennium Park later that afternoon to walk around a bit more before going back to the car and heading over to Bill’s girlfriend’s cousin’s place. Their home was beautiful, brand new and completely custom. We grilled dinner there and then went to a block party across the street, then headed to a new restaurant bar he’s part owner in before calling it a night.
Sunday May 17, 2015 — Chicago to DC
We woke up really early since we had an 11-hour drive ahead of us, not including any stops for gas or food, or taking into account the hour we were losing going from central to eastern standard time. We took a southern route, through Indianapolis, Columbus, and then western Pennsylvania and Maryland– the old manufacturing towns in western Pennsylvania and Maryland were pretty cool, I had never been to a place like that before. About an hour outside of Sterling, Virginia, we got lost somewhere at the intersection of West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, which also happen to have absolutely no cell phone reception either– that was fun. We eventually made it back to my brothers pretty late, unpacked the car, and then Bill headed back home to Baltimore.