lessons from road tripping usa

Washington, DC.

Recently, Mr. Sazy Rock and I embarked on an extended road trip across the USA to promote a new book called, Fed, White, and Blue, one man's journey to American citizenship through the prism of food. We were on the road for three and a half months and the trip took us through 20 states plus the nation's capital, Washington, DC. We did break up our trip into segments with short breaks in between segments to take care of other business back home or elsewhere. It was an incredible journey.

What lessons did I learn from that trip?



1.     Americans are nice. Sure, nine out of the 15 cities on a recently released list of "unfriendliest cities" in the world are in the US. My experience, however, has taught me that, when it boils down to it, Americans are friendly, hospitable and kind (and I'm not just saying that because I am one). Mr. SR and I have met many strangers who opened their homes to us, or have shared meals with us. I'm happy to say they are now our friends. But, even when Americans are not being friendly, they are still nice about it; in the South, when someone tells you "bless your heart," that usually means he or she is not thinking highly of you.

2.     The United States really is that beautiful. I can honestly say that the US is as beautiful and diverse as many other countries I have visited around the world. From the sandy beaches in Cape Cod, MA to the historical cities of Winston-Salem, NC to the vineyards of Willamette Valley, OR to the beautiful art deco buildings in Detroit, MI, to everything else in between, the US can easily compete with the best of them.

Provincetown in Cape Cod, MA.

Salem, OR.

Willamette Valley, OR.

3.     Detroit is such an underrated city. Despite getting a lot of press about hard times in the city, I found that the city still boasts beautiful buildings, nice people, and good food (yes, good food -- see, for example, Chartreuse and hot dogs).

Detroit, MI.

4.     Small towns are well worth a stop. From the BBQ options in Lockhart, TX, to the pulled pork in Marianna, AR, to the picturesque town of Fairhope, AL, to the friendly people in Mansfield, OH and Saxapahaw, NC, to much, much more, small towns may provide not only much needed respite from the monotonous drive but also much needed nourishment for the stomach, the eyes, and the soul.

Fairhope, AL.

5.     Visitor Centers have funny signs. If you like to take pictures of those road side signs that welcome people to a new state, don't stop on the side of the road. It is dangerous. Most states (although not all - I'm looking at you: Oregon and Washington border on the I-5) have visitor centers that have those "Welcome to (name of state)" signs where you can take pictures safely. They are usually located one or two exits from the border. Plus, stopping at a visitor center provides an opportunity to use the facilities.

6.     Renting a car through Costcotravel.com is usually cheaper than renting through other sites. Make sure you comparison shop, but, if you have Costco membership, it pays to also check out their website for car rental prices. Only once did I find other consolidator sites to have cheaper rental rates than those I found at Costcotravel.com. Plus, with Costco, we did not have to pay in advance and they automatically included an additional driver in the price.

A sunflower at Love Apple Farms in Santa Cruz, CA.

7.     Save money by using your home car insurance policy. Check with your car insurer but mine covered rental cars so I did not have to pay extra for car insurance. Plus, the credit card you use to pay for the rental might also cover you.

8.     Highways are more picturesque than freeways. Yes, the interstate roads are the quickest routes from Point A to Point B but highways generally have better views. 

A wildflower in Austin, TX.

9.     California is huge. It's easy to say California is huge when seeing it on a map, but quite different when actually driving it. On my way back from Seattle, WA, I planned on breaking up the journey back to Los Angeles, CA. But, I decided last minute to drive all the way home without hardly any stops. Only about five hours of that 17 plus hour journey was driving from Seattle through Oregon to the northern tip of California. The rest of that driving time was all California driving. (And, that time only included up to Los Angeles; it did not include driving all the way to the southern tip of California to the Mexican border.) Or, maybe the lesson here is that I am insane.

Mt. Shasta in Northern California.

10.    Most states have better roads than Los Angeles. What is up with that? From Nevada to Arkansas to Mississippi, Los Angeles' freeways (I'm looking at you: 10 Freeway) have more potholes than most of them.



What do you enjoy most about road trips?