Road Trip of the United States!

It’s sometimes hard to find the right words for that first blog of a trip. You don’t really know what you’re getting into yet. You’re extremely exhilarated, nervous, excited and sad to be saying goodbye to people.  This mix often leads to a scatterbrained thought process where you really have no idea what to talk about. Sooo here it goes again....

I am about to embark (yeah I know fancy English) on an extensive journey through the United States for the winter. This means multiple months of traveling in a CAMPER VAN (named Quicksilver as an ironic joke since it is very hard to get the van moving quickly) with two of my best friends (who shall be introduced later).  

Our van named Quicksilver

To begin this trip we faced a lot of struggles and at some times all three of us got very anxious. Reasonably so, there is A LOT to consider and plan and do before we can leave. We needed to consider our budget, what we want to see, what we have time for, repairs to the van before we leave and of course what to pack (assuming it can fit in the van).  And of course one other challenging part is that all of us have to agree on everything (Luckily this has worked out very well).

Although I have gone away for months at a time before, it wasn’t ever quite like this. Trying to pack for 3 months of hiking or camping comes easy to me but to try cramming stuff to last you three months into one bag when your activities range from visiting New York City and going to fancy Broadway shows and restaurants to well those camping and hiking activities I’m used to being prepared for.  I guess it just seems like a different standard for having to face people in populated areas but I am sure after a week I will just give up on this entirely. 

 Luckily we got a van in very good condition. It is a 1985 Dodge but is in great working shape with just a few minor things that needed to be gone over to make it in perfect condition so we encounter less problems on the road. Obviously shit happens and we have planned for that by setting aside some money in our budget for car costs along the road such as lovely unexpected flat tires, etc.  I highly recommend people on extended road trips always do this. Worse case scenario you never spend that money but if you have to at least you were prepared! 

Quicksilver and some of our PAPER maps!

Now for the FUN part... OUR PLAN! A very ambitious one which likely will be adjusted with shortcuts as necessary for timing. I will spare all of the nitty gritty details of specific locations we visit that you will need to follow this blog to find out as we go along. 

We are leaving from Ontario, Canada and crossing the border at St. Lawrence Islands into New York State. From there we will head down through New Jersey Pensylvania and West Virginia into the Smokey Mountains and Tennessee. After that south to the coast of Georgia and of course the loop of Florida. Westward we will go along the southern edge of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana  and Texas seeing a lot of the coastline in this area before heading up to Oklahoma and then across to New Mexico.  In the centre of New Mexico we will be turning north to do a loop through some of the gorgeous wild areas in Colorado and Utah before hitting up the flashy streets in Nevada and spending Christmas in Arizona. New Years will be on the coast of California. 2017 will see us going north through California seeing a variety of the interior and coastal areas.  I will likely fly out of Sacramento or San Francisco to get back to Canada while my friends will carry on the road trip without me for a few months making their way back to Ontario through Canada for the spring. 

Triple Threat Road Trip Part 1

Triple Threat Road Trip Part 2

Triple Threat Road Trip Part 3

Sooooo it is a massive trip that is VERY ambitious with everything we want to cram into a tight small van and a short about of time, but we are going to try it and see how it goes!