The Great American Adventure
The Great American Road Trip is a legendary part of the fabric of American culture and a richly mined source of American travel narratives, from Travels with Charlie to On the Road to Blue Highways.
The glory of the Road Trip is that while the roads Steinbeck, Kerouac and Heat Moon road may have moved, changed or closed over the years -- it's still possible to follow in their tire tracks. The road is ever new, ever changing so every journey is a new adventure of discovery. And all you need to get going is a car and a full tank of gas.
My Road Trips
To date, I've driven cross-country four times between Boston and California. My first drive to California took place in 1995 and the journey left me hopelessly addicted to exploring America by car.My last trip was from Los Angeles to Boston in 2005, but I will be hitting the road again in January 2008 to drive down the East Coast to Florida. Where I'll go from there I have no idea. This trip is planned to last as long as it lasts and the destinations will be whatever catches my whim.
The photo is of my car at Arches National Park :)
National Geographic's Crossing America
The other advantage of Interstates is that you will cover much more ground in the same amount of driving time as you would on the two lane highways. Not so important if you have a few months for your journey, but crucial if you only have a week or two.
Crossing America: National Geographic's Guide to the Interstates
I buy a copy of this book before every major trip (if its been more than a year or two) and I keep it in my car at all times. It covers every major Interstate in the US with routes East-West and North-Suuth routes.
Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009) 
Los Angeles to Boston, 2005
These photos were all taken on the road with either my T-Mobile Sidekick or my Holgaroid during the Fall of 2005
The Classics
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Centennial Edition)
Travels with Charley is my beloved favorite. I was never a big fan of Steinbeck until I read this book. Such a great raconteur.
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 11/27/2009)
On the Road
Kerouac's most famous book. Nominally, it's fiction, but it is closely based on Kerouac and his friends.
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 11/27/2009)
Blue Highways: A Journey into America
Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 11/27/2009)
On the Road Do's and Don'ts
I just wanta ride, man! I gotta go!
- How to Road Trip Like Kerouac (and Stay Out of Trouble)
- Do: Maintain control of your vehicle.
Don't: Drive so fast, as Dean does, that you break the speedometer, then miss a turn and wind up careening into a ditch in the middle of a wild prairie, crushing the fender, and losing two hours of perfectly good travel time as your pal hikes to a farmhouse to convince the farmer to pull you out of the ditch with his tractor-even if the farmer does have a fantastically beautiful daughter with the "modesty and quickness of a wild antelope."
American Road Trip Narratives
Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip: The 1935 Travelogue of Two Soviet Writers
Starting out from New York City in late November 1935, they drove to Chicago and then in a southerly circuit through Missouri and the Southwest, up to San Francisco, and back via southern Texas and the Gulf and tidewater coasts to Manhattan after New Year's. Ilf's pictures are reminiscent of the Farm Security Administration photos of Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and company, but they're literally artless, just snapshots, really.This is riveting, fresh-eyed Americana.
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 11/27/2009)
Other Guidebooks for the American Road Trip
Included here is the book that is in my opinion the best guide to the "two lane highway" type of travel on the old US Roads. In addition, I've included books that cover roadside attractions in depth and eating on the road.
Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways.
I used this book in 2005 for part of my trip, as I decided to spend at least some of the drive off the interstate -- mostly on US 50, "The Loneliest Road". It's an excellent book and I expect to use it again on future trips.
Ideally, I would suggest getting this book and Crossing America together as you'll cover all of the major routes between the two of them and it is easy enough to jump back and forth between the old US roads and the Interstate depending on whether you want to meander or log miles.
Amazon Price: $22.86 (as of 11/27/2009)
Roadfood: Revised Edition
Highly recommended and a grea guide to more interesting restaurants and places to eat on the road. And no chain restaurants! Definitely add this book to your "Must" list and keep it in your car.
Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009)
New Roadside America: The Modern Traveler's Guide to the Wild and Wonderful World of America's Tourist
Fun book for all the wackyness on the American road. Some Amazon reviewers found the tone a bit derisive though, and I have to admit that it does get old after awhile. I think the writers thing its cool to be too hip to treat anything seriously.
Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009)
Watch It Made in the U.S.A.: A Visitor's Guide to the Best Factory Tours and Company Museums (Watch It Made in the USA)
Great book covering factory tours and the like. Sometimes I find this type of attraction much more interesting that visiting local musuems and such. It's fun and entertaining.
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 11/27/2009)
Prepare for your Roadtrip Online
- Roadside America - Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions
- Homepage for Roadside America, travel guide to unusual attractions, tourist traps, weird vacations, and road trips. This is a terrific site and I use it all the time. Look up your hometown and see some fun stuff you probably didn't even know about.
- Road Trip America
- Great site for planning your road trip. Roadtrip America has an active and helpful forum of other travellers on the American road.
- ROAD TRIP USA
- Road Trip USA and author Jamie Jensen help you discover and plan your road trip on over 35,000 miles of classic two-lane American roads. The companion website to his great book!
- RoadFood
- The only web site devoted exclusively to finding the most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America. Companion to the book.
- America's Byways - National Scenic Byways Online
- If you're wondering just how important the road trip is to American culture, this site should give you an idea. It's sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (they run the National Scenic Byways Program).
- Welcome to Hidden America
- Dedicated to "On the Road" Americana
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