WE are coming to the USA

[fogtender]

Well most are right for you to rent verses buying a cheap car that you can take to a dealer and sell back at a loss for a quick sale, but it will be alot cheaper than rentals by a long shot.

Same with a small motor home, you can find one on Ebay and use that instead of hotels which will run about $100.00 a night on the average as well as eating in the resturants. There is some nice van conversions that are pretty good on fuel useage too that you could sleep in. Ebay is a good source and some of the members could even check it out for you if they are close.

Anyway, the newer GPS's are a lot better than the maps are nowdays. This last time I drove down to Ohio from Alaska and back, I bought one and just for the heck of it, let it plan a trip and pick the route back to Alaska.... Not only did it shave a few hundred miles off the trip, the roads that it picked are less traveled and were in much better shape. It updates the information on the internet such as road updates and the like. They even go as far as to tell you how far to the next hotel or resturant is.....

Once you try to use it, it is hard to go back to a paper map....

 

[bczoom]

Anyway, the newer GPS's are a lot better than the maps are nowdays. This last time I drove down to Ohio from Alaska and back, I bought one and just for the heck of it, let it plan a trip and pick the route back to Alaska...

You're a very trusting person... Last time I had one in a rental, it sent me the wrong way several times (daily). Mrs. Zoom had to stop me from throwing it out the window. BTW - Those mounts they use to hold the GPS in the rental cars is pretty tough.
I'd have a paper map just for confirmation.

 

[fogtender]

You're a very trusting person... Last time I had one in a rental, it sent me the wrong way several times (daily). Mrs. Zoom had to stop me from throwing it out the window. BTW - Those mounts they use to hold the GPS in the rental cars is pretty tough.
I'd have a paper map just for confirmation.

Maybe they programmed it to add miles for charging to your account. Never had problems with my own GPS and they always have done a good job, either in car/truck, airplane or Imp...

 

[RNE228]

The best road maps come from American Automobile Association, AAA. See if you can join an Australian auto club that has a reciprocal agreement with AAA. They provide free route planning and free maps. Hopefully you can get this service by mail before your departure and then after you are on the road, you can stop in to the AAA offices in every city.

We did a trip around the western states, up into BC and Alberta a few years back. We used a Microsoft trip planner. It had good maps, lodging etc. Our son was 5 then; it was nice to plan the trip for shorter distances and more breaks. It was also nice when we found one friend who we planed to spend four days with, called out of town on work. We were easily able to adapt the trip and adjust so we still kept schedules at other stops where friends and family took vacation to be with us.

 

[Bulldog1401]

With a rental car, if it breaks down you just make a phone call. No repair bill.

 

[daedong]

Here in in OZ we have caravan parks, I guess you call them RV parks is that correct?
Almost every caravan park has on site self contained cabins that are a bit cheaper than motels per night. Will I find the same in the US?

 

[Doc]

Vin,
I've never seen an RV camp with cabins, but I haven't looked real hard either. Most using an RV park drive in with a camper or pitch a tent.

As for triple A (AAA) I''ve tried their trip maps and usually have known the area better and known not to follow them to a T. A few years back I decided to try an AAA suggested route, even though I knew a different way. The AAA one sucked big time. I would not trust them to get me around the block in an efficient manner. JMHO.

The rental car industry is known for extremely high drop off rates when you take a car from one lot and drop it at another. To take if from LA and drop it in DC will incur a huge drop off fee (I'm guessing). They have to charge you for the expense to hire someone to drive the vehicle back to LA. Maybe this far ahead you might be able to work out a deal with the place you want to drop the car. Since they'll be the ones ending up with the vehicle.

 

[California]

Doc, I like carrying AAA regional maps so I can see what is adjacent to my route and make last minute changes. A Mapquest or GPS plan doesn't consider alternatives that are off course.

You must have gotten a bum travel agent at AAA. Nowadays Mapquest can plan a route as well as an AAA agent but I was thinking of Vin walking up to the counter somewhere and asking 'what is there to see around here?' - and then getting specific maps for the vicinity.

I used to have to fly down to LA then visit offices in all sorts of obscure corners of the region, sometimes 150 miles from the airport. The AAA offices all over the place were a great help. A laptop and wireless access to Mapquest would be good for Vin's trip, but just hitting the AAA office upon arriving somewhere might be as easy as finding a wireless hot spot. He's going to need access to local knowledge in some form as he visits various parts of the country.

 

[California]

Here in in OZ we have caravan parks, I guess you call them RV parks is that correct?
Almost every caravan park has on site self contained cabins that are a bit cheaper than motels per night. Will I find the same in the US?

ditto Doc's comments - you will find that in a couple of places only. And the 'cabins' may be right next to the recreation hall where kids are turned loose after a day on the road. I wouldn't count on that as a lodging plan.

Have you considered hostels? The cost will be far below ordinary hotels. My kids prefer them, they always meet interesting people. There are online networks and guide books to locate hostels everywhere.

 

[bczoom]

AAA has other benefits as well and I'd propose you consider getting a membership. I think it's $55.
Some benefits are:
Discounts for lodging.
Car rental discounts.
Emergency roadside assistance.
Currency exchange.
Travelers checks.

You would need to do this in Australia, but first review the reciprocal benefit plans. It doesn't appear you can sign up in the USA. It would be better in AU since it's good for a year.

 

[RNE228]

Here in in OZ we have caravan parks, I guess you call them RV parks is that correct?
Almost every caravan park has on site self contained cabins that are a bit cheaper than motels per night. Will I find the same in the US?

The KOA RV park/campground right across the freeway from me has cabins. Many KOA's do; you could look on thier web site to find locations that have the cabins.

My concern would be whether you could get a cabin without a reservation.

Some state and national parks book months in advance too. You may have some area's where you'll have to reserve. When we did our western states trip a few years ago, we did have some reserved campgrounds, and had certian dates to meet friends and relatives. We were not on a tight schedule, but did have some commitments.

That is where the trip planner software came in handy. We had a good idea from the beginning where we would go. When there were changes, we easily changed routes, places of interest etc.

 

[Pigtails]

Well, whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll work out fine, as you have alot good advise from alot of good people. But hey, if you decide to go north, hit Interstate 5 north all the way to seattle. I hear its a beautiful drive. Then take Interstate 90 west, through Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming. Then we live just 28 miles from where you switch from where Interstate 90 and Interstate 25 meet. Give us a call and we'll buy you dinner. Or better yet come up and stay a few days. We'll take you four wheeling and sight seeing in the Big Horn Mtns. Interstate 25 takes you south to Denver and on further. Interstate 90 will take you east, through Eastern Wyoming, South Dakota clear over to Chicago area. Alot to see in between. Good luck and have fun if we do not get to see ya.. PM us if you're headed this way. We'll give you our phone number.

 

[RNE228]

Here in in OZ we have caravan parks, I guess you call them RV parks is that correct?
Almost every caravan park has on site self contained cabins that are a bit cheaper than motels per night. Will I find the same in the US?

http://www.reserveamerica.com/

http://www.koa.com/

The one near my house:
http://www.koa.com/where/ca/05429/facilities/

http://www.allcampgrounds.com/

http://www.1000trails.com/offer/scripts/index.pl?offer=campgroundf&gclid=CNHJlevW_ZACFR0xiQodpXgikg

http://www.woodalls.com

http://www.gocampingamerica.com/

http://www.goodsamclub.com/

 

[RNE228]

But hey, if you decide to go north, hit Interstate 5 north all the way to seattle. I hear its a beautiful drive.

I-5 is boring as heck until you get around Redding and Mt Shasta. From there on up to Seattle though, you get in to some pretty countryside.

To come north from southern California, the coast is very pretty. The backside of the Sierra, up US-395, is pretty too.

We'll take you four wheeling and sight seeing in the Big Horn Mtns.

The Bighorns are drop dead gorgeous! Just downright beautiful! Dirty Sally's is a fun tourist stop too

 

[Pigtails]

RNE,
So, you've been to Dirty Sallys? They have awesome milk shakes there too. But across the street at their local pub they serve some pretty good lunches and dinners.

 

[RNE228]

RNE,
So, you've been to Dirty Sallys? They have awesome milk shakes there too. But across the street at their local pub they serve some pretty good lunches and dinners.

Yes. I have an uncle that lives in Worland. I've been out that way a few times, although it has been a while. Did a little backpacking in Cloud Peak too. Like to hunt Shirley Basin for deer/antelope too, north of Hanna and Medicine Bow.

Great milk shakes at Dirty Sally's.

The Bighorns, and that area around Ten Sleep are just so beautiful

Thermopolis is kinda of fun to go to too, for the hot springs.

 

[California]

The one near my house: [Northern California]
http://www.koa.com/where/ca/05429/facilities/

Their reservation page shows that KOA 'Kabin' is $60 per night (plus tax, no doubt). And I think no food prep is allowed in there, they want you to use their 'Kamp Kitchen' nearby for that.

The backside of the Sierra, up US-395, is pretty too.

Gorgeous country. Highly recommended. Vin, if you drive north you might go to Death Valley, north via 395, then west through Yosemite. You might even include Bodie, a mining ghost town/state park just north of the Yosemite junction. But this region far off your your southern cross-country route.

 

[daedong]

Today Mary and I bought air tickets, we will be flying into LA on the 31st of Aug. I think we will book a hotel room on that night and pick up a hire car the following day. We intend to stay near LA for a few days. At this point we are still trying to organize many other things. Our plan is to travel up the Ca coast to San Fransisco and Yosemite, then to Death Valley, Hoover dam, Grand Canyon. From the Grand Canyon we will head to Houston (want to see NASA), from there we will head towards the great lakes, we will drop the car at Philadelphia on about the 16th Oct, then fly back to LA from Philadelphia on the 20th of Oct. and fly home on the 24th. Fairly arduous but do-able I hope.

I have taken in where I can hopefully meet up with many of you folks, and intend to book motels / hotels in some of the cities that might be central to some of you. More of that later as I work the itinerary out.

 

[DaveNay]

I have taken in where I can hopefully meet up with many of you folks, and intend to book motels / hotels in some of the cities that might be central to some of you. More of that later as I work the itinerary out.

That's awesome Vin! I will certainly make the effort to meet up with you if you are within a couple hundred miles of me.

 

[fogtender]

Today Mary and I bought air tickets, we will be flying into LA on the 31st of Aug. I think we will book a hotel room on that night and pick up a hire car the following day. We intend to stay near LA for a few days. At this point we are still trying to organize many other things. Our plan is to travel up the Ca coast to San Fransisco and Yosemite, then to Death Valley, Hoover dam, Grand Canyon. From the Grand Canyon we will head to Houston (want to see NASA), from there we will head towards the great lakes, we will drop the car at Philadelphia on about the 16th Oct, then fly back to LA from Philadelphia on the 20th of Oct. and fly home on the 24th. Fairly arduous but do-able I hope.

I have taken in where I can hopefully meet up with many of you folks, and intend to book motels / hotels in some of the cities that might be central to some of you. More of that later as I work the itinerary out.

Congrats! For what it is worth, there is a lot of Bed and Breakfast places that are really first class and you can stay there and really enjoy yourself. Normally they work off a referal system and only recommend first class accomidations.

Regardless of where you stay, I hope you have a great trip!

 

[daedong]

That's awesome Vin! I will certainly make the effort to meet up with you if you are within a couple hundred miles of me.

I have wondered about whether it would be possible to organise some sort of FF get togethers in national park picnic grounds as we travel across the US.
Just as a suggestion in your area how would a picnic get together on a sat or sun at Illini state park http://www.stateparks.com/illini.html work out. It looks like a good place to camp for us.

 

[daedong]

Today we have booked a rental car What a fiasco this was, we have been getting prices for a week now, they vary so much. We ended up booking a Highlander through Hertz. We rang them at least 5 times and got 5 different quotes. It cost $4,000 for 45 days including one way fee and insurances, which was quite reasonable compared to other quotes.
We also booked a cattle flight from the east coast back to CA over the internet with AirTran, cheap as chips about $120 ea all inclusive. I don't want to hear the horror stories!

 

[1948berg]

When you come to the airport on the date of departure, you must be totally sure of that the plane is not
Standing on a conveyor

 

[daedong]

When you come to the airport on the date of departure, you must be totally sure of that the plane is not
Standing on a conveyor

Maybe I should fly JAP air, those Japanese hostess would carry fans.

 

[Dargo]

We also booked a cattle flight from the east coast back to CA over the internet with AirTran, cheap as chips about $120 ea all inclusive. I don't want to hear the horror stories!

I've flown them a few times and they seemed fine. I personally only try really hard to avoid "Ted" airlines (the cheap side of United) and Northworst. Flying several times a month at times, I've had consistently poor service from Northworst. Without any doubt, I'd have to say they are the bottom of the heap in my book.

Good luck!!

 

[DaveNay]

Just as a suggestion in your area how would a picnic get together on a sat or sun at Illini state park http://www.stateparks.com/illini.html work out. It looks like a good place to camp for us.

That park is about an hour from me, and about two hours from Bob. Personally, I would pick Starved Rock State Park over the one you linked to. It's only a few miles further down river, but is a much larger park.

Depending on my and yours schedule, perhaps we could take you downtown Chicago to see stuff there.

 

[Doc]

I have wondered about whether it would be possible to organise some sort of FF get togethers in national park picnic grounds as we travel across the US.
Just as a suggestion in your area how would a picnic get together on a sat or sun at Illini state park http://www.stateparks.com/illini.html work out. It looks like a good place to camp for us.

Good idea Vin. I would sure enjoy that. Timing is everything, but I'll make my best effort to make it to whatever place is decided on.

 

[waybomb]

Look up AirTran. Most modern and fuel efficiant fleet of all American based airlines.

 

[rback33]

If you're going through the central US, then plan a stop in Hutchinson, KS and see the Kansas Cosmosphere and the Kansas Underground Salt Mine Museum.

http://www.cosmo.org/

http://www.undergroundmuseum.org/index.php

Kevin

What he said and I live 30 minutes away from them. Besides... I have actually been to Australia, so it's fitting you stop and see me right? I have not even been to the Salt Museum myself, but would be willing to hold off for guests.

 

[fogtender]

When you come to the airport on the date of departure, you must be totally sure of that the plane is not
Standing on a conveyor

What is really important is to make sure that they do not "Underwind" the rubber band motor that replaced the gas guzzler