Yep, so I'm driving to California. I was planning on doing it Wednesday but I need to see a doctor at 7PM so that makes driving all day kinda hard, and then I could pick up a paycheck on Friday at 3PM so.... I don't know, that may put it off to Friday or Saturday.
But yep. 2.8k miles. That's like 10 tanks of $50 gas, $500. I think I have a bit less than that lol. It'll work, my GF is out there and can probably put some money on the card for me if necessary. Going to be sleeping in my car.
I may even be able to play SC2. I could get those AC/DC converters, hook my pc up to my car, and my droid for a tether to get 3G lol.
Anyways... anyone else done this? I mean there's not much I really need to look into right? Pretty simple. Getting out of VA to go to San Francisco. My GF just moved out there, I had to stay back to deal with some business. I'll have to come back in September though, just going to fly back since I'll probably lose the license as I'll be put on probation, hopefully I can get it transferred quickly so I don't have to be chained to this stupid place.
Don't forget about food. That can add up and I'd recommend bringing a tent and a sleeping bag if you have small car. It can get quite uncomfortable sleeping in a car. Depending on airline prices, flying could be the cheapest alternative.
^ got a tent and sleeping bad, but where do I use them? Don't camping places cost money too?
I have a small hatch back mazda 3. With all the stuff packed inside, I'm not sure what I'll do to sleep. I imagine I'll go to gas stations. It'd be nice to remove like the bike and some of the stuff so I can make room to lay down in the back of it, but I don't know if that'll be possible.
There are lots of rest stops on major highways. They are free and have restrooms and showers and vending machines. There are benches there for people to eat and open spaces for you to pitch a tent and sleep. Look on maps and find the rest stops on your route and make a plan on when and where you want to stop.
be careful of where you stop on the highways, consider bringing some kind of defense like mace or something. audio books on tape help cure the boredness. bring some kind of caffeine (red bull/5hr energy) in case you start to feel sleepy at the well(in which case you should pull over anyways). blankets for when you are sleeping because it gets really cold. spare tire/tire patch stuff. sleeping bag and tent are also good items. a container in your car filled with gas, you never know on these long highways how long the next stop will be where you can fill up on gas.
About 3 years ago I made the drive from Santa Barbara, CA to Chapel Hill, NC in similar fashion. Except I was stupid. I left at 8:30 AM on a monday and arrived at 5:30 AM on the wednesday. Took less than 48 hours...my entire sleep time was a 90 minute nap in Tenessee. I recommend NOT doing that and actually finding real sleep. Also make sure you keep your cell phone charged...mine died in Utah and I just kind of went along for the adventure.
There's plenty of rest stops on the way. When I get tired I just pull over and take naps in the car until I get wherever I'm going. I drove from michigan to california taking the normal breaks on the way, but last winter I drove from vegas to dallas in one go only stopping for gas and eating at a gas station. The harder trip back was from austin to vegas and I had to take multiple stops to nap in the car, but I always feel refreshed after and it's tough but you can will power through it. Just pull over and rest if you get tired. My dad got tired driving home after a plane flight from chicago to michigan, and he fell asleep and crashed a minivan into a ditch. The minivan was totaled but luckily my parents were perfectly ok with just some scratches and bruises.
shit, 2.8k miles. how long is that going to take you? if you're hoping to save $$ on food, making sandwiches beforehand might last you for a day or 2? lol i dont really have any substantial advice to give since i dont drive ><.
I've driven from Sonoma, CA (about an hour north of San Francisco) through the south (az, nm, tx, la, al, tn..) all the way to NYC as well as driven from Indiana to Los Angeles. Pretty fun stuff, just make sure you have a phone charger for ur car lol! Also might wanna stop at some supermarkets so you can make your own lunch and stuff so ur not eating out at shitty fast food the whole trip. Hf & grats on moving to the bay, its really nice here.
On June 08 2011 15:35 Belial88 wrote: Going to be sleeping in my car.
Awww yeah. Sleeping in the firebird. :p
not mine, but another guy I know, too funny.
That's a long trip, but I would totally do it. In fact I was thinking about doing it, however my car only gets around 20 MPG and I only have a 12 gallon tank - lots and lots of stops for gas.
Whatever you do, if you end up sleeping in your car, DON'T just pull your car to the side of the road and go to sleep. Not only can someone just come by and take advantage of you, but if it gets foggy during the night, someone driving by might hit your car (since you won't have tail lights on or anything).
EPT
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