Bucket List Road Trip.... Baltimore To Seattle... Suggestions

Heynow Campers

Vacation is approved for Mrs.Rusty, my oncologist is on board with a month off chemo, and we are off to surprise the east coast phamily with our recent marriage, so I guess it's a honeymoon trip also.

Mrs. Rusty and I are going coast to coast in a Hertz fullsize.....picking up Newark April 11th, drop near Seattle April 30th. There are several states/ areas in this wonderful country I have not been to, primarily the South. We are doing five days doing family visits on Long Island and then leave from Baltimore.

We have essentially fourteen days to do approximately 56 hours of driving. So.....four hours a day, making every exta day we stay somewhere an eight hour drive the next day. Totally doable with two drivers.

The plan is pretty loose........we don't have any confirmed overnights yet between Baltimore and New Orleans, just a general idea of the routes available. No stops yet confirmed for New Orleans to Vegas, but likely Austin.

We don't even have a "theme" for the trip yet. Thought about breweries, BBQ, NCAA football stadiums,
and cities that are in some of our favorites songs.....like Tupelo , Mobile, Pascagoula, Houston, ElPaso, etc.

Detouring to see some of "our" bands is a likely scenario if they are near, I will check Jambase for dates and locations, may aim for the NHRA drag races in Houston also. No NASCAR races on our route and dates unfortunately.

Anyway......if anybody has any suggestions please let em' fly.....no idea what we are headed in to, but it will be fun. Can't wait, love me some road trippin ' !

 

I like the beaches on the FL panhandle so I would recommend a stop at one of the beach towns Pensacola, Panama City, Destin/Fort Walton. Emjoy a day at the beach and you will also find some good gumbo in those next of the woods.

Lots of options on a trip that covers so much ground so stay flexible and make the most of the impromptu opportunities that come up. Enjoy your road trip.

 

as far as breweries here on Long Island, depending where you are staying, I suggest

Great South Bay (Bay Shore),
Oyster Bay Brewing
out east there is Greenport Harbor (go to the tasting room in Peconic, not Brewery)
in Riverhead there is Long Ireland, Crooked Ladder, Moustache Brewing

not sure how up to date these addresses are, but google will have current locations

http://www.libeerguide.com/breweries

if you are coming from NJ, Coney Island brewing is off the Belt Pkwy, and there are several others in North Brooklyn, Brooklyn Brewing, Six Point

near Baltimore, check out Heavy Seas, DuClaw,

it looks like you plan to go through Phlly, so Victory Brewery (happens to be right next door to SugarHouse casino, if casino stops are also involved

 

SanofreSurfer picked me up in Tennessee in his RV after he was reassigned from Philadelphia back to San Diego. We stopped in the Houston area to pick up Scratch73 then headed westward. I have to say, that was some of most fun times I've ever had on a vacation and we really didn't stop a lot to do a lot of things. We did stop in Tombstone, Arizona and do some of that touristy stuff and did a drive by of the airplane boneyard in Tucson, but the most fun was just the drive during the day and the stops in campgrounds/RV parks at night. I actually think we ate better with the meals we made on the road than any restaurant we stopped at for lunch or breakfast during the drive. Anyway, just a bit envious of your road trip. Hoping I can do that again some day.

As for a recommendation, if you've not seen much in the South, I highly suggest a stop in the Smoky Mountains National Park, but mainly, stay flexible.

 

Looks like you'll be heading just a bit south of Alpert territory, Camp Rusty!

Otherwise our master bedroom would've been yours for the taking!
The bride and pets would've certainly let you have it. I've been on the couch (The Island) for a very, very long time.

Happy and safe travels to you and your beloved!

RICHARD

 

If in philly definitely go for a CHEESESTEAK!

 

yes. but Pat's or Geno's?

 

No California coast drive?

 

Thanks everyone

Lots of good stuff so far !

We are staying in Sag Harbor so have almost the whole island to drive and stop at breweries, that might be really fun.

As far as the Cali coast, pretty much did that last year through wine country, and have been living on the west coast my entire life, following bands up and down the coast for years. Sure is a pretty drive.

 

I've been eyeing the blue line. Louisville, Nashville, Memphis/Tunica, Biloxi, N.O. A lot of these cities have been on my list.

 

New Orleans is a must. There is a lot to do and see, enough for a separate thread.

I recommend San Antonio over Austin. The Alamo is worth seeing once if you have not yet done so, and the Riverwalk is very nice.

Carlsbad in New Mexico?

If you were going the "northern" route I was going to suggest the Badlands and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

 

Blue line.....I will look that up, seems like a good list of cities.

Carlsbad, seems as I recall caverns always attached to that, sounds great, never would have thought of that.

I have done the northern route so have already covered the Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Sturgis.

I think when all is said and done the only states I won't have are Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Figuring 46/50 is close......92%

Thanks for the suggestions, putting some pins on the map now.

 

Neither. D'Alessandro's.

 

If you do New Orleans go to Felix's and sit at the bar and order a dozen raw ones. Don't get the charbroiled kind. For that you have to go to Drago's.

 

If you take the green route, you will drive by my brother in Destin, Fl. If you take the blue route, you will go by my house in MS. After you narrow your plans for your Southern leg, I will try to give you some more concrete info on either of those routes. Even if you choose the red route, we can tell you about a seafood place in Mobile that we stop at on every trip to Florida.
Sounds like a really fun trip.

 

Go a little more north and west and spend a day in Cincinnati! Cincinnati chili, Montgomery Inn ribs, Newport Aquarium, Cincinnati zoo, baseball's first professional team, Jungle Jim's and The Party Source for amazing food and drink and cigar selections.

 

Can recommend a stop over in Bend, OR if you're going up 97... Worthy Brewing, Silver Moon and definitely do the Deschutes Brewery tour. Drive to Seattle next day.
Also, if you're doing a drive by near Asheville, NC...stop @ Sierra Nevada's Mills River brewery, its incredible, and drop into Bold Rock Hard Cider too, the best cider ever!

Enjoy your trip, and safe travels!

 

Green line = beach time, but in early April you must abide Mother Nature. Think Hilton Head, Charleston SC, Savannah GA. Blue line let's you check out the blue ridge parkway through VA and NC and maybe swing through Nashville.

From Baltimore you could stop in Annapolis and visit the Naval Academy, it's a great little town with plenty of history and great eats. Then drive down through the DelMarVa peninsula and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to Emporia VA and pick up 95 to venture south. You would avoid DC and the crazy traffic.

But we all know the best sandwich in Philly isn't thr cheesesteak, it's a Roast Pork Italian with spinach or Broccoli Rabe and aged provolone and hot peppers. Get both at John's Roast Pork or Tony Luke's and decide for yourself. Get extra napkins.

Too bad you can't squeeze in a visit to Atlantic City and play a little, maybe a detour from Long Island to Baltimore? You could take the ferry from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware (have lunch at Dogfish Head Brewery) then make your way to Baltimore. Mmmmmm......90 Minute IPA and Festina Peche, yummy!

 

I went from Seattle back to Jacksonville and the Meteor Crater in AZ was quite a sight.