Between March and May of this year, I spent seven weeks on one of the most American things I can think of: a road trip across the USA. The last time I’d done something like this I was nine years old. Back then, my sisters and I liked to pass the endless hours in the back of our rental van by spitting on each other.
During this latest trip, I met up with family in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Philadelphia, and New Jersey; visited friends in California and Colorado; was joined by my girlfriend for one and a half weeks of the drive; and drove nearly 12,000 miles (19,000 km). Great times!
Photo Gallery
Places Visited
Most of the journey was unplanned, as is usually the case when I’m traveling. I did get a few great recommendations from friends in advance, though.
Following is the full list of places I visited. In these lists, the 🔥 emoji marks some of my favorites, ⏳ marks places I stayed for multiple days, and 🚗💨 marks cities I drove through but barely stopped. For smaller towns that I only drove through, I didn’t include them in the list.
Part One (March 1–14):
- Charles Town, WV 🚗💨
- Martinsburg, WV
- Charlottesville, VA 🔥
- Virginia Beach, VA — Endless cold and empty beaches, thanks to Covid
- Chapel Hill, NC ⏳ — Visited family
- Myrtle Beach, SC — Pretty sketchy, and the biggest letdown of the trip
- Charleston, SC 🔥
- Walterboro, SC
- Columbia, SC
- Savannah, GA 🔥
- Tampa, FL ⏳ — Got some poker time in at the Seminole Hard Rock
- Delray Beach, FL ⏳ — Visited family
- Orlando, FL — Hit up Universal Studios theme park
- Waynesboro, VA
- Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, VA
Part Two (April 2 – May 7):
- Winston-Salem, NC
- Knoxville, TN
- Nashville, TN 🔥 — Wonderful rock/country music scene and nightlife
- Memphis, TN 🚗💨
- Little Rock, AK 🚗💨
- Ada, OK (twice) — Within the Chickasaw Nation; got my Covid shots there
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Amarillo, TX
- Albuquerque, NM 🚗💨
- Gallup, NM
- Petrified Forest National Park, AZ 🔥
- Hoover Dam, NV
- With my girlfriend Meena:
- Las Vegas (twice) 🔥⏳ — Played poker during my first stay, and hit up shows and restaurants with Meena the second time through
- LA (downtown, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, beaches, and LA suburbs) 🔥⏳ — Got some work done while there, setting up storage for a large archive of cult materials
- Slab City, CA 🔥 — A community of squatters, artists, and misfits
- Bullhead, AZ
- Zion National Park, UT 🔥
- Bryce Canyon, UT
- Page, AZ
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Alamosa, CO
- Great Sand Dunes, CO 🔥
- Denver, CO (twice) ⏳
- Mount Rushmore, SD
- Rapid City, SD
- St. Louis, MO
- Louisville, KY 🚗💨
- Cincinnati, OH — Made an amusing, nearby stop at the Creation Museum
- Pittsburgh, PA 🚗💨
- Punxsutawney, PA
- Hershey, PA
- Philadelphia, PA — Visited family
- Colts Neck, NJ — Visited family
I’ve mostly just kept this to the names, but I’d be happy to share more details in response to any questions in the comments. I’d also love to hear about upcoming trips you’re planning or the highlights from your past road trip adventures.