Driving across the U.S. all summer with two teens (in our little Honda Civic)

[4671 Hybrid]

If you find yourself in Arizona, I HIGHLY recommend Slide Rock State Park near Sedona. That place is a ton of fun and there'll be some teens there for your kids to hang out with. There's a couple water slides, multiple rock jumping points (safe ones) and the water is always at the right temp. Sedona is a nice stop too and a good place to expose them to local artists...you'll probably even meet a few and get their perspective on their pieces.

As for motels, I'd consider looking for the Hampton Inn brand and registering with HHonors. It won't take you long to earn points and get a free nights stay, their breakfasts are usually top-tier and hard to beat, they have relaxed check-in/out hours, and usually have decent pools/hot tubs.

For the car, I'd recommend spending $10 at Harbor Freight and upgrading to a hydraulic bottle jack (probably less than $10 if you catch it on sale or pull a 20% off coupon out the back of a magazine). It's about the same size as your stock jack, much faster, and the first time you use it vs. the wind-it-up style, you'll be thanking me for the advice. Don't forget a cheap $5 tire plug kit from Autozone and a $10 air compressor from WalMart, it's much easier to plug a tire in the middle of nowhere than to unload/change/reload a tire in the middle of nowhere. But if you do have to unload/change/reload, at least you'll have a good jack 5 Minute Epoxy is also good to throw in the glovebox, it's only $4-$5 and can fix a wide variety of stuff. If you're taking tools along, don't forget the 10,12,13,14,and 17mm's. With those 5 sizes, you'll be able to tackle most anything on the Civic and you'll find the 12mm to be your bread and butter. And don't forget having a hidden key made, you can make it a game for the teens and have it so that one of them is always wearing it as a necklace.

In the larger towns, the Chamber of Commerce is a good stop, you'll usually find some great discounts and even get some insider knowledge.

It appears El Paso is on your map, I'd avoid the urge to cross into Mexico and explore Ciudad Juarez like the plague. It looks like N'Awlins is on the map too, the acquarium is pretty good as are the trolley rides and ferry rides to the other side of the bay/lake. I can't remember the name of it exactly but it leaves from right downtown and it's a cool ride. As for parking, make sure you take advantage of the Harrah's free parking. It used to be that you had to gamble for 30 minutes (I think now it's 45 mins) which is quite easy to do since they have nickel poker. I played for about 70 minutes, won a bit over three dollars, and got $60 worth of free parking for the next 2 days. Can't beat it.

If you hit Las Vegas, there's plenty of great buffets off the strip. A few years ago, I had a great dinner buffet for $6.18 (I remember the quirky price) and it was complete with crab legs, awesome cakes/pies, steaks...everything. This is a great city for the Chamber of Commerce, there's some real gems in Vegas aside from the gambling and bright lights. They also have a great Craigslist market, maybe a good place for you resupply on anything that you break/lose/find doesn't work well.

I'm sure you already know about the National Parks Pass, but what about the Flying J loyalty card? It's free, has decent benefits, and saves you money on gas. And if you like coffee/cappucino, don't forget to bring a mug so that you can save money on refills. There's quite a few truckstops where it's $.25 refills on your 1LT thermos or $1.29 for their 20 oz. disposable styrofoam cup.

That's about it for now, kudos to you on the trip and I know you'll have a blast!

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Here is another suggestion if you haven't already been: http://www.dday.org/

 

[Series1Rangie]

So I was talking to some friends and they recommended this site. http://www.couchsurfing.org/ I went and looked around, looks like a cool site.

Good Luck, and keep us updated.

Mike and Myles

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I knwo this adds to the price of everything, but what about a small harbor freight trailer to haul your camping gear? I use to tow a 4 x 8 Harbor freight trailer when I auto crossed back on the 90's and my little 1996 Civic DX had no problems with it.

 

[Ray Hyland]

Wow, that looks like a fantastic trip. We will be on the road with our three boys and a german shepherd for most of July, so I hear you on the need for that extra foot of space.

One point to bring up, if you are tent camping in some parks you must bring along a portable toilet and pack out your waste if you are in a part of the park without outhouses. The park websites will have the details. The PETT toilets are good for that, they pack down into a little briefcase and you put a bag inside for waste. The bags have chemicals inside to deal with smells and stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/The-PETT™-Portable-Environmental-Toilet/dp/B001CWAIJI


The other thing to mention, when I was a kid we did a family road trip like this for about 6 months on the road. The coolest thing we did was every night we sat at the table and spread the map out, and my dad would point out where we were, and how many hours he wanted to drive the next day by making an imaginary circle on the map, and we took turns deciding where we would go. So every night a different family member got to choose the next day's destination. If if was your turn to choose, you could pick anywhere inside the circle on the map. That was pretty cool, and prompted a lot of dinner time conversations about what was in all these little towns to do and see. Plus we went to some crazy kitschy little places that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. (what kid is going to pass up the world's biggest teepee. And what teenage boy will pass up the UFO museum in NM).

Have fun, and maybe we will see you on the road somewhere. If you see a big black Defender 110 with 5 people and a big dog hanging out the windows, be sure to wave.

 

[Series1Rangie]

Have fun, and maybe we will see you on the road somewhere. If you see a big black Defender 110 with 5 people and a big dog hanging out the windows, be sure to wave.

I am not sure the number of people in the defender would readily impact whether or not I waved. :sombrero: Of course I always wave at big dogs. LOL

Mike and Myles

 

[cdm]

Great for gas but the lack of space will really make this less enjoyable than it should. Even if you overnight in hotels, it will still be a chore. We manage to fill up a midsize car in 4 days. 2 people and 2 dogs. Most of it is stuff we buy on the road and once you begin unpacking, it never quite gets packed as tight as you wish

 

[Quill]

Car trips were the reason these where and are made.

http://www.cruiserlift.com/swivelwheel.html

Or if you can find an old one.

http://www.singlewheel.com/

I am sure there are people here that can build one.

 

[4671 Hybrid]

Great for gas but the lack of space will really make this less enjoyable than it should. Even if you overnight in hotels, it will still be a chore. We manage to fill up a midsize car in 4 days. 2 people and 2 dogs. Most of it is stuff we buy on the road and once you begin unpacking, it never quite gets packed as tight as you wish

FWIW, we drove cross-country and camped out of a Festiva with 2 dudes, a dog, and all of our gear inside the car, and had an absolute blast. Our fun was so contagious that a girl took a liking to my buddy and decided to join us, even with 3 folks and the dog we still had a good time. On the way back, I met a girl who decided to join us too but that's a story for another time....

 

[cdm]

goes without saying there is always room for a girl :chef:

when i say dog im talking 2 130lbs dogs each with its own suitcase (food, meds, supplies, toys). yeah, we dont travel light.

ps. no roof rack on the car though which makes all the difference. had a blast too but i was crying at that one roadsite store where i couldnt buy all the deli i wanted due to lack of a fridge (or space to put fridge in). aaaaah!!

if i left luggage management to my misses we could do it in a versa with stuff piled up to the sun visor of the front windshield. but you mileage can vary

 

[Warn Industries]

I've done Milwaukee, WI to Portland, OR and back in a Civic, a Suzuki SX4, and a Scion xB (one way in that vehicle). Small cars definitely pose a challenge when packing. I've also traveled with four rommates from St. Paul, MN to Corpus Christi, TX (and back) in a Nissan Sentra on spring break in college. That was a bit tight.

- Andy

 

[gart2011]

I'm already a member of couchsurfing!

I'm glad you actually reminded me of it. I totally forgot about them.