Cross Country good ol' murica (the southern part) Roadtrip

[Cody]

Firstly I apologize for my lack of forum. It's finally working for me again from my comp, Jake and I had to sort out some things. I've tried my best to make it to a couple snowy VIR events and G-Force. I'll be setting out on a cross country road trip from VA going south to ATL and then going across the SOUTH route to LA. Planning to venture into the depths of Mississippi, N'awlins, Dallas, a road that's practically on the TexMex border and a couple other places. We're heading out this Thursday in my friend's 2nd gen focus and I'm not quite sure what to expect. We plan on taking our time on the trip and "making the most of it". So any advice or prior learnings any of you have had I'd greatly appreciate. Who knows.. if I score a job in LA I might do this again but take a different route (probably more northern). We plan on hitting up a bunch of skateparks and hopefully some good live music but besides that have a pretty open mind to how to enjoy the deep south without getting eaten by a gator.

[.RJ]

I did this the other direction a while back. I-10 through texas sucks, find another route. Go to new orleans & memphis.

[ScottyB]

don't hit I-285 around atlanta between 7-10AM or 4-7PM during a weekday

[kcook]

Jealous. I have been wanting to drive x country for quite sometime

[DavidL]

Have done this twice now -- Not a lot to see from New Orleans to NM, so we blasted across TX. Carlsbad Caverns was amazing, had a good time hanging in White Sands as well. You guys thought about detouring up Vegas/Death Valley/ Yosemite then back down to LA? Mammoth will probably still be open, so you could even stop in for a day of CA spring riding. Definitely better than taking an extra couple day in Mississippi or Texas.

[Dragon]

I did this the other direction a while back. I-10 through texas sucks, find another route. Go to new orleans & memphis.

I remember that trip. We made pretty good time all things considered.

[Cody]

Thanks for the tips guys! David I knew you went once twice is crazy to think about. I have a friend in Vegas so we'll more than likely be going through there. Death Valley sounds pretty sweet

[ispoonwithmugen]

Just out of curiosity how much do you guys budget for something like this?

[Cody]

I have no idea. My friend was driving whether I was going or not so he's decided to mostly pay for gas while I pitched in some Red Bull haha.. His mom works hotels but the majority of our stops are with friends or family. I can let you know when we wrap the trip up what it cost but it's honestly what you make of it. Think of (total miles/mpg)*avgCostpergallon + hotels stays + food budget + excursions +beer (not while driving) +beers to friends for crashing on floors. Basically sums it up. I also bought a pack of Cliff Bars from Costco which should help a lot.

[ispoonwithmugen]

I have no idea. My friend was driving whether I was going or not so he's decided to mostly pay for gas while I pitched in some Red Bull haha.. His mom works hotels but the majority of our stops are with friends or family. I can let you know when we wrap the trip up what it cost but it's honestly what you make of it. Think of (total miles/mpg)*avgCostpergallon + hotels stays + food budget + excursions +beer (not while driving) +beers to friends for crashing on floors. Basically sums it up. I also bought a pack of Cliff Bars from Costco which should help a lot.

Word man keep me posted!

[Cody]

It's been an interesting trip so far. Pretty unplanned and quick decisions made via searching on google while driving and deciding where to stop. Mostly searching good food and skateparks. Our route thus far has been JMU-VT-ATL-Biloxi, Mississippi- and Dallas for 3 days now. Up next is Albuquerque- Phoenix- and finally Los Angeles. Food highlights so far have been DreamLand in Alabama for BBQ and The Chimes near LSU in Baton Rouge, Luisiana where I had some delicious gator and crawfish. When in Texas get your steak done mesquite style and you won't be disappointed. Stopping at the BMW plant in South Carolina was certainly time well spent. Several awesome cars and bikes on display. We've also hit skateparks in Blacksburg, Atlanta's historic fourth ward park (we ran into Grant Taylor at his dad's shop Stratosphere in ATL), and parks in Dallas (there're a bunch). Our next three spots will have several more to hit up. Cars we've seen so far McLaren MP4-12c, an R8, and a Lambo or 2 here in McKinney (north of Dallas). Also a shit ton of Land Rovers, 6 series, AudiI Ss, M series BMWs, busted Neons and Nissans are are scary to be next to on a road. I plan on visiting cars and coffee in Irvine, CA once we get there. There were some serious collectors out last time. Looking forward to it.

[Cody]

This was quite a trip and I'm definitely going to do it again. I recently talked to someone that said they've been cross country 20 times. Pretty amazing.

Here's my advice
-Take your time. Keep the trip open ended if possible and don't have too many commitments.
-Don't be afraid to venture off the interstate. Hitting up skateparks allowed us to take some back roads which led us to some of our best adventures.
-Buy your friend that chain smokes an e-cigarette. My lungs felt amazing afterwards.It was a good test in patience putting up with the cigarette smoke.
-If you see something cool, GO CHECK IT OUT.
-If you still have an unlimited data plan hack your phone and iPad to get unlimited data to your iPad. It makes a nice in car entertainment system.
-Don't go over 80 even if the speed limit is 80. I got pulled over in Arizona for 84 in an 80 but left with a warning.
-Check out what's local, skip chain restaurants. The locals know how to cook what's fresh i.e. Gator and Crawfish in Louisiana. Also try to eat somewhat healthy (which is tough at times on the road) you'll feel a lot more energized.
-It's not a cross country trip unless you make it to Hawaii :wink:

Here's some pics from the journey. Off of my iPhone.

ATL


Got a kick out of this shirt


Grant Taylor's fam shop in ATL. He drove into the shop on his 50cc mini dirt bike while we were there.


South Carolina. Definitely worth the stop


Brought back some memories from 12 hours of Sebring. Thanks again G for helping to get me, Jake, and Chris Cable out there!


STOP HERE FOR BBQ!!! <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dreamlandbbq.com">http://www.dreamlandbbq.com</a><!-- m -->


Biloxi, MS. Really nothing going on here besides rebuilding of Casinos.


Stopping to skate. Fun, really fast ledge. Ate shit and goofed up my knee for a couple days. Not comfortable in a car.


Deep South


A sign you're indeed headed West. Great burgers, horrible fries not even animal style. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/">http://badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/</a><!-- m -->


This will be a hit with some MMers.


Saw plenty of these. I think this is from TX


Yeah, this does exist somewhere. Focus in the background is our car.


COME TO VA ALREADY!


On the way to the Canyon.


Photo Editing on the Road


This is Freedom.


My town??


Someone suggested this to us at the local diner. It was a 2 minute drive away. We would have never known it was there. Awesome.


Bummed we couldn't take the bear with us.


I swear I didn't plan this out!


Unreal. We hit up the skywalk as well, definitely worth doing.


Sorry it's not a selfie


New Mexico obviously has a lot of money to play with and I am grateful for that.


Playing around with an OlloClip for iPhone.


Saw a ton of Dust-nados once in California


Cali skateparks are on point in the Valley.


House party in Malibu. Pretty crazy story. Right place, right time, right people.


Managed to get away from the crazies at Venice beach


Santa Monica. You should buy their stock.


Used my klout score to get into the Admirals club at American Airlines at LAX. Really nice place to chill while waiting for a flight, so much better than American's run down LAX terminal in dire need of renovation.


Hawaii is a really special place to me. I'm fortunate to have a friend that grew up and still lives there. There's really nowhere else like it. I hope I can call it home someday. We timed this perfect for a week of solid south swells which ment plenty of surf. This is how all roadtrips should end.

[kcook]

Looks like a lot of fun. Hope to do this next summer. Why didn't yall drive back and take a different route like up north.

[Cody]

My friend moved to LA so once we got there I stayed for 4 or 5 days and flew out. He had family in ATL and Dallas so that's why we kept to the south route. If I do it again I'm hoping to take the northern route. I really want to see the northwest.

[Feersty]

Great pictures, if you are ever in San Antonio, hit me up.

[Mike]

Stop.