Posted on 03/31/2008 9:52:50 AM PDT by mpackard
I sure do. But cruise control is a must. Otherwise you will find yourself zooming along at 90 + mph.
Dang, we needed that anti-crash force field the last time we traveled along there. A guy next to us was falling asleep and came over into our lane - at 85mph that isn’t fun.
Which one of you is from College Station and which one is from Norman
Sadly, when you hit a lower speed area you feel like you’re crawling....... We were traveling last fall and left I10 heading northwest and hit an area that was just crawling with baby deer - we had to drive about 50mph because it was just getting dark and we were seeing clusters of deer along the sides of the road. I lost count after about 30 deer -
Yes, that it is. You can look left, then right and the scenery won't change for the next 300 miles. Sage brush, tumbleweed and mesquite is the only thing out there. Even the armadillos carry their lunch and water when traveling.
Whatever happens, don't let your other daughters find out she's your precious daughter. Jealousy and all that.
;-)
It's been many years since I took that route. I recall one long and torturous hill on I8 in CA that very few vehicles can maintain highway speed on the way up. I used to have a '70 Bonneville with the humongous 455CU 360HP V8. That car pulled away from ALL the rest of the vehicles on that hill.
She will burn a lot of gas, and maybe some oil, on that hill.
What kind of car is she driving? What shape is it in? How are the tires? Does she know how to change a tire? Have her take a small gas can with a couple of gallons of gas (if she has a trunk. Take some extra oil, coolant, a small tool kit, pliers, adjustable wrench, screw drivers, folding reflectors, etc. and teach her how to use them.
Does she have a handgun and know how to use it? I assume she'll have a cell phone, but reception can be spotty in remote areas.
Have her plan her route and stops. How many hours or miles a day does she want to drive? Have her join AAA and get a route plan. Have her sign up for some hotel/motel chain plans. Have her take the little guide books from the various chains so she knows where the next place to stay is and whats ahead in the next town. They usually have maps on where to find the motel/hotel. Call ahead for a room reservation.
Tell her to stop early, check in, have a nice dinner, get up early, have a nice breakfast and hit the road early. As a woman, she should stay on one of the upper floors, not a ground floor room.
I don't like to drive more than 8 hours a day. In small towns the good restaurants may close by 8 or 9 PM.
Don't keep valuables visible on the seats when she leaves the car. Have an extra “Hide A Key” under one of the back or front part of the car. Take it from me, you need one of those.
Keep her doors locked. Be sure her cell phone has an in car phone charger, same for an in room charger and maybe her laptop computer. Take her digital camera and email you some pictures as she goes along.
She could also take a small cooler, snacks, water, etc. When I travel by car, I usually take a small electric kettle and French press coffee maker or tea bags and some utensils, spoon, fork, knife, paper towels, etc. My own coffee is better than the stuff in the room.
I buy a small container of milk for the morning coffee or tea to avoid the powdered creamer.
You keep a written description and photos of her, her car, license number and planned route, etc.
Maybe this is overdoing it, but being prepared never hurts.
Tell her to have a good time. Enjoy America. And be careful of course.
I wish I could remember who asked me if tumbleweeds were real........ I also wish I had a video of one trip we took when it almost seemed we were being targeted and attacked by rogue tumbleweeds!!! There were everywhere.
Just a short 100+ mile jog for help..... ;^)
We were on a trip to the Lubbock area several years ago. Those tumbleweeds were stacked against the fences everywhere. I’d hate to see those catch fire and then getting blown around.
My niece drove from our house at the time in Redding, CA to Houston by herself; i.e. she was starting school at UT-Austin but wanted to visit her mom in Houston first. She had just turned 19 at the time.
I wasn't happy to have her driving alone, and we had originally planned that I would go with her, but due to some family circumstances at the time there was no choice.
HOWEVER, I set very strict rules for her to follow.
1. While driving she HAD to call us every hour on the hour (NO EXCEPTIONS) to let us know she was ok. 2. She was only allowed to drive during the day and I mapped out all of her stops for the night along the way; i.e. motels w/reservations. 3. She had to call when she checked-in/out of the motel. 4. She had to call us to let us know where she was at every food/gas stop along the way. She was to look in the car before getting back in and lock the doors immediately. 5. She was to pull into the next rest-stop/gas station if she thought she was being followed, ask for help and then call me. Or if one wasn't close she should not stop under any circumstances and immediately call the State Highway Patrol (I provided the telephone numbers) or 911. 6. She had a brand new car so I wasn't concerned about mechanical issues, but in the event something happened she was to call me immediately. However, I did show her how to change a flat tire; i.e. I actually made her do it in our driveway before she left.
I also got her a can of pepper-spray, showed her how to use it and sent along a aluminum bat just in case. I also got her an AMEX card in her name for her expenses along the way so she wasn't flashing money around.
I know how anxious you will get. We were both nervous wrecks for the three days it took her to make the trip. But when she called us from her mother's house to let us know she had made it, it felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from our shoulders.
She is 21 now and tells us that she still follows my rules when she drives back and forth between school and Houston to visit her mom.
You should consider taking a couple days off and traveling with her. A bit over a year ago, my 16 year old daughter’s pen pal died in surgery. They had become best friends and were planning to meet sometime in the next year. My daughter was devestated and wanted to go to the funeral in Atlanta. (we’re near Detroit)
Thus began a hastily planned roadtrip. I rented a high mileage car, threw the sleeping bags in the car and off we went. Outside of the funeral, which was joyful and sad, we had an awesome time. I introduced her to the concept of rest area accomodations and we enjoyed the open road and we had the opportunity for some great time together.
The funeral service for this strong Christian young lady marked the end of a good life well lived and her family welcomed two strangers into their lives for a few hours.
The girls shared a birthday as well. On their daughters birthday, they send flowers to my daughter. That really got the tears flowing again.
Sorry for going on, but I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of a good daddy-daughter road trip.
I can’t wait till my other kids start driving so we can repeat it...without the funeral
Cripes, driving to Austin from San Diego isn’t quite like driving through Somalia.
Nowadays, we Texans allow visitors to enter the state without raping your horses and stealing your children.
She’s 24
She’s delivering her step-son back to his mother
She’s in the Navy
She’s married
do these answer your questions : )
Looking these up now....are they on I8/10?
printing and mapping now...thanks for the tips
they wont be armed....any idea of the cell phone coverage?
she’s a red neck girl (not really) and she lives in SD CA (US Navy)
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