Road Trippin' the USA: Eight Weeks Across America, Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Funny, but I actually heard Born to Be Wild three times that first day.  I laughed pretty hard the third time.  It was exactly how I was feeling that October day as I set off for an eight week road trip across the US of A.   I got my motor running and headed out on the highway.  Starting in Southern California, my first stop would be Northern California and I was itching to get out of town.  Surprisingly, I was much calmer than I had expected to be – it being the first day of my great adventure – but I was still excited and it has been my greatest travel experience thus far.

 

The plan was to see as much of my own country as I could without rushing too much in eight short weeks.  What I learned is that it’s beautiful here.  Across 30 states and a whole lot of National Parks, I went out and found what I was looking for.  America.

 

I’d been planning it for at least a year, the idea for several years.  I basically made a loose circle around the country, heading north, then east, then south, then west.  Along the way I stopped to visit friends and family, but more often then not, I was on my own and I found out that I liked hanging out with myself.

 

My journey started, as I’ve mentioned in California.  I headed up north and had a short stop in Nevada City, California.  Nevada City is a very cute little tourist town in the heart of the forest, about an hour west of Truckee and the Nevada State border.  It is a California historic gold rush town that is now the home of fine dining establishments and every specialty shop you can think of. I was excited to drop by and visit a friend who owns an African import store there called Asylum Down.  It was a short visit, but after years of being friends, I finally got a chance to visit her shop and see the lovely Nevada City.  I highly recommend a visit to there, but stay for longer than an hour!  You can find plenty of information about the town by visiting the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce website.

 

After leaving Nevada City, I continued my trip north on my way to Susanville, California where I spent the night with some friends.  I’d planned the first four nights to spend with friends and family before having many more nights in campgrounds and hotels.  After a night of watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 and eating Mexican food I got a good nights sleep in anticipation of day two, when I would head off to Oregon.

 

Oregon, as always, was beautiful.  My big stop in Oregon was Crater Lake National Park.  Crater Lake is like looking into a beautiful blue mirror.  It was particularly picturesque as there was snow on the ground.  I was very excited to encounter the first snow of my trip and the views at the Park were absolutely beautiful.  I only wish I’d had more time to perhaps take advantage of one of the ranger led tours, but I was still feeling like I was just getting on the road, so I headed north to spend a night with another friend and his many cats in Northern Oregon.  The next day I’d be heading to Washington for a couple days of sightseeing and visiting with family.

 

Jennifer St.Antoine, Gather Travel Correspondent

 

Jennifer's column, Road Trippin' The USA, published every other Friday to Gather Essentials: Travel beginning on February 9th, 2007, is a chronicle of her experiences traveling the Roads of America.  In addition to regular installments of Jennifer's eight week adventure across the country, Road Trippin' The USA will occasionally include her other experiences on America's roads, including recommendations and warning for places to see, stay and eat.

You can find all of Jennifer's Road Trippin' the USA articles at www.gather.com/roadtrippintheusa

You can keep up with all of Jennifer's articles and her other Gather activity by joining her Gather network. Just click here: ladyjadegd.gather.com and select the orange JOIN button on the left side of the page.

 

You can find Jennifer and other Travel Enthusiasts at travel.gather.com