Finally, the plan. Crystal Lake, Ill., to Austin, Tx., is about a 1200 mile, 19 hour drive if you take the quickest route. Looking at those numbers, I had originally planned on tackling this in two days, but after looking at the way I would have to go, I decided to split it into three. This will, hopefully, allow for some more sightseeing in cities that I've never been through.
Day 1: I'm going to be leaving my house at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2nd--the day that I'm setting this to post. The map of my route is at left, though there will be a lot of modifications made to it by my Magellan as I go, mostly because I can't stand being on the same road for 300 miles at a time. I'm sure that I will frequently hit the button that re-routes me away from any freeways and see what type of field I end up in. Soy or corn? The first stop is my dad's house 61.8 miles away in Plainfield. I hope that the majority of the traffic will be heading into the city and I can avoid it, arriving around 7:00 a.m. Then the real journey begins, with dad in the passenger seat: 552 miles or 9 hours through Bloomington, Springfield and St. Louis. Then I'll follow the Mississippi for a while, stop to see where the Ohio flows into it and Illinois, Missoui and Kentucky become one, before continuing south to Memphis. On Dr. Phil the other day, I saw clips from a recent documentary that portrays the life of people living along and off the river; hopefully I'll run into some of them. Overalls and dirty beards make for good blog pictures. Memphis should be a trip in its own right; my dad booked us a $35/night hotel. I'm sure that will be deserving of its own post when I get there.
Day #2: We depart Memphis and gas-up before hitting the terrifying Arkansas I-40. Tom tells me that the eastern half of Arkansas--a state I've never been to and doubt I will be a frequent visitor of--is full of 'Swamp people,' a claim that my dad has supported. That should make the 135 mile stretch to Little Rock an interesting one. I envision a barely-better-than-dirt road lined on either side with small shacks of corrugated steel filled with entire families--three or four generations worth--sharpening wood to craft pencils which they sell in the market to finance their tobacco habit. I plan to break in Little Rock for some sightseeing and on-the-street political polling before jumping back in the car for the 212 mile drive to Shreveport. This route will bring us through Texarkana which I'm sure, judging solely on the name, is an interesting place worth seeing. Originally, I had planned to stop in Dallas for the second night but then I wouldn't get a chance to experience Louisiana until Matt and I visit over a weekend. My dad has yet to book a hotel for our stay here, but when he does I'm sure it will be on par with the other booking he made.
Day #3: The final day on the road. I have made plans with the landlady to arrive in Austin to pick up the keys to my apartment around 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 4th. The final trip to get us there is a 376 mile one that will take me through Dallas before heading south through Waco and finally on to Austin. Matt, who is making the trek from Boca Raton, Fl., to Austin in only two days should be arriving pretty late on Friday as well. Then we set-up shop in our apartment and my dad is going to stay to explore Austin with me on the 5th and fly back to Chicago on Sunday, the 6th. This route that I have decided one is making the trip from Crystal Lake to Austin more than the original 1200 miles, clocking in at somewhere around 1350, not counting any detours I decide to make along the way, but I think I've done a fair job of planning to see a lot of new places and meet some new people--expect really awkward paragraph profiles of truckers and other people I can harass at rest stops. I've already decided that the end-of-March trip back home will take me through Oklahoma City and Kansas City, two places I've never been before either.
Day 1: I'm going to be leaving my house at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2nd--the day that I'm setting this to post. The map of my route is at left, though there will be a lot of modifications made to it by my Magellan as I go, mostly because I can't stand being on the same road for 300 miles at a time. I'm sure that I will frequently hit the button that re-routes me away from any freeways and see what type of field I end up in. Soy or corn? The first stop is my dad's house 61.8 miles away in Plainfield. I hope that the majority of the traffic will be heading into the city and I can avoid it, arriving around 7:00 a.m. Then the real journey begins, with dad in the passenger seat: 552 miles or 9 hours through Bloomington, Springfield and St. Louis. Then I'll follow the Mississippi for a while, stop to see where the Ohio flows into it and Illinois, Missoui and Kentucky become one, before continuing south to Memphis. On Dr. Phil the other day, I saw clips from a recent documentary that portrays the life of people living along and off the river; hopefully I'll run into some of them. Overalls and dirty beards make for good blog pictures. Memphis should be a trip in its own right; my dad booked us a $35/night hotel. I'm sure that will be deserving of its own post when I get there.
Day #2: We depart Memphis and gas-up before hitting the terrifying Arkansas I-40. Tom tells me that the eastern half of Arkansas--a state I've never been to and doubt I will be a frequent visitor of--is full of 'Swamp people,' a claim that my dad has supported. That should make the 135 mile stretch to Little Rock an interesting one. I envision a barely-better-than-dirt road lined on either side with small shacks of corrugated steel filled with entire families--three or four generations worth--sharpening wood to craft pencils which they sell in the market to finance their tobacco habit. I plan to break in Little Rock for some sightseeing and on-the-street political polling before jumping back in the car for the 212 mile drive to Shreveport. This route will bring us through Texarkana which I'm sure, judging solely on the name, is an interesting place worth seeing. Originally, I had planned to stop in Dallas for the second night but then I wouldn't get a chance to experience Louisiana until Matt and I visit over a weekend. My dad has yet to book a hotel for our stay here, but when he does I'm sure it will be on par with the other booking he made.
Day #3: The final day on the road. I have made plans with the landlady to arrive in Austin to pick up the keys to my apartment around 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 4th. The final trip to get us there is a 376 mile one that will take me through Dallas before heading south through Waco and finally on to Austin. Matt, who is making the trek from Boca Raton, Fl., to Austin in only two days should be arriving pretty late on Friday as well. Then we set-up shop in our apartment and my dad is going to stay to explore Austin with me on the 5th and fly back to Chicago on Sunday, the 6th. This route that I have decided one is making the trip from Crystal Lake to Austin more than the original 1200 miles, clocking in at somewhere around 1350, not counting any detours I decide to make along the way, but I think I've done a fair job of planning to see a lot of new places and meet some new people--expect really awkward paragraph profiles of truckers and other people I can harass at rest stops. I've already decided that the end-of-March trip back home will take me through Oklahoma City and Kansas City, two places I've never been before either.
2 comments:
Good luck with the cross-country stuff. And since you've been so busy getting ready, I won't fault you for failing to send me the link to your blog yourself.
P.S. That last comment was by me, but my sister was signed in on my computer.
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