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Cross Country Road Trip

May 8th, 2015 at 06:10 pm

Okay people across the US give me ideas. This is a sort of list of towns I was thinking we could road trip and I've mapped out miles, driving, and times but can't format it. So instead here's the list and we start in Yarmouth Canada and drive the way the list goes downwards.

Yarmouth Canada
Halifax
PEI
Saint John's
Bangor Maine
Quebec City
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Ann Arbor or Detroit or Cleveland (similar distances from Toronto)
Chicago
Madison WI or should we go to Des Moines IA?
La Crosse WI
Sioux Falls
MT Rushmore (3 days)
Sheridan
Yellowstone (3 days)
Missoula
Spokane

And we should be around 21-22 days on the road. I calculated 20 mpg and 4287 miles driven so we will spend at least $500 on gas and wear and tear on the car. Of course hotels and eating out will cost more.

But am I going the right route? I know it seems like a lot of cities and little driving but I was thinking no more than 4 hours a day driving for the kids.

People help and any suggestions appreciated.

Posted in Vacation, Moving | 19 Comments »

19 Responses to “Cross Country Road Trip”

  1. My English Castle Says:
    May 8th, 2015 at 06:21 pm 1431109262
    1431109262

    So, you're driving from LaCrosse to Sioux Falls? Kind of a strange route?

    And sorry Iowans, but Madison (aka MadCity) is much better than Des Moines.

    It's a heckuva long boring boring drive across South Dakota, perhaps beautiful in its own way, but endless seeming until you get to the Missouri River.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    May 8th, 2015 at 06:25 pm 1431109551
    1431109551

    As a Minnesotan, gotta do a shout out for Minneapolis/St. Paul, Duluth, and Stillwater. Charming cities of varying sizes and levels of things to see/do. Don't know if they're in your path though.

  3. VS_ozgirl Says:
    May 8th, 2015 at 09:26 pm 1431120370
    1431120370

    I don't know the places but it sounds really wonderful

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 03:37 am 1431142659
    1431142659

    Well I don't know about Madison, but there are LOTS of things to do in Des Moines...and if you need ideas private message me, LAL. I will agree that South Dakota is sparse, but if you want less traffic it would be a good way to go. Smile

  5. My English Castle Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 03:58 am 1431143920
    1431143920

    I agree with ceejay!

  6. PatientSaver Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 12:11 pm 1431173462
    1431173462

    How exciting! Well if it were me i would avoid the bigger cities and explore small towns where people are friendly and the pace of life is slower. Less hassles with traffic, parking, lines, etc.

  7. moneysavinmama Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 01:50 pm 1431179413
    1431179413

    I love that PEI is on your list! That's where I'm from!

  8. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 04:49 pm 1431190149
    1431190149

    I lived in both Madison and Des Moines - I'd go with Des Moines! (and make sure when you pronounce it you leave off the s on both words - otherwise it'll be really apparent you're not from there Big Grin )

  9. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 07:08 pm 1431198523
    1431198523

    Okay people still working on the details. All I know is we are trying to figure out how far to drive a day!!!

  10. rob62521 Says:
    May 9th, 2015 at 07:48 pm 1431200928
    1431200928

    What are your plans in Chicago? Are you going to the city or suburbs? If you enjoy history, I'd highly recommend Cantigny in Wheaton. It is Robert McCormick's estate...He was the publisher of Chicago Trib and WGN was his baby at the beginning...WGN stood for World's Greatest Newspaper. His house and grounds are lovely and he has a war museum and tons of tanks on the grounds. In the museum are things from all wars the US has been involved in...a bunker from WWI, Omaha Beach from WWII, a rain forest from Nam...just to name a few. The price was reasonable the last time...you paid for the car.

  11. scfr Says:
    May 10th, 2015 at 12:24 pm 1431260644
    1431260644

    Not sure of your dates but Aug 14-29 will be the Wild Blueberry Harvest Festival in central Nova Scotia.

  12. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    May 10th, 2015 at 12:35 pm 1431261316
    1431261316

    Nothing absolutely nothing. No plans just drive and arrive and stop in between

  13. creditcardfree Says:
    May 10th, 2015 at 03:47 pm 1431272846
    1431272846

    @FT, I didn't know you had lived in DSM! That must have been preblog. At least I hope I didn't miss you when we were there. We'll have to chat about that when we meet up.

    @LAL, We are not traveling more than 6 hours a day on our way east. In fact we may spread it out another day and just travel four hours a day. Any more than six and you are too tired to do anything but get food and relax in the hotel room in my opinion.

  14. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    May 10th, 2015 at 07:00 pm 1431284432
    1431284432

    Couldn't hide where we were from anyway. And my DH calls himself from the PNW so he keeps telling the kids we're moving home. I am very happy both for myself and him. I didn't think he'd be so excited but strangely I think he's more so than me. Probably because it's what he knows and the kids will be able to have a lot of the same experiences as him.

  15. doingitallwrong Says:
    May 11th, 2015 at 09:04 pm 1431378280
    1431378280

    Cleveland adds a couple of hours from Toronto to Chicago, but you could hit Niagara Falls on that route. Depending on what your interests are, both Detroit and Ann Arbor have good options and either would be on the (other) way. There are a lot of festivals in downtown Detroit, but something like Dearborn might be more family-friendly; a bit out of the way but only 1/2 an hour or so. Dearborn has a lot of historical stuff -- Greenfield Village, which is mostly dedicated to 19th life and innovation, and the Henry Ford Museum, which has transportation exhibits (bikes, trains, cars, airplanes), the "house of the future" (as envisioned in the 1950s), a Presidential limo exhibit (including the car in which JFK was assassinated), a civil rights exhibit (including the Rosa Parks bus and chair -- blood stains intact -- in which President Lincoln was shot), and several others. Detroit itself has the art institute, science center, and the Maritime Sailor's Cathedral, made famous by Gordon Lightfoot.

    Ann Arbor is the University, of course, but there's some fun stuff, too. Wink The Matthei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum are quite lovely. Not too far down the road in Chelsea is the Purple Rose, Jeff Daniels' theatre company -- although the time you'd be going, the play is about zombie wars so probably not family-friendly!

  16. chloe Says:
    May 11th, 2015 at 11:48 pm 1431388122
    1431388122

    I don't think South Dakota is bad to drive through. In the many (6) times I have driven cross-country, I have always preferred to take I-90 over I-80. There is less traffic to deal with, and much less truck traffic. South Dakota has the Badlands to visit, and because it's so sparsely populated, there are lots of tourist "traps" you can stop at on the way. Like the Corn Palace and Wall Drug. Just my two cents.

  17. chloe Says:
    May 11th, 2015 at 11:49 pm 1431388163
    1431388163

    Also, Mount Rushmore.

  18. Laura S. Says:
    May 16th, 2015 at 07:03 pm 1431802992
    1431802992

    I grew up in Michigan. Out of Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Cleveland I would go with Ann Arbor.

  19. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    May 17th, 2015 at 02:53 pm 1431874402
    1431874402

    CCF - I lived in Des Moines in the early 80s Smile One of my favorite places.

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