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American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

TaraTravels

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Posts posted by TaraTravels

  1. Great list, but they forgot two of the scariest roads I've ever known:

    1) I-95 between Ridgefield, NJ, going over George Washington Bridge (prepare to die) and through Stamford, CT. Probably the worst most aggressive drivers on the planet are on this road and we literally pray to survive while driving this route that we've christened "The Gauntlet". :o

    2) They briefly mentioned the Road to Hana, but put Saddle Road ahead of it. If you've ever driven on the Road to Hana, it becomes very obvious that the road was built long before SUVs were invented. Now a narrow road tightly winding road with tons of blind corners is crowded with speeding Hummers, Jeeps and SUVs. I don't consider myself a jumpy person, but I was after that ride!

     

  2. Dave:

     

    This is fantastic! I think Delorme's Street Atlas USA would be the way to go for me. I will definitely be checking out American Road's back issues - sounds like I've got some homework to do (the fun kind, though).

     

    The SPOT device sounds amazing and your idea that I lease them out as a part of my custom trips is a great one. I would get the GPS kind so they would have an all-in-one service they can use. I like the fact that you can send out a "help" message to a satellite in the case where you don't have cell-phone service.

     

    I'm planning on adding videos and photos of all of my road trips going forward on the site. It's a something that's a little more personal and also helps those who aren't big readers (would rather be shown via video/photo). I'm going to do some how-to videos as well.

     

    Thanks again for all of your help! You really know your stuff! :bowdown2:

  3. Tara

     

    I know at least one of my mapping programs, probably Delorme will produce custom strip maps for any trip, so that someone could make a route folder for a client, perhaps with annotations.

     

    Since half the fun of a trip is sharing it with friends and relatives, you might also look into producing post trip photo portfolios (think wedding folios) for computer illiterates…sort of a trip scrapbook that could be posted or printed on the web.

     

    With many folks traveling with laptops, maybe the client would like someone to feature their trip on Google Earth.

     

    For a modest cost a client can be tracked with SPOT so everyone in the office and at home knows where they are minute by minute. Of course they can turn it off! You just provide them an ID and go to the SPOT website. Maybe you could buy and lease a SPOT to travelers as part of a custom package.

     

    I would design a “travel preferences profile tool.” Think dating service. Ask a series of questions answered on a “strongly agree to strongly disagree” scale for each person in the travel group. Each preference should be “weighted” by a second scale from “deal maker to somewhat important.” If you got real fancy, you could even catalog and categorize sights and places according to preferences, and trigger a matching sight with a preference. In any event, you could be sure there is something for everyone each day. In worst case, at least you know whether the travelers enjoy history, big cities, quiet dinners, forests, beaches, etc.

     

    Just a few free thoughts, worth every cent you paid for them!!

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    :banana:

    Thanks, Dave! These are some fantastic ideas! I wasn't thinking along the terms of clients originally, but when I think about all these potential services, it seems like a perfect addition to my website's offerings. What is Delorme? I haven't started looking into mapping programs yet, so I'm really wide open to suggestions.

     

  4. Tara,

     

    Welcome!

     

    I visited your well done web site. I hope it is a great success! Anyone promoting road trips is my kind of “infopreneur.” Do you plan to offer “custom” trip planning?

     

    Dave

     

    Keep the Show on the Road!

     

    Thanks, Dave, and everyone else for your warm welcome. :happyguy:

     

    Dave - custom trip planning is a great idea! Road trip maps showing recommended routes seem to be the order of the day as well. I need to find a good tool to create these for people, so if you hear of anything, I'd love it if you'd let me know. :D

     

  5. Hi Toby!

     

    Sounds like you've got a perfect road trip planned - you've been wise enough to give yourself enough time visiting the places you're interested in to actually enjoy them. So many people I've met have over-planned themselves to the point that they're just running from place to place.

     

    I've done a similar road trip (two trips actually) and I can recommend the following:

     

    San Diego - I second all the recommendations already made, but add that you should try to see the Torrey Pines State Reserve while you're there. It's a gorgeous park right on the water with great views. Bottlenose dolphins often swim in the waters there and you can see them playing in the waves. The hiking terrain is really easy - you won't need more than a pair of sneakers.

     

    Las Vegas - I'm sure you'll be gambling and hitting the bar and pool scene, but you might want to take an evening to go on one of the Mystery Adventures Tours. You'll get to decipher secret codes, work with a very realistic crime scene, and solve a mystery - it can be a fun way to get a break from the casinos (which you'll see plenty of during your three-day stay).

     

    Rte 1 is my favorite road in the U.S. - amazing views of the Pacific throughout and lots of great places to stop along the way. Definitely check out Monterey - the aquarium there is the best I've ever seen. If you have time, try to stay in nearby Pacific Grove at the Asilomar - it's really a one-of-a-kind resort located on protected beach-front. Other highlights are Big Sur (Nepenthe is a great place to stop for a meal or just a drink), San Simeon (the Hearst Castle), and Cambria.

     

    Have a great time!

  6. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of my childhood on the road - my parents both being travel-addicts. We traveled all over the East Coast (from Quebec to Miami), the Midwest, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and California. In addition, we've gone on lots of road trips all over the world - from Ireland to Thailand to South Africa. I love traveling - there is nothing quite like it. I consider the road a better school than any the U.S. offers.

     

    This forum amazes me with the number of like-minded folks who have an incredible amount of knowledge of specific routes, roads, and byways - I have so much to learn! My road trip planning website is all about my passion for road trips and I plan on taking lots of trips and reporting back. My all-time favorite road so far is Rte 1 up the California coast between Cambria and Monterey - particularly in the Big Sur area.

     

    Happy Trails :)

    Tara

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