The best part of drivng during travels is being able to see the unexpected. Many unexpected little parks, bears and views that you would never see if always traveling by plane
2).....How can you get up so early, my idea of a vacation is to relax and sleep in?
I am used to getting up early as I start work at 5:00 . I like to see different things and new surroundings. I may not stay long in any place but I will have memories of many places when doneI.
3).....Why would anybody spend so much time writing trip reports? I could think of alot better things to do.
I first planned a trip to Alaska buy reading Phillip Greenspan's trip report on the web that made me not worry about going to Alaska. Maybe I can do that for somebody else because trip reports are very good for planning. I also found that I was beginning to forget parts of vacations after a couple years and I wanted to remember them. This was also a way to have something for the kids to remember in the future. It's also a good way to share trips with families or friends. It takes alot of time to write but once it's done it's there forever.
4).....Who writes the trip report and takes the pictures?
On our trip Cindy will write the trip report and I wil take the pictures. When we get home I will write the html and Cindy will help during summer. Cindy will also do the editing after I have wrtten the text.
5).....How are you able to travel so much with the kids? I can't go for three hours with the kids without having problems.
Give the kids incentivers for being good. I will offer them places or things we will do if they're good during the trip. We will stop where they want to for dinner if they have been good.. We also give them new books, cards or tapes to have when we first start a trip so that they have something to do from the beginning. They are ususally good except fighting with each other every once in a while.
6).....Do you plan much ahead of time for your trips?
I will plan for a couple months ahead of time as to what routes I want to see, but I won't micro plan down to the day. I will E-mail people in the area I am traveling and ask what I should make sure I don't miss. I also read many other trip reports to help plan
7).....Why do you drive so much?
I went for a couple years without a driver license for medical reasons (seizures) in the early 90's. It is very easy to take driving for granted until you can't drive. It is such a part of our lifestyle that it's hard to imagine what it would be like. Anyhow I now consider it a freedom to be able to drive and see as much of the country that I can. I also use driving as an escape when necessary as I wiill go somewhere for a 3-day weekend (Yellowstone). It gives me time to think about concerns or just relax and listen to music by myself.
8).....You are wierd, I would never go on a trip with you. All you do is drive
A lot of people say that to me, but then I wouldn't go on a trip with anybody who just likes to lounge at a hotel and sit in the sun.. Each person to their own and try to learn from other peoples experiences.
9).....Don't you ever get tired and if so how do you stay awake|?
Like eveybody else, I usually start with a cup of coffe and then turn on music that I like and will get me going. That would ususally be Hendrix, Joplin or Stones.
10).....Does Cindy like to travel as much as you?
No, in fact she is always worried about how long she will be in the truck and what the kids are going to be like. She usually ends up enjoying th trip but says she won't go on another trip like this for another year. We usually go back and for on coming to an agreement of where we will vacation. I still haven't got her to want to travel across the US to New York yet but I'm working on it
11).....How much do you spend on trips?
We have found that after adding everything up that it's usually about $150 a day after gas, hotels, gifts, food, and whatever else occurs. That is our first estimate when we are planning a trip
12).....Is it hard to write triip reports and how much time does it take.
Trip report writing is more intimidating at first than it is hard. I started by copying and pasting other peoples formatted pages and added my own text. As time went by I would try to change pages to accomodate my needs. It takes time to learn, but nothing like programming. Anybody can do it.