A Road Trip

Way back at the beginning of last year, our family decided  that this past Christmas would be an excellent opportunity for those of our family members who live east of the Mississippi to spend the Christmas holidays with those who live west of the Mississippi.( My youngest is in  college so she would have at least 3 weeks off in December) So my oldest daughter booked airfare from Boston to Denver and Mr. UR, my youngest and I planned for a road trip. 

Now, when I told people that we were driving  from the Southeast to Denver the most common reaction that I received was "You're driving? Are you crazy? Why don't you just pay to fly?" There were a coupla reasons that we chose to drive: 1.) Flights at holiday time are extremely expensive - it would have been around $1500 for three of us to fly. 2.) We could carry alot more stuff - ski clothes and Christmas presents included. and 3.) I actually enjoy a good road trip. In fact, I think everyone should do at least one good, long road trip to see their own country at least once in their lifetime. This was my third long road trip -  several years ago we drove cross-country to the Grand Canyon and two years ago we made the same drive to Denver that we did over the holidays. 

So we rented an all-wheel drive vehicle and left from Asheville, North Carolina headed for Denver. We drove through parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. We passed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis,  the Flint Hills of Kansas, heavy flooding in Missouri  and a Christmas lights extravaganza at Opryland Hotel in Nashville.
And in no particular order, here are some photos from that trip through the "flyover" states of the heartland of the US.
























In all, it was about 3500 miles round-trip. Surprisingly, we drove through rain, clouds and sunshine but not much snow. It was particularly rainy (and smoky) as we drove through the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina - and I annoyed everyone because I couldn't stop singing "Smoky Mountain Rain". We passed lots of farmland  and so many windmills, especially on the prairies of Kansas. My daughter laughed at me because I took pictures of rest areas - but they were so cute and retro. I would've loved to stop and see some of the attractions along the way but time was of the essence. That will have to be for "next time."








































































How about you? Any long road trips? Do you love a good long road trip? Or is flying more your style?


I'm linking up! With: Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox, The Weekly Postcard at Travel Notes and Beyond, Weekend Travel Inspiration at Reflections Enroute and Weekend Wanderlust at A Brit and A Southerner!  Go check em out!



























Comments

  1. Hi Jill, We love road trips too. We live toward the top of Queensland and our capital city is 1353 km away - we've driven that innumerable times. At first because it was too expensive to fly and now because we enjoy the drive and tow a caravan with us. I liked your random photos. The red barn is a great shot and I liked the wide open space photographs too.

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    1. Thanks Jan! I'm glad to hear that someone else likes a good road trip - not that I don't like to fly too - and someday I hope to tow a caravan like you. What fun! Thanks for visiting!

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  2. We used to do a lot more road trips before we had children, but young kids and long road trips often don't mix. Now that they're teenagers, it might be time to plan some road trips again.

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    1. I agree! Road trips and kids can be so difficult - my are all good travelers now but not always when they were little. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. This is such a nice collection of photos. I always thought photographs are the best souvenirs that you can get when you travel. I love road trips too, but it's been a while since we did one. Thanks for linking up to #TheWeeklyPostcard.

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    1. Thanks - and I agree! My photos are my best souvenirs and I love looking at them again - one of my favorite aspects of blogging!

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  4. There are times when the benefits of a road trip out weigh that of flying. Yes flying is quicker, but road trips also mean that you have the freedom of a car once you arrive at your destination.

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    1. That's so true - I forgot to mention that. Thanks for visiting!

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  5. I LOVE road trips! If I had my way that would be how we'd travel as much as possible, but we just don't have the time yet. We took a very short coastal road trip this year, and the rest were flying trips. Your photos are lovely. I especially like the first one of the red barn. #TheWeeklyPostcard

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    1. Thanks so much and thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Jill, Yes! I loved this post! I, too, love a road trip and the USA is a great place to do one right. I have never in my life heard anyone describe rest stops as "cute", but I have to hand it to you the pictures is cute! It sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. Happy, happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks so much Corinne - we must be kindred spirits, both loving road trips! And Happy New Year to you also!

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  7. I totally agree with you, Jill. Everyone should do at least one long road trip to see their country - it really is an eye opening experience as your photos show. I've still to do one here in the US, but I've done several in Jamaica (much shorter), where I was born. In fact, your second photo took me right back to my early morning drives through the mountains there.
    Happy New Year and many happy travels in 2016!
    Marcia, http://insidejourneys.com

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    1. I've road tripped Puerto Rico - which is beautiful - so I imagine road tripping Jamaica with it's beautiful beaches and mountains to be a great experience also. Thanks so much for visiting and happy travels to you in 2016. Hope you get to do that US road trip someday!

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  8. I agree everyone should drive cross-country once. I'm waiting for my daughter to be a little bit older. I think doing it in winter is daring, even in a 4WD. You just don't know what kind of storms you'll hit crossing the plains and the Rockies. Congratulations on doing it!

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    1. Thanks! We've done it twice in winter and had lots of luck - I was always way more nervous about it than my husband. We had a back-up plan to go the southern route if necessary. Thanks for visiting!

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  9. I fall asleep in the car every single time that we do a road trip. I guess that's why my husband doesn't let me drive! Anyways, I like all the sky shots in your random photos. When I was a kid growing up in Houston, I was convinced that the entire USA was paved over and that we'd soon run out of room for people. One roadtrip would have cured me of that notion.

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    1. Ha Ha Michele - I'm prone to sleeping in the car, also! I had a friend who fell asleep in the car so her husband called her Sam - short for Samsonite luggage! And I think the skies were one of my favorite aspects of the trip - all unique and beautiful. Thanks for visiting!

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  10. That's a pretty ambitious drive! We've done our fair share of roadtrips, but never coast to coast. Technically, we did drive cross country...but South to North, so we took the short version. ;) One that's on our bucket list is the Great River Road, tracing the Mississippi from Minneapolis to New Orleans. That will be epic! #WeekendWanderlust

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    1. Thanks for stopping by - and yes, a bit ambitious but that's why we only attempted it a few times. Next time will be purchasing flights! The Great River Road sounds fantastic!

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