So What is a Back Road, Anyway?

Have you ever wondered about the roads you drive on every day?  How they got the numbers you know them by?  How road signs got their shapes?  You're in the right place.  

Here's a brief history of the highway system we know today so you understand how it came to be and can easily find your way out on the open road.

Q & A: Back Roads Cross-Country Travel

Have you ever wanted to jump in the car and drive across the country?  Last year, we did just that, and we're here today to share answers to some of the questions people commonly ask us about this crazy trip.

Photo Tour of a Back Roads Cross-Country Road Trip

We refer to last year's once-in-a-lifetime 80-day back roads double coast-to-coast road trip to all 48 continental United States regularly on this blog, but we've never shared an overall account of it with you.  We're fixing that now and will share details from the trip over the next two weeks.  Today, we're taking you on a photo tour featuring highlights of scenes we encountered along the way.  Next week, we'll answer questions people commonly ask about going on such a trip and share our recommendations for others considering something similar.

US 1: Coastal Maine

Welcome to the fifth and final post of our US 1 series!  We're covering the roughly 300 mile stretch along the coast of Maine today.

US 1: New England (minus Maine)

US 1 is a long road, and this week we're focusing on the 300-ish mile stretch between New York City and Kittery, Maine.

Even though this is a pretty congested stretch of US 1, there is a lot to see along the way:  quaint New England towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), and miles of coastline after the road curves back toward the coast for the first time since Florida.

US 1: Washington, DC to New York City

This week, we're heading from our nation's capital to the Big Apple on US 1.  Starting in DC, you'll move more slowly than you did farther south because in general, towns in the Northeast are closer together and more heavily populated than those that the highway passes through farther south.  

But there is a lot to see along the way:  quaint little towns, large metropolises (or is it metropoli? and is it redundant to call a metropolis large?), historic buildings, and national parks . 

US 1: Columbia, SC to Washington, DC

We're continuing with our US 1 series this week featuring the drive from Columbia, SC to Washington, DC, with a few stops along the way.

Three Days in Key West

Key West is home to the Southernmost Point in the Continental United States, key lime pie, beautiful sunsets, the End of US 1, and Hemingway's 6-toed cats.  We spent three days there after arriving by way of US 1 and the Overseas Highway, and today we're sharing our recommendations for how visitors to Key West can spend their time.

US 1: The Road That Started it All

To sum up US Highway 1 in a single, manageable blog post would be a major challenge - both for me to write and for you to read.   The highway originates at the Canadian border in Fort Kent, Maine and ends 2,593 miles later in Key West, Florida!  This first US 1 post will focus on the southern portion from the State House in downtown Columbia, SC to the Southernmost Point in Key West, FL - only about a third of the highway!

Our US 1 story takes place over several years, beginning in 2008 and ending in 2016.  After our wedding in 2008, we moved into an apartment on US 1 in Lexington, South Carolina.  We traveled on it daily to and from work and errands and at some point we learned that if we just drove past our apartment and kept going, we'd get all the way to Canada or Key West, depending on which direction we headed.

In August 2009, we set out on our first vacation together.  The first of our many back roads road trips began on a Friday afternoon with 9 days of open road ahead of us.  We began in downtown Columbia in front of the South Carolina State House and drove South with the goal of reaching Key West, taking US 1 the whole way.

Our Favorite Restaurants in America

Traveling long term requires that you dine out quite frequently.  Today, I'm sharing our recommendations for finding good restaurants in unfamiliar towns, along with a few of our favorite local restaurants from across the USA.

Finding local joints instead of always eating at the Olive Garden or Golden Corral is really a requirement for the best and fullest road trip experience.  Generally, these restaurants are family run and many have employees who have worked there for 10, 15, or 20 years.  Often, the owner will be present.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, the service is above and beyond the average experience at a chain place.  It can be a little daunting to cruise into a town you've never heard of and find a restaurant with great food and great service, but we guarantee it's possible!

How to Create a Road Trip Itinerary

It's the fifth week of our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're sharing suggestions for planning your itinerary, from selecting your destination(s) to finding the route to take you there.

When planning a vacation, some people like to wing it and leave the entire trip open to surprise.  Others plan down to the minute and know exactly what to expect each day of the trip.  Still others will fall somewhere in between, which is what we'd recommend for most road trips.  You've probably got specific dates that you'll be working with, so you'll want to plan to do and see as much as you can in that time period, while staying on track so you return from your trip on time and having fully enjoyed your time off.

Long Term Travel: How to Pack / Doing Laundry in a Hotel

It's Week 4 in our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're here to talk about packing your bags to make sure you're prepared for whatever weather comes your way, plus doing laundry on the road when the need arises.

When you're setting out on a long trip, you want to make sure you have everything you'll need without having excess stuff to lug around.  Especially if you're traveling as seasons are changing, you'll need to pack a variety of clothing to make sure you're prepared, regardless of what kind of weather you encounter along the way.

10 Tips for Enjoying Your Next Road Trip

It's Week 3 of our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series, and we're sharing some tips for getting the most out of your road trip.  We've narrowed it down to 10 suggestions we think will help you be prepared for and enjoy your time on the road.

How to Prepare your Car for a Road Trip

Welcome back to our Planning a Back Roads Road Trip series!  This week, we'll share our suggestions for what to do to prepare your car for a road trip and what to pack to be certain you have everything you need.

When an Eagle Scout and a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient pack a car for a road trip, they tend to pack everything they could possibly need in an effort to 'Be Prepared.'  There were few times we found ourselves without an item we needed, and we thought there might be others out there who could benefit from what we learned on our 80-day road trip.  

Traveling can get expensive, and you don't want to drop cash you planned to spend on an experience on something unnecessary or use your limited time in search of something you could have just brought with you.  Save time, stress, and $$$ by following our tips on packing and preparing your car for your road trip!

Six Reasons You Should Take a Back Roads Road Trip in 2017

To our faithful followers, we're sorry we dropped the ball for six months!  Life got busy after our travels were over, and the blog got pushed to the back burner.  We'd like to fix that now, and we're sharing a road trip planning series in January.  Every week this month, we'll post tips on preparing for a road trip.  In this first post, we'll tell you why we think back roads are best for road trips.