The summer after graduating college two of my friends and I hopped into the car and drove cross country! It was the best road trip ever! We started out in New England and drove through Pennsylvania spying some Amish on the way into Ohio. All through Ohio, Iowa and Nebraska we were just waiting to see a twister since the late summer weather turned stormy and dark, we were expecting a "Wizard of Oz" moment. We arrived at my friend Nichole's uncle's house and stayed there the night out in the very farmy town. They explained how green forward the plains already were, they used the local resource of corn for fuel in the cars and tractors already (this was 2002!). Afterwards we headed off to Chicago and checked out Navy Pier and a cruise of Lake Michigan. Full steam ahead into Denver and Boulder Colorado where we stayed with Hannah's family. We hiked Rocky Mountain National Park and saw Red Rocks Ampitheater! On to Arizona we checked out the Grand Canyon and even did a bit of hiking there! Up to Utah to see Arches National Park, the crazies rock formations I have ever seen, we felt like we were on another planet here! Nearby we visited Bryce Canyon and it's crazy "hoodoos" or rock formations sort of like stalagtites that stick up from the canyon resembling flames! Unbeliveable. We took the southerly route into Las Vegas and how much fun was that! Hitting up the town all decked out after being covered with red dirt from hiking for so long. We got a very good deal on a room at Bally's and were in love with all you can drink while gambleing, even if we were only playing the penny slots! Next day we were into California and first stop was beautiful Santa Barbara, and who knew the first person we met would be from our home state of Rhode Island! We drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway through all the beautiful beach towns stopping off in LA to see Rodeo drive for the first time. We didnt think we would see any celebs, but Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett happened to be filming "hollywood homocide" right on Rodeo, we snagged a few incognito shots from other side of the road! Back in the car we decided to camp out the night on the bluffs in San Clemente overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful until a fellow camper kept coming up to our tent saying "wanna beeeeeeeer?" Next day we were awoken by the hot California Sun and continued our Southerly route down to see friends in San Diego! My friend then, fiancee now, Nic lived in Clairmont on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean from his deck, so we had some cocktails and viewed the nightly fireworks from nearby "Seaworld". I fell in love with San Diego that night and told Nic "in one year I will be living here" (little did he know I acutally would, and we would start dating and later be engaged!). Back on the Road again to Colorado seeing Durango this time to visit a friend from College who showed us all the cool bars in town. Next was New Mexico where we visited my family in Albuquerque and shopped in Old Town and had some good home cooking, which was the highlight of every stop with family, we were so sick of "road food". On our way out of New Mexico we ran into some car trouble just outside White Sands National Park, but thankfully a man with a little shop fixed up our car with his boxes of parts labeled "springy things" "doodads" and "watchamacallits"... Random! Right after we left White Sands we got pulled over by the cops for speeding on the super flat endless highway, and the officer told us "I'll give you a break". "whoa we thought , awesome" but then he proceded to say "i'll give you a free envelope to mail in your ticket"! How disapointing! We drove through the cotton fields of Texas and then headed south when a phone call from a friend at Toulane came in and we jetted down to Bourbon Street in New Orleans! Too much partying and Nichole winning big at Harrah's casino lead to a harsh ride through Georgia and Florida the next morning. We stayed the night in Alabama and acutally went to the theatre and watched "sweet home alabama" on the big screen. Next day lead us up to Charleston, SC and a visit with some friends from College, and the next day we were home! It took us about a month and we did not spend even $1,000 each (mind you gas was much cheaper back then) but it was a great trip and so much fun. I even drove xcountry again a year later when I moved out to California! There is nothing like the All American Road Trip! Message me with any questions about my trip!