Here is a small snippet from our US road trip in Aug 2015. We had mere 9 days in US west coast and wanted to make full use of it. We also realised that the higher the expense of the country, the shorter the stay and faster the travel becomes. US has not been high on our list because in my opinion if a country is wheelchair accessible travelling there can be made any time later in life.
At this point in my life, I wanted to make sure I visited all the places where I am able to use my physical energy to maximum capacity. I wanted to explore places where transportation maybe limited and places where there are no roads or easy access.
It was fortunate for us that our itinerary shaped up the way it did and we got to spend a little time in this vast beautiful country.
The CAR
During our year long travel we anticipated and found US to be the most expensive country to travel. Advance planning is a ‘MUST’ as going with the flow will not do justice to such a Continent and will only run our budget dry. Public transport was not so accessible and did not fit in with our plans for a road trip so for renting a car left us with two options:
- Ford Mustang or Cheverlot Camaro (convertible category)
OR - Dodge Grand Caravan (a big van with sleeping options at nights)
After a great deal of considerations and knowing very well that only a convertible will satisfy my thirst of a US road trip, I decided that this was a time to blow our budgets so off I booked for a convertible (no regrets). Well, I told myself that if you are going on a road trip to California you might as well do it in style. This was all kept as a surprise to Molly and luckily she was pleased as to screaming at me for such expensive choice when the car rental company presented us with a shining very yellow Cheverlot Camaro.
Tip: We were happy to grab a bargain with the rental company SixT as it only costed a Chevy Camaro convertible for 8 full days only US$305 (£265).
Introducing our Drive
9 Places in 9 Days
1. California Pacific Highway 1
The scenery, the drive, the feeling of being one with the road, this trip was as epic as described by those who have witnessed this before us. USA is truly a place for one to get behind the wheels of a car to start feeling the present and collecting new memories of the ever changing scenery.
The coastal drive at the beginning was a little daunting as I was not used to driving on the Right Hand Side of the road. I can’t stress enough that if you are doing such trip for the first time you need to be a confident driver or a lease have a partner with a really good direction sense or both. I found it most challenging to change lanes at high speed as the drivers on the other lanes rarely gave way. Once you are away from the crowd of the multi lanes the road trip becomes more enjoyable as at times you can be the only one on the road for miles on end and the feeling indescribable.
2. San Francisco
We spent just a few hours driving through San Francisco. The only place on our list to visit was the Golden Gate Bridge. And so we did. I have seen it in the movies, in magazines and this time it was right in front of us. Nothing in images seen before can ever compare to the feeling of being there.
3. Yeosemiti National Park
Yeosemite National Park was another great drive through the mountains and we saw the damage the wild fire may have caused as some trees had been left half burned to black but still standing tall. As we drove further in to the park the scenery again changed through semi rigid terrain we witnessed one of the best sunsets in the mountains.
4. Mammoth Lakes
We spent a night in Mammoth Lakes and our best hotel stay in US was here. A breakfast that we could not get wake up in time for was greatly missed. American Coffee was simply the best coffee we tasted so far on our travels.
5. Las Vegas
On our way to the Sin City of the World, Molly saw two shooting stars whilst driving roof down with our bumblebee yellow convertible to this bright light city was one entrance I have never imagine I would make. Walking till 5am to truly appreciate this City was another memory which I will cherish for all my life.
6. Hover Dam
We did not get a chance to see the Three Gorges Dam whilst in China so visiting the Hoover Dam was on our list and we were very glad we did. We left Las Vegas after a sleepless night and spent an hour on Hoover Dam in high 40 degree heat. Build decades back you can not but admire the engineering skills of that time. The new friendship bridge between Nevada and Arizona provides a brilliant view of the dam.
7. Route 66
Driving on Route 66 was more a matter of luck really. Ever since our plans to do the whole of Route 66 in 2011 fell through we had a hidden desire to really see some of this famous route and thanks to an error on my part when I booked the wrong date for a hotel which landed us on this Route and some of this dream partially came true. We visited two towns on Route 66 – Seligman and Williams (which are now on Interstate (IS) 40) and we stayed overnight in Seligman in Historic Route 66 Motel. The place still attracts number of visitors from nearby cities. There are many cafes and restaurants to hang out as well as many souvenir shops.
8. Phoenix Arizona
The dream house of Mollys’ manifested itself in my friends ‘Gaurav and Shakshi’ home. A house big enough to host any amount of love ones for any occasions where fun, laughter, dramas and other Bollywood activities could happen at the drop of a hat. We had a fun 24 hours catching up with friends, having a home cook meal and seeing a bit of down town Phoenix. We ended the night seeing the Moon via a telescope which was one of many high lights.
9. San Diego
After a long drive from Phoenix we arrived in San Diego in the evening. We drove around San Diego in the night. Pretty little town I hope to get a chance to spend more time in the future.
USEFUL INFO:
Below I have laid out the route we took in 8 nights and 9 days.
Start – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Night 1 – San Luis Obisp
- Night 2 – Santa Cruz
- Night 3 – Mammoth Lakes
- Night 4 – Las Vegas
- Night 5 – Seligman
- Night 6 – Williams
- Night 7 – Phoenix
- Night 8 – San Diego
End – Start – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
COSTS
| SixT Car Rental (Including all necessary insurance) | A | US$325 | £210 |
| Gas | B | US$315 | £205 |
| TOTAL TRAVEL | C = A + B | US$640 | £415 |
| Accommodation+Food+Etc (Per Day) | D | US$150 | £100 |
| Accommodation+Food+Etc (for 9 days) | E = D x 9 | US$1350 | £900 |
| GRAND TRIP COST | F = C + E | US$1990 | £1315 |
The Route
