Senior Roadtrip

To me, a senior roadtrip would FROM a place like Maine TO Florida.

Make it exciting. Turn a car into a boat and sail to Cuba.

Florida to Maine to New York to New Orleans then Florida done in something crap-tastic.
www.baberally.com
Write story, consider travel to be business expenses. See mom for check.

failboat wrote: As far as Smithsonian Museums, this one is really cool and probably one of my favorites, and it is not in DC. http://nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

The Udvarhazy is incredible. If I remember right...it looks like this:

Rt 220 in PA is a better drive than I 81, but it would suck in an SUV. But if you come up 81 and go an hour west once you hit Binghamton I can show you Ithaca. Nice town.

Xceler8x wrote: Places I think you should hit up. DC and the Smithsonian museums. Some part of the Outer Banks especially if your Trooper is a 4x4. You can drive on the beach and get a real feel for it. Remember to lower the pressure in your tires to 25lbs or so. If you're into history stop by Jamestown in Williamsburg VA. Hit up Skyline Driver and the Blue Ridge Parkway if you can. Beautiful roads. There are also some new microbreweries in those areas. If you're around Danville you can check out VIR as well.

This post brought up a point I forgot to mention: I not only have 4x4, but lots of experience driving/ recovering off road (yes, I know to air down, I carry sand mats/ compressor/ shovel/ winch/ snatch strap/ tools).

We were planning on exploring some trails, any other cool 4x4 only sights to see?

Also, I noticed there are a lot of car things suggested. If it involves cars and it's on the east coast, chances are I've been there, done that, and stayed all night. The same can be said for the popular tourist destinations, but I'm planning on going to them since my friends want to see them.

Any more state/ national park suggestions? Once we have a fair number of places to stop for the night we're planning on putting pins in a map and connecting the dots with back roads.

Oh, speaking of back roads- I'm in a first gen Trooper. It weighs almost 4,000 pounds and is taller than my house. I'm not looking for crazy switchbacks, and I've already done the blue ridge parkway 4 times, and the tail of the dragon twice. I doubt the Trooper will be much fun compared to an E30 M3.

Lane Motor Museum and if you are in Nashville might as well go up to Corvette museum and factory if you haven't been. Mammoth Cave National park is also awesome.

The Dragon might not be fun in the trooper of that you are correct but MTN Biking in the Tsali national forest and the Natahala gorge (read white water rafting that is newbie safe) and nearish the dragon might be worth the detour.

On your way north, drive up the Blue Ride Parkway, at least for a while. It'll be slow going, but it is worth it.

Issaqueena falls is interesting. It is in SC.

As you head through NY, stop by Lake George and take a boat ride.

See Eastern State Penitentiary. Better yet, spend the night there.

Baxter State Park: http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/

While in Maine, check out Acadia National Park

Not sure how NE you are going in WV but there is Charles Town (E36 M3ty casino and horse races) and Summit Point Raceway which has big race/drift event in June called Hyperfest. You could also check out Everclear 190 proof (95%) grain alcohol which is banned in most states, but not in WV. The last time I bought some, some toothless local made the comment that someone was riding the "grain train" tonight. He failed to make the train whistle noise...woot woot.

You may also try stopping by Tail of the Dragon in Deals Gap, NC. Not sure how much fun it would be in the Trooper but I imagine you could get it up on two wheels through some of the turns.

Two more suggestions since you're an offroad guy.

George Washington National Forest. It's got 4x4 trails. More pics of said trails.

In W. VA. they have the Hatfield and McCoy trails. W/ ATV and motorcycle rentals. I rode these a few years ago while the fiancee was rock climbing. A complete blast. Some shops even offer guide services. I rented a guide and saw some great sites and rode the best trails.

I second taking the ferry up through Jersey if you dont have anything else planned. The southern part is actually half decent. I could give you some decent trails and a place to check out the airforce target shooting if you catch them at the right time. They enjoy putting on a show if they know you're watching. I used to ride the trails down in the pine barrens all the time. Im not sure what you have to pay to get a vehicle onto Island Beach state park (or what the rules are for that matter), but that could be a nice place at sunset. Plus wildwood is a fun place to crash at night and have some fun.

Beach Week in Ocean City MD. Bring condoms.

Some of the best trips are the ones with no real plans. Take back roads as much as possible and you absolutely HAVE to get lost out in the middle of no-where at least three times.

Every friggin light house from Florida to Maine. I love the ocean.