Massive Road Trip Super Happy Happy Fun

[Caladan 19]

C. lives outside of Edmonton. I live in Connecticut. When he moves down here, he wishes to bring his car (owned, title, no problems there), which is a 2600 mile drive.

We're thinking of road tripping it together, coming through Canada mostly and crossing in Manitoba. We have a planned stop in Pittsburgh, and probably one in South Bend, Indiana, but nothing westward of that because that's about where my mental map/friends from college runs out.

Anyone done a massive trans-Canada trip like this before? Would you recommend travelling mainly in the U.S. or Canada? Any suggestions on route? What about PoE?

We're not doing this till late May, but I thought I'd try to get a sense of the journey together sooner. The plan is for me to fly into Edmonton, hang out a few days, and start the drive back.

[girl 37 7]

Wanna swing by Vancouver Island and pick up my furniture? I'll give you a place to stay when you get to Tennessee.

Seriously, your proposed trip sounds like lots of fun!

[no one 0]

Jason and I are planning on taking a similar road trip in a year or so to pick up the rest of my belongings (ours will be from San Francisco, CA to Toronto, ON... and back! hoping to stop by some national parks in both Canada and the U.S.).

Not much help to you, I know, but please keep us posted about your trip as it sounds like it's going to be one memorable journey!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Usually1 benefit of tarelling through the USA is cheaper gas!!

[Jersey Girl 2]

You could make a general plan and then play it by ear. If you land in an area you like, stay a day or two. If you hear of an interesting detour, take it. Make it a real adventure instead of a regimented tour.

Leave lots of time for this so nobody gets burned out with the driving. The Trans Canada Highway is a long haul. I'd make it a U.S. trip so he sees a different side of us than the Tri State area.

Tell him to leave his Long Johns in Edmonton. He'll need a whole new wardrobe of lighter clothes, even for the winter!

[Reba 2]

We've done an almost cross country trip from Toronto to South Dakota and back. In a long weekend. It was harsh!

Take your time. Falling asleep at the wheel is incredibly scary, and dangerous.

And I'd second the suggestion to drive through the US for the cheaper gas. Maybe go straight down through the Dakotas and across the plains. Which I think are not as flat as the Canadian prairies. Stop in Rapid City area to see the Crazy Horse monument. Its awesome. And Wall Drug. Just because.

[mozplay 29]

Most people I know that have done the cross country drive generally did it through the US. The gas is cheaper, yes, also, they say that it is a shorter drive.

About his car though ... there are regulations on importing certain vehicles into the US - make sure his is on the 'safe' list. Otherwise, cars are usually cheaper in the US, no?

Mo

[warlord 73]

Just up my alley actually. Well I am after all a geographer and have driven through all lower 48 and used to do Colorado to New Jersey weekend trips among a million of other crazy short term non-stop solo journeys ha ha. I haven't driven in Canada all that much, but yeah the gas will definatly be a hell of a lot cheaper. Also not sure if there's much on the trip in Canada. I've heard friends telling me it's practically deserted in Ontario on the major highway that goes east and west (transcanada I think?).

Also depends on the time of year too you are doing it. Winter or Spring will make a difference, you don't want unexpected snow storms at all. If you do drive through the US and you're wondering about what after South Bend, I wouldn't worry about planning where to stop. One of the things is when you say I'll stop here for the night and then we'll stop there, you kind of are on a schedual that not always will work. Just drive and when you can't drive anymore then stop. In the US at least there's tons of hotels/motels if you want to stay overnight in pretty much most of the cities etc. Not sure how frequent those are in Canada on the route though.

Just my thought...

[Flames9_RN 358]

I have driven from Victoria to Winnipeg many of times. Lots to see from Vancouver to Edmonton, but after that not so much, lol I usually had a hard time staying awake past calgary or Edmonton (depending which highway i took) Highways in SK suck!!

[Caladan 19]

Most people I know that have done the cross country drive generally did it through the US. The gas is cheaper, yes, also, they say that it is a shorter drive.

About his car though ... there are regulations on importing certain vehicles into the US - make sure his is on the 'safe' list. Otherwise, cars are usually cheaper in the US, no?

Mo

A 'safe' list? The car's only two or three years old. Where can I find this list? Will we need an inspection to prove it's in good shape?

That's a good point about gas, everyone. The earlier we cross the better, I suppose.

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import...anada07032.html

[Flames9_RN 358]

Opps, one is required to contact your vehicle manufacture (found in link I provided) and get the documentation from them. Some charge a fee, soem its free. Nissan was free and they faxed it to me in minutes. Ensure u have ur vehicles VIN handy.

[Caladan 19]

Thanks!

[Married_my_love 0]

We did this trip, er, um, twice!! 2500+ miles - first Los Angeles to London, ON, and then back 6 months later.

We actually enjoyed ourselves. I mapped out the journey using Microsoft Trips & Streets. We were bringing a cat so I wanted to make sure for certain I had pet friendly hotels lined up. We started with longer days and trickled down to shorter. Highly suggested since you start out pretty gung-ho and as each day progresses, you get a little weary. Example, day 1 585 miles, day 2 550, day 3 540 - our last day coming home was only 340 and it seemed like a cakewalk.

We paid for all our hotels upfront and I used hotels.com, and tripadvisor.com, this way we knew our budget exactly. We also bought an insulated travel pack and filled it with waters and snacks (oh and one day, hubby had it filled with beer, and yes I drove).

On the trip back we did most of Route 66 and had halfway points pre-picked of places to eat. It made the day go quick knowing at about 250 miles we would be stopping somewhere fun. (Like a famous burger place on the road). We found these places on http://www.theamericanroadside.com/ and http://www.roadsidefans.com/ and also I found tons of advice, etc. on http://www.roadtripamerica.com/

we used an MP3 player for driving tunes. Lots of photo ops and weird sitings.

[DeadPoolX 9]

My fiancee and I have been toying with an idea like this...only in reverse. Long story short, I'd be up there in Canada for several years. The downside to this plan is I have two choices: 1) Fly to Canada and forsake my car, or 2) drive to Canada, which sounds good on paper, but it's an awfully long way to go from Texas.

Anyway, your plan doesn't sound so bad. Sure, it'll be a long drive from Edmonton to Connecticut, but it's not as long as my possible drive (Houston, TX to Vancouver, BC) and therefore, certainly doable.

Amazingly enough, the gas is cheaper in the United States. I say "amazingly" because I feel the gas is already too expensive, but compared to most other industrialized countries, U.S. gas prices are generally on the lower end of the scale. Make sure to bring plenty of supplies, and always use the restroom whenever one is available, because you never know when or where the next one will pop up!