4 Things I Always Do When Going on a Road Trip ...

As someone who travels and eats for a living, I cherish road trips because of the opportunity to find pockets of the country (and hyperlocal cuisine) that I would never find by merely flying the skies

Published Time: 22.07.2024 - 17:31:15 Modified Time: 22.07.2024 - 17:31:15

As someone who travels and eats for a living, I cherish road trips because of the opportunity to find pockets of the country (and hyperlocal cuisine) that I would never find by merely flying the skies. Each summer, my husband and I pick one region that we’ve never explored before and set aside at least 10 days to really do a deep dive of a drive.Last year it was a New England journey from Maine to Boston, savoring all of the area’s best lobster rolls (much to the detriment of our wallets and potentially cholesterol levels). This summer we went south, starting in Charleston and making our way to Memphis at a slow southern pace, fulfilling lifelong dreams of riding every roller coaster at Dollywood and having a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich in Graceland.While we generally do shorter distance trips in order to maximize time in each spot (we can handle a maximum of about 8 driving hours per day before divorce proceedings begin), I’ve come up with a list of road trip tips that are applicable even if you’re cruising across the country.

Obviously desperate times call for desperate measures, but you’ll almost never catch me eating at McDonald’s on a road trip. Not because I’m above it: You’ll actually find me under my local golden arches in the parking lot scarfing down a 6-piece McNugget (with hot mustard and sweet and sour sauce) on a weekly basis. But that’s precisely why I would never settle for that on a road trip!

If you want quick roadside eats, there are regional fast food chains you won’t find anywhere else that are usually just off the highway; think In-N-Out on the west coast, Taco Cabana in Texas, or Skyline Chili in Ohio.Better yet, do your research ahead of time and find truly local gems. On my most recent trip I found a kitschy spot called North Gate Soda Shop in Greenville, South Carolina that feels like you’ve traveled back at least ten presidential administrations, and they serve $9 pimento cheeseburgers, which are a local South Carolina delicacy. You’ve got a thin layer of pimento cheese with just enough mayo to tie the room together plus a thick ripe tomato almost the same size as the beef patty; it’s a recipe for magic that took about as long and cost about as much as it would to get a Big Mac.

As for how to find these local hidden gems, my little secret is to head to Reddit–even small town communities have a thread of locals giving their input on the best dining spots, so I just search ahead of time and then find a place that’s not too far off the highway.

Growing up doing road trips with my family, I remember driving until my parents just got too exhausted and fed up to go on and we’d stop at any roadside motel we could find. As an adult, I now know that is not the way. Plan to stop in towns or cities that you actually want to explore–or at least, have a non-continental breakfast in.

I always look into accommodations -

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ahead of time to find the coolest place to stay. And that doesn’t mean more expensive! On my Tennessee road trip, I stopped for a night at the Dive Motel in Nashville where each room is equipped with a disco ball and shag carpeting, and prices start around $160 per night.

I do always recommend one splurge, if you can swing it in your budget, though. For this trip, we went to the new Dollywood HeartSong Lodge and Resort, which really feels like a cozy mountain cabin even though it’s just minutes away from a theme park. Never underestimate the power of a road trip recharge in a comfortable bed with room service. In this case, Dollywood’s famous cinnamon bread can be delivered directly to your bed. (See evidence in the photo at the top.)

But if you’re not one to plan ahead, sometimes that works to your advantage: Always look on the HotelTonight app to find nice hotels in the area that have available rooms at a discount (prices tend to get even lower later in the evening.)

This may seem obvious, but one of the biggest rookie road trip mistakes I’ve made is to rely on radio, Sirius, or streaming apps for my audio entertainment needs. You’ll always be surprised by how many stretches of road in this country have shoddy cell service, and then you’ll be stuck in silence and totally kill the momentum. I always download a mix of podcast vibes–politics, history, pop culture…you never know what mood you’ll be in when you’re stuck out in the sticks.

If you don’t want to do prior research to find the world’s largest roadside paper mache pink elephant, download the Roadside America app on your phone before the trip. You put in your route and it populates the kitschiest, coolest (and sometimes odd and morbid) spots to stop along the way.

On my route from Nashville to Memphis, I found a large buffalo statue outside of Loretta Lynn’s dude ranch restaurant on the way to the world’s largest Bass Pro Shop (which also houses the extremely unusual yet luxe pyramid-shaped Big Cypress Lodge hotel) thanks to the help of this app, and for that I will be forever grateful. We also found the daily march of the ducks to the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel… where Elvis had his prom.

Just because Celine Dion drove all night doesn’t mean you have to, or that you ever should. No matter how tempting it is, never try to pull an all-nighter, even if you’re switching off drivers. Successful road trips are all about stamina, and you won’t enjoy the journey if you’re exhausted!

Use all of my previous tips: a good night’s sleep in a nice hotel, eat some good local food and have some actual fun–you didn’t take this PTO to be sleepy and miserable. And if you’re ever in Dollywood, ride the Wild Eagle…it’s the best coaster!