I have a limited budget and I'm on a race against my husband and daughter to see who can plan/execute the funnest trip in the United States.
We're making a game of it. I'll be taking my ten year old son and my husband will be taking our twelve year old daughter on separate trips. The idea is to plan adventures separate from each other but the trips will have to meet certain criteria. First of all, there's a strict budget of $1,500. This has to include ALL expenses. Points will be awarded to each "team" who can check things off a list we've created...such as photographing a famous monument, sleeping outside, traveling the most miles, eating something unique, etc. We're not telling each other where we're going and won't reveal until both teams have returned home. So I need ideas! I live in the Chicago area and have $1,500 to spend but want to plan the coolest adventure with my son (and win of course). I need ideas of where to go, how to get there and how to do it on a budget.
Reply to this What a fantastic idea!
How many days will you be gone...need to know to calculate the average cost per day you have to spend?
If you were to drive, would you be charged $.55/mile to cover car maintenance, etc. or would you just be charged for gas? If the later, driving a car would be cost effective as you could carry a tent/kit and camp out at national and state parks...cheaper than hotels...and fun for a ten year old boy.
What time of year...winter may not be the best time to camp out?
If not winter then I would head west...a long drive (one check) the first day to get across the Great Plains. Then there are many monuments (Mt Rushmore, for example). I've taken my family on many circuits of the western national parks...just awesome. Each one is a day or less apart once you get there.
If winter, I would head south to the Gulf Coast and maybe even to Mexico!
Let us know what you decide to do, and certainly you must blog.
Reply to this Amazing idea. As Bob noted, the cheapest way to travel in the United States is to camp and cook your own food. Assuming you are driving a car you own, the minimum cost will be close to $100/day including an admission or souvenir or two. It can be done for less but that would be pushing it. If you have access to a van or minivan, you can save on accommodations by sleeping in Wal-Mart parking lots overnight. Not every store likes this, check online.
With those costs, that limits the time to a two week trip. One of the nice things about Chicago is that it is in the middle of the country giving many nice options. Which one depends on entirely on the season and your interests. For my big road trip, I marked on a map everything I wanted to see and then went there. For ideas, many internet sites have lists of historic/famous/natural/off-beat sites.
In summer, driving I-90 west to the Black Hills starts out dull but has incredible scenery after arriving. Yellowstone is a possibility but probably not within a two week range unless you want to spend over half the time driving instead of seeing stuff. For spring/fall, the River Road along the Mississippi has lots of historic and music sites. Route 66 is also possible if you want pure Americana. A loop through Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee will cover lots of music history and some great mountain scenery. If you can handle camping in colder weather, a loop though Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania in middle October will produce foliage almost equal to New England (and less traffic!)
Whatever you choose to do, it sounds amazing. Please remember to blog it.
Reply to this This sounds like so much fun!!
Can't wait to read about it all - planning blog entry too please!
Reply to this This is so exciting Andrea! I can't offer advice on the trip, but thanks so much for the idea - I will definitely do this with my nieces and nephews 😊
Reply to this Oh Andrea!! How fantastic.... we so hope you beat their socks off!
We will need more details. I agree with Bob that we need to know how much time you will be gone and what time of year. This could be interesting.
My suggestion is the cut cost by spending the night with friends and family around the country.
If you make it to Baltimore I'll take you out for some kind of interesting dinner.
DC is full of monuments.
Eager to hear what you decide. Sounds like great fun.
Happy planning.
Reply to this That is an awesome idea! I'm sorry I can't really help with the planning, as I live in Europe, but I just wanted to say that I am really looking forward to reading your blogs about this trip.
And I agree with Jo: planning blog entry as well, please!
Reply to this This sounds
amazing. How much time will you have? When? I inclined to agree with a road-trip, looping south and/or west (we did our summer cross-country trip (10 weeks) on a $3k budget, when fuel prices were 50%!h(MISSING)igher if that give you an indication of what you can do), circling the National Parks and camping. National Park pass took care of most admissions; cities are more expensive for obvious reasons. We'd be able to suggest more specifics once we know what earns the most "points."
Other budget ideas: hit up the grocery stores for most meals, unless its to eat something special, and hit up fellow-traveler bloggers, friends and family for places to stay! 😉 If you're heading through Central Kentucky, send us a message!
Reply to this Thank you everyone for all the ideas!! So, my husband has insisted that the budget be $1,000...ugh. He says $1500 is making it too easy! And the trip is likely to be in June of next year (early June). We thought about March, over spring break, but realized it would likely be way more expensive to do anything. What do you all think about driving from Chicago to the Corvette Museum (somewhere in Kentucky I think) then down to Destin, Florida...? I think both of those places would hold appeal to a ten year old boy. Maybe a surfing lesson in Florida? I'd really rather go to one of the national parks (yellowstone or yosemite) but i think its likely cost prohibitive. If we make an annual tradition out of this, maybe next year we'll increase the budget. Right now the priority is to WIN and make some fabulous memories with my little Owen. Keep the ideas coming!!
Reply to this In response to: Msg #193448
Unless you have lots of friends along the way or want to couch surf, $1000 is very tight. I've spent that in a week, and once in a holiday weekend. Chicago to Destin is 14 hours of driving. I'd personally aim for a loop through Kentucky and Tennessee.
For national parks, Mammoth Cave is on the way to the Corvette Museum and well worth seeing. Have an adventure underground! If you have a taste for tourist kitsch, the surrounding area has plenty. Lincoln's birthplace is a national monument and also on the way. You'll pass though Louisville; look into the Louisville Slugger factory or Muhammad Ali Museum. If your son likes race cars, a few hours at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will do wonders : )
Reply to this In response to: Msg #193447 Anywhere near? Yes, it's about 2.5 hours away down the interstate (we're in Lexington, a good 5 hr drive from Chicago, and then it's another 2 hrs to Bowling Green/Cave City area). The Corvette Museum and Mammoth Cave NP are really quite close to each other - entrance to the NP is free, but you have to enter the cave system on tour (I mean, it
awesome but you would need to factor admissions). There's also one of the "WigWam" motels in Cave City - I think the first in the country if you're looking for some interesting Americana lodging (never stayed here - plan to one day - but we've driven by it a million times as my grandparents live about 30 minutes away).
I'll keep brain-storming.
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