Tag Archives: road trip

600 Miles of Beauty

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What a day! By a wide margin today provided my dad and I with the best experience so far on our cross country trip to Myrtle Beach. We drove in four states, saw beautiful country, went by major cities, experienced some interesting weather, and knocked out over 600 miles.

My dad and I had a GREAT day on the road going through four states.

My dad and I had a GREAT day on the road going through four states.

We hit the road early this morning as we were cruising in the U-Haul by 6:30 a.m. Reason for leaving so early was twofold: We wanted to end the day earlier than the past two days and frankly we wanted to get out of Iowa as soon as possible (did I really just say that?). It didn’t take long until we entered Missouri, the state where we would spend the majority of the day driving through. The Show Me State was absolutely beautiful as we enjoyed the vibrant green trees lining us on both sides and pristine cut grass dividing the east and west roads. We forgot about the beauty though for about ten minutes as we drove through a torrential downpour. After the rain let up and we could breathe a little easier we admired the ensuing lightning storm that lit up the morning sky.

The highlight of the ride through Missouri for me was going past Kansas City and getting a gorgeous glimpse right inside Kaufmann Stadium. We also stopped in Columbia where we fueled up and then enjoyed lunch at Lee’s Famous Chicken. Ending our tour through the state was a ride by St. Louis where we saw the Gateway Arch and the Edward Jones Dome.

I took this photo of St. Louis from our U-Haul.

I took this photo of St. Louis from our U-Haul.

Right after St. Louis we entered Illinois. The scenic views from Missouri carried into the Prairie State as lush greens continued to dominate the landscape. We mostly drove right through except for a stop at a rest area where my dad and I stretched our legs and strategized on where we would end the day at.

The decision of our mini meeting was to stop in Paducah, Kentucky. Although we flirted with the idea of driving all the way through to Nashville we thought back to our goal at the beginning of the day to try to leave ourselves more time to enjoy the evening. We honored our ambitions and drove the short ninety minutes from the rest stop in Illinois to the Hampton Inn of charming Paducah. As I sit here in our room I am looking forward to a nice dinner at the town’s most popular steakhouse, some relaxation, and then the NBA Playoffs later tonight.

With the sun and high 70's weather in Kentucky please excuse the sunglasses.

With the sun and high 70’s weather in Kentucky please excuse the sunglasses.

Here are today’s stats:

Total Mileage Today: 605 miles

Total Mileage for Trip: 1864 miles

Number of States Visited Today: 4 – Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky

Number of Stops Today: 4 – Outside of Council Bluffs, IA (needed to shut my door harder), Middle of Nowhere, MO (bathroom break), Columbia, MO (gas and lunch), Middle of Nowhere Illinois (strategy meeting and bathroom break), Paducah, KY (ending point of the day).

Food Consumed During Today’s Drive: Lee’s Famous Chicken 5-piece dark chicken box, 1 pack of Planters Heat Peanuts.

Drinks Consumed During Today’s Drive: Can of Xyience Energy Drink (Tangerine Twister flavor).

I had a really nice time today! Can tomorrow top it? We are aiming high as we look to make it all the way to my new home of Myrtle Beach which would put us in town one day early. We will have to drive over 700 miles and deal with losing an hour but we will try to make it happen. Thanks for the interest and support during this cross country extravaganza. Remember that you can follow live updates of my journey via Twitter (@BrentReser) and you can make my day by tweeting at me by utilizing the #BrentCoastToCoast hashtag. I can almost smell the beach from here. Don’t Blink.

Life on the Road Isn’t Always Glamorous: South Dakota and Iowa

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If there is one thing I believe after today’s ten hours of driving it is this: South Dakota should present my dad and I with honorary driver’s licenses after we spent almost nine hours driving through its wonderful land. Or, maybe the state should just provide me with a dunce cap after I erroneously stated that I would not spend more time in a single state during this road trip than I did in Montana. Obviously I didn’t look at the map close enough.

So how could it be that my dad and I drove 486 miles in South Dakota? Well, you got to understand that the state by its own right is big. The state is vast from the most western point to the most eastern point, a distance that we pretty much drove. Then throw in that once we got to the east part of the state in Sioux Falls we went directly south all the way through the state’s southeast panhandle (yes, South Dakota does have a panhandle) and you can see how the hours and miles started to add up. By the time we hit Sioux City, Iowa, I had pretty much seen enough of South Dakota.

A look at our second big day on the road.

A look at our second big day on the road.

After we crossed into the Hawkeye state we drove south for about 80 more miles until we hit a city called Council Bluffs, an area that is next door neighbors with Omaha, Nebraska. That is where we parked up shop for the night. If you never have the “opportunity” to visit this town don’t beat yourself up too badly.

Although Council Bluffs is not very fun I was glad that we were off the road for the day.

Although Council Bluffs is not very fun I was glad that we were off the road for the day.

Today can be characterized by a few things: An extraordinary amount of road kill lining the highway, bizarre and random roadside attractions, and lots of flat land. Although not the most scenic drive ever my dad and I had a wonderful time talking with each other, picking up on a couple sports talk local radio shows, and eating terrible gas station food at a joint in Mitchell, South Dakota. Let me give you the vital statistics:

Total Mileage Today: 579 miles

Total Mileage for Trip: 1259 miles

Number of States Visited Today: 2 – South Dakota, Iowa

Number of Stops Today: 4 – Rapid City, SD (U-Haul inspection), Middle of Nowhere, SD (bathroom break), Mitchell, SD (gas and food), Council Bluffs, IA (ending point for the day)

Food Consumed During Today’s Drive: Snickers Peanut Butter Egg, slice of gas station pizza, 1 pack of Planters Heat Peanuts.

Drinks Consumed During Today’s Drive: Can of Xyience Energy Drink (Melon Mayhem flavor).

While we were still in South Dakota we passed this terrible scene of a big truck totally rolled over on the side of the road.

While we were still in South Dakota we passed this terrible scene of a big truck totally rolled over on the side of the road.

From here on out the traffic should get a little heavier and the states a little more frequent. After driving the rest of the way through Iowa we will take on Missouri along with most likely Illinois and Tennessee. It should be a packed Saturday. Make sure to follow me on Twitter (@BrentReser) for live updates and I encourage you to tweet at me using the #BrentCoastToCoast hashtag. The anticipation is building and I am having a very memorable time with my dad. Don’t Blink.

Project 2,700: Myrtle Beach

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Things have gotten real.

This morning I packed up my belongings from my parents’ house after a very nice week in Spokane and with my mom and dad in tow we made the drive to Missoula for the first and shortest leg of my cross country journey to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Upon arriving in Missoula my dad and I reported to an old beat up gas station and U-Haul center where we picked up my ten foot truck and tow dolly trailer for my car. From there we went to my apartment for the very last time. Although I made sure to have everything packed up and ready to go for this day we still had to physically move everything down a couple flights of stairs and into the U-Haul, not the most enjoyable of propositions. But we got it done and after all the hard work we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Laughing Grizzly.

Me in front of the U-Haul truck with my car in tow behind.

Me in front of the U-Haul truck with my car in tow behind.

Tomorrow morning I will say goodbye to my mom and then my co-captain (my dad) and I will start the real heavy driving. Yep, I got my father on board for this voyage across the country. I don’t think you can devise a bonding experience much more intense or scenic than this one. We will of course switch off driving shifts while doing our best to keep each other sane through the long hours and countless mile markers.

My mom gave me this medal today to keep with me in the U-Haul to keep my dad and myself safe.

My mom gave me this medal today to keep with me in the U-Haul to keep my dad and myself safe.

By the end of Thursday we hope to find ourselves in Wyoming. But in all honesty who knows? We have never driven across the country before and while we can look at the map and divide our days out in an organized manner we are aware that unforeseen circumstances can always pop up. However we are both very determined and stubborn guys so when we say we will be in Wyoming by Thursday night that means we will most likely (barring the most extreme of unforeseen circumstances) be in Wyoming by Thursday night…even if U-Haul says to drive no faster than 55 miles per hour.

My plan is to keep my readers updated throughout this odyssey. An experience like this pretty much mandates that I document the literal and figurative twists and turns of the 2,700 mile journey. So, if whatever random roadside hotel we find ourselves in over the course of the next few nights happens to have internet service you can expect updates from the road. I am praying for safe travels and looking forward to a great time with my dad. Don’t Blink.