HBan13

Hello everyone - I was hoping for all the advice I could get with this particular subjct...
I've decided that this summer, once I have the appropriate money, supplies, planning and knowledge needed, I am hittin' the road. As some of you may know, I am planning to relocate out west sometime in the next 1-2 years, finish up school, get out on my own and start my own life, but I have not seen much of it, so I decided what better way than to take the initiative to drive out there and look at it all myself, see the entire country and not just the New England America I've known my whole life, examine the different areas of the country, the people, the culture, the lifestyles, etc., and perhaps document the journey and make some memories that will last a life time. There's no better time than right now, as I've taken this semester off of school to work full time, put away some decent cash, get in shape, get better prepared to go back to school, etc., and I plan on heading back to USM this fall and do well so I can transfer somewhere out west when I decide to move. I haven't planned out everything, or even close - still need to plan the exact route and where I'll go and what I'll see, the expenses and supplies I'll need, how much money I'll need, who I'm going with and how much driving per day I'll do, and how long the trip will end up taking or when it will exactly begin and end... so I have a ways to go. But I'm getting pumped up and doing some good research, and putting away a couple hundred each week for the trip alone, so I view it as realistic. Some people have told me they don't "know if it's a good idea", but I view it as one of the most important, fun, and life-changing things I may ever do, and also something that could help me find "my place" where I could be happy for the rest of my life, because I know it's not where I am now, so I'm doing it regardless of anyone's thoughts... Now...

As of right now, here's my main route, which will be starting in Portland, Maine and "ending" in Seattle, WA. I will then obviously be driving back from Seattle to Maine, but that part of the trip will be mostly just driving, not nearly as much leisure time or exploring time, but more just going home. Anyways, here will be the basic route of my trip, not the exact route, but the basic route which I'll be following... I'll also list off all the places that are slightly off-course from this route that I am planning or wanting to check out.

Starting off in Portland ME, to Boston, to Hartford, to New York City, to Philadelphia, to Baltimore, to Washington D.C., to Pittsburgh, to Cleveland, to Chicago, to St. Louis, to Kansas City, to Topeka, to Denver, to Colorado Springs, to Santa Fe, to Albuquerque, to Flagstaff, to Las Vegas, into California to Barstow, to San Diego, to Los Angeles, to Santa Barbara, to San Francisco, to Portland OR, "ending" in Seattle WA. Then, after spending a couple days in the Emerald City, I will begin my journey back to Maine, taking route 90 from Seattle all the way to Minnesota. I'll cross through Washington, some of Idaho, most of southern Montana, down into rural Wyoming, straight across southern South Dakota (Talk about some beautiful, rural scenery!), passing through Sioux Falls before finally entering Minnesota, where I may have to take a slight detour to check out Minneapolis and stay a night or two, and then continue on, taking route 94 from Minneapolis/St. Paul through Wisconsin, through Madison and Milwaukee, back down to Chicago for the second time. I don't mind seeing Chicago twice at all - I used to live there - one of my favorites. Then instead of going through Ohio and Pennsylvania on the way back like the beginning of the trip, I'm going to mix it up, and stay on route 94 after leaving Chicago, entering Michigan, and driving across the state, going through Ann Arbor and Detroit, before finally entering Canada, driving from Detroit to Toronto to Montreal, and then as a big "last hurrah", spend a couple nights in Montreal before driving back into Vermont, perhaps visit a couple friends in Burlington VT, and then finally return to Portland ME.

As far as travelling goes, I will plan to be on the road a lot of the time, of the time, but I do plan to spend 2-3 days in the following places : New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Montreal, and Burlington VT. I also plan on spending at least an entire day and staying overnight in Boston, Philly, Cleveland, St. Louis, Santa Fe, Flagstaff, Santa Barbara, Berkeley CA, Portland OR, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Toronto, so altogether to be safe, I'd say I'm going to spending at least 3 weeks, maybe closer to 4 weeks, JUST spending time in cities alone. All the rest of the time will be traveling, which has led me to believe this trip will take somewhere in between 6 and 8 weeks.

Further complicating that estimate, here is a list I have come up with thus far of things I want to check out along the way:
- A Yankees game at Yankee Stadium
- Statue of Liberty, perhaps a tour from the water of NYC
- Times Square
- The Liberty Bell and other historical stuff in Philadelphia, maybe a Phillies game
- A bunch of historical sight seeing in Washington D.C. - suggestions welcome, maybe a Nats game
- The rock and roll hall of fame in Cleveland
- A Cubs game in Chicago, spend some time in the city, Sears Tower
- The arch in St. Louis, maybe a Cards game
- Spend several nights in Denver, CO, as I'm thinking of moving there - suggestions welcome here as well.
- After Denver, spend a night in Boulder CO, as I'm thinking of school in that area
- Drive to Aspen, spend the day there, and back to Denver, just to drive through the Rockies if nothing else
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- See Sedona AZ and the Grand Canyon while in Flagstaff AZ
- Fun stuff in Las Vegas... perhaps check out "Area 51" and see if I can uncover the mysteries
- Death Valley and the deserts of California and Arizona
- Pacific Beach in San Diego, a Padres game maybe, Sea World
- Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Disney World, perhaps a Dodgers and/or Angels game, Laguna Beach (just to go there and see how it is myself, and for the beautiful beaches), any other awesome stuff to do in LA (suggestions!)
- Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains
- Malibu, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, maybe look at a few colleges
- Redwood National Park
- San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight-Ashbury, a Giants game, an A's game, and Alcatraz
- Route 1 along the Californian coast and some nice beaches
- Rural, lush Oregon, and fun stuff to do in Portland OR
- The space needle and a Mariners game, among other things, in Seattle
- Yellowstone National Park
- Mt. Rushmore
- Fun stuff to do in Montreal and Toronto
- Some more I may be forgetting right now

Those are the basics.

A few of my questions...

How much money do you think I'm going to need for this type of trip? How much money will be spent on gasoline alone, for say a car that gets 25 mpg with gas around $3.00 per gallon? What will be some essential supplies and things I'll need? How long can I expect this trip to take altogether, especially if I'm stopping in those places I said I wanted to? What are some places along that route that you reccomend checking out? What are some cheap or most affordable places to stay along the road for the night? How many miles and hours a day do you think I should drive? How long should this trip take roughly? How long do you think I should spend in each area and cities? Since there's netsporters from all around the country, if you live somewhere I'm going, what are your suggestions? Landmarks? Cool stuff to do? Thoughts?

Appreciate any help I can get