Road Trip Recap

Looking back on our 25 day journey, it's difficult to say the experience was anything other than incredible. During the final days we reflected on our route, audibles and all, and tried to assess the damage to our wallets, the mileage on our rental car, and of course, the sheer amount of ground that we covered.

The trip cost us approximately $5,500 (including gas, car rental, accommodations, and meals but excluding other spending cash). Split 3.5 ways (Eros being with us for only have the trip), it was probably the best $1,571 any of us have ever spent over a 25 day period.

We put 10,400 miles (2,500 of which came on our 2-day drive back from Arizona) on our Pontiac G6! All I could say is, thankfully they don't charge per mile…We stuck to our route pretty well, with the exception of a few unplanned, albeit, necessary audibles and a few unavoidable detours.

The G6 was good to us. We all agreed that once we figured out a way to efficiently pack all our luggage into the trunk, the car was spacious enough to comfortably sit 4 (and even a smaller cooler in the back seat for one of us to rest our head on - see picture in one of the previous posts for example).

Overall, we visited 26 states (and probably twice as many Subway restaurants), 15 major cities, 4 national parks, and all this within the borders of one amazing country.

Thank you again to those who followed the blog and shared in our experiences. For those considering a trip of this magnitude, I think we would all say, if you have the time, resources, and energy…just do it!

THANKS!

As our trip has come to an end...so does our blog. We would like to thank all of our avid readers for their support and their comments throughout our journey...you know who you are! It was truly a pleasure to have you share in our experiences and we hope that our blog has entertained you through some of your more monotonous work days.

This was an eye opening experience for all of us, as we can now truly appreciate the vastness of our country. One realizes, that life is incredibly different from one corner of the country to the other. The 25 days that we've spent on the road barely scratched the surface that are the depths of this great nation. Rather, it allowed us to gain a good idea of all the different cultures, religions, languages, foods, etc., sprinkled throughout the country.

As we assimilate back into civilian life, we would like to welcome any questions you may be curious about, including planning, costs, etc. Maybe we've inspired you to take your own journey. Vlad will follow up with a post about the total miles we've driven, the total cost of the trip, and the total number of states that we've visited. We will also be posting a link to an online photo album documenting our adventures.

Thanks again!

Day 25 - In Transit: Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey.....NEW YORK!

This post took a little longer to post than we expected-we have all been trying to get our lives back on track. As you might have assumed, we made it home in one piece, passing through a total of 12 states during our non-stop drive back from Arizona. Even more impressive, we made it back without being stopped by the fuzz during our entire trip.

Unfortunately, we didn't really stop at any of the states mentioned in the title, except for bathroom and snack breaks. Maybe the South will be a roadtrip on its own...

Day 24 - In Transit: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas

We are about halfway through our 40-hour journey that began yesterday evening. We have been on the I-40 East for what seems like an eternity. Currently, we are approaching Little Rock, which is pretty much dead smack in the middle of Arkansas.

New Mexico was a blur, as both Vlad and I slept right through it. Driving through Oklahoma, one realizes how Native American culture is intertwined in this country. Reading the names of the many exits on the I-40 through Oklahoma will show all types of Native American town names. As well as signs indicating when you are entering and leaving different "nations".

The attached picture (of Sal and Eros passed out after driving straight through New Mexico all night) pretty much sums up the last 24 hours. We are looking to shoot straight back to NY with just stops to answer nature's callings. So far, we've done pretty well.

Our strategy revolves around 2 teams of drivers, one team drives while the other sleeps. Each person puts in a 5-hour stint behind the wheel and then switches. Everyone does a total of two 5-hour sessions, and we're basically home. Starbucks Double Shot Espressos have become part of our daily diet during these drives. We will probably be driving through all of Tennessee tonight. At this pace, we should be back in NYC tomorrow afternoon!

Day 22 & 23 - Phoenix, AZ & Grand Canyon National Park

We arrived in Phoenix, AZ at around 6:30 PM and went straight to Phil G's place (thanks again for letting us crash, brah). We caught up on old times over dinner and a few brews at The Tilted Kilt. We took it easy that night as we were heading to the Grand Canyon the next morning then beginning our official journey back east.


The path from San Diego to Phoenix really leaves you on the US/Mexican border. In fact, our cell phones even picked up a Mexican cellular signal.

The drive north to Grand Canyon National Park took about 4.5 hours and took us through Sedona and Flagstaff. We spent some time admiring the vastness of the canyons and picked up some gifts at the souvenir shop.

After grabbing a quick dinner, we entered our home address in our GPS unit and began the 40-hour drive back home. We are currently on the I-40 East heading to New Mexico then through the northern tip of Texas and all of Oklahoma. Vlad and I are watching Role Models in the back seat while we wait for our rotation to drive. Stay tuned for updates from the road!

Day 21 - La Jolla, CA

PB Sushi was excellent. This place makes some exotic type sushi rolls such as the ones pictured. From top to bottom: pictured is a lobster roll, spicy yellowtail roll, and samurai roll.

The next morning, we headed north to La Jolla in search of Wind & Sea Beach, but we found Marine Beach instead. The beach was excellent and the waves were the strongest we all have ever experienced. I think all of us have battle scars from literally being flipped and body slammed by the waves. You'd be surprised how easily skin scratches when sliding across sand. It was a blast though. The Pacific Ocean was warmer than I had expected.


Between sessions of being manhandled by the ocean, we played a little football and even some beach volleyball. Eros and I edged out Vlad and Sal for the crown. They were no match for our tandem setting and spiking skills.


After the beach we took a cruise up the historic Pacific Coast Highway (US-101) to Laguna Beach. Although it was foggy at first, the haze thankfully cleared up, giving way to magnificent views of the beach strewn Pacific coast. Currently, we are in Arizona on the I-8 East heading to Phoenix to hang with one of my buddies, Phil G. This leg of the trip marks the beginning of our journey all the way back east!

Day 19 & 20 - San Diego, CA

We were reluctant to depart Las Vegas but laying here on breezy Pacific Beach in San Diego, CA makes Vegas a little easier to leave behind. We arrived at one of the "nicest cities in the world" (with close to a combined 300 sunny or partly sunny days) at around 9 PM last night. We are staying in the Gaslamp Quarter, which is a short walk from ample nightlife.

Last night, although it was already late by Cali standards, we kicked off our evening at The Yard House, which served what seemed like a limitless number of beers from around the world. Unfortunately, they had run out of Carlsberg, one of our favorite European brews. We opted for some of the local offerings instead. Afterwards, we walked around 5th Avenue and checked out a few random places including Stage and O.


Today, we are just soaking in some rays at Pacific Beach. Eros tried his hand at a little surfing and wasn't too shabby. We are happy to be winding down our trip in such a lax city. Tonight, we will be heading to PB Sushi and hanging around the area afterwards to see what beach life is all about! Stay tuned!