Taking the idea of the road trip to the extreme, an art director from the Associated Press is about to embark on an around-the-world driving adventure. Nicolas Rapp will be departing New York on November 15, 2009 and hopefully returning at around the same time in 2010 after having traversed more than 40 countries on his journey. ]]>
On your next road trip to one of the country’s national parks you may want to consider taking the Prius rather than the minivan. Scientists have revealed their findings from a recent study, and apparently bears love minivans and SUVs.
In an article published in this month’s Journal of Mammalogy we learn that black bears within Yosemite National Park prefer to steal some human snacks from the insides of larger cars. Researchers looked at data between 2001 and 2007 to see if there were any connections between over 900 car break-ins caused by black bears at the park. Almost half of the vehicles that were broken into were either minivans or SUVs. ]]>
When we talk about the best road trip movie ever, nothing even comes close to the 1983 classic "National Lampoon's Vacation." You remember it: Clark Griswald drives his family from Chicago to California to have a family fun time at Walley World, but a million little hilarious obstacles occur along the route. The movie spawned sequels, like European Vacation, Vegas Vacation, Christmas Vacation, and even another sequel to Christmas Vacation. But apparently the world hasn't had enough of the Griswalds, and 26 years after the original, yet another sequel is in the works.
This time however, Clark (played by Chevy Chase) is staying home while his grown-up son Rusty, with kids of his own, strikes out on the American family road trip. David Dobkin, the director of "Wedding Crashers" is expected to at least produce, if not direct, the new movie. Right now, the ultimate destination of the road trip hasn't been named, but we have a few ideas of where the Griswalds might be heading this year century... ]]>
To save some bucks and see some great desert scenery, road trip it to Las Vegas from California. It's a great last-minute-getaway option instead of paying pricey plane tickets and bag fees, and another perk is that hotels like the Luxor and the MGM Grand offer free self-parking for guests. We recently made the six-hour trek from San Diego and came out better for it, thanks to some tips.
Jaunted's Top Three Tips For Road Tripping To Vegas:]]>
Anytime we have rented a car in recent memory, we were reminded early and often not to smoke in the car—even if it was just a PT Cruiser. We’re pretty sure that we had to sign something, and there was always that no smoking sticker right by the lighter where we plugged in our iPod. Apparently, smoking in your rental car is a vacation luxury that we missed out on, and now our time is severely limited.
On October 1, Budget and Avis will become the first two rental car companies to ban smoking in their rental fleet in North America. If you’re caught puffing away, you’ll get nailed with a cleaning fee of up to $250. Too bad they won’t ban fast food in their cars, as we are sick of soda stains in the seats and fries in every nook and cranny of the center console. ]]>
Paying tolls on a road trip is a drag, but at least there’s E-ZPass to speed things up. With less time searching for change and waiting in line at the toll booth, there’s more time to stop at awesome roadside tourist traps. Thankfully, Ohio has finally caught up with the rest of the East Coast and Midwest as they are set to join the electronic toll collection network starting October 1.
Effective next week, the entire Ohio Turnpike will be able to take away your hard earned cash thanks to that little E-ZPass gizmo on your windshield. It cost the state $50 million to get everything ready to go if that makes you feel any better—so that’s what, like two weeks of toll collection to recoup the cost? ]]>
Think that all the east coasters and Parisiennes get to have all the leaf-peeping fun? Think again, because even the leaves in California have to change, and there's no better excuse for a daytrip than catching the color along the dramatic Big Sur Highway, also known as Highway 1.
As California's answer to Italy's Amalfi Coast, Big Sur is like a true scenic road trip, complete with steep rocky cliffs, impressive span bridges, blue water, and lots of greenery. Drives like this warrant the extra daily amount you'd spend on renting a convertible versus another Ford Focus. ]]>