How to Drive Across the US Alone

Driving across the country alone can be a life-changing experience if planned right.

Traveling across the U.S. alone is challenging for those who don't like their own company, but an absolute gas for anyone who likes singing to the radio, eating roadside jerky and checking out the Colorado Rockies from the comfort of your auto. But have enough money on hand and take several practical measures before you head out.

Things You'll Need

• $4.000
• A good US map
• A good car, recently tuned with new tires
• A cell phone (ideally, but not crucial)
• A flashlight with fresh batteries
• Six nights' worth of clean underwear
• A cooler full of bottles of water, with ice
• a blanket
• Your favorite CDs or tunes on the iPod

Instructions

Start with a good map, a good car, and good health

1. Travel cross country only when you have a car in good working order, including new tires. Also, make sure you are really healthy before you start out and that you've perused the map, the course you are about to take, at least a handful of times.You won't have a navigator shouting at you that you missed your turn, after all.The car that won't break down is especially crucial on those long drives through the Sierra Nevadas, the Midwest or anyplace that extends for miles and miles without a gas station.

2. Adopt the attitude of the pioneers, especially when you feel lonely and the voices inside your head are starting to talk to you.Pretend you are driving west to pan gold in California; or you are going to New York to join the Rockettes. Even if you are just driving out for your Aunt Jenny's funeral (sorry, Aunt Jenny), sometimes dramatic motivations, like a fish waved before a cat, helps us drive another 100 miles at the end of a day we really aren't up to it.

3. Know your limits, and when to stop for the day.If you are driving across country in summer, it's great to take advantage of the long days by only driving during daylight hours. Stop driving when you see sunset approaching, or just before. If you haven't already figured out where you will be staying that night, allow an extra forty-five minutes to find a place (more if you are in an especially rural area.)But you should try to map out where you'll stay along the way, using Mapquest or Google Maps, for example, to show you just how long it will take you to get from point A to point B.Try not to drive more than eight hours in one day and allow for four rest stops and one, 50-minute lunch break.

4. Exercise your mind and your creativity while you drive.This does not mean closing your eyes to daydream, but it doesn't hurt to see formations in the clouds that may or may not be there (Minnie Mouse, your boyfriend's chin, etc.) Count the license plates from Iowa or the Pro-Obama bumper stickers.Stop at roadside diners that will show you how America used to be - from coast to coast. The beauty of the US is that some places have, extant, diners, restaurants and shops that still seem like they're from a 1950s movie starring Rock Hudson. Grab one of the dusty postcards, probably for no more than 25 cents, on your way out.

5. Drive the route that's best for you. Interstate 80 will take you from San Francisco to New York by way of the Sierras, Ruby, Nevada, Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Midwest and out to New Jersey.Interstate 40 will take you along a more southern route, starting at, say, Barstow, California to Albuquerque to Amarillo, Texas to the home of the King! Definitely check out Graceland while you are in Memphis. Reason enough to head off on the southern route!And when you've left, singing "Love Me, Tender," your mood will be so light that you might not even notice you are still quite a long way from North Carolina, your destination.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you study the map with the course you will travel (I-80 or I-40 most likely) and try to memorize major landmarks. Put small stickers on the stopping-off spots.

• Book your motel rooms in advance, at least for the first night and the last. On the first night you will be tired because this experience is new. On the last night, you will be tired because you've just driven over 3,200 miles and haven't had a decent shower since San Francisco!

• Don't drive at night if you can help it. You don't want to break down in an unfamiliar area. As much as the risk of hoodlums ganging up on you is the greater risk, in the wide open spaces of this country, of a rattlesnake or other type of critter killing the adventure!

Resources

• Visit Graceland!
• Pet-friendly rooms (but check the specific location first)