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on the road

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Road trippin’

May 3, 2013

Road trippin’ with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It’s time to leave this town
It’s time to steal away
Let’s go get lost
Anywhere in the U.S.A.

(excerpt from Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Road Trippin’)

I’m so happy that I am travelling to see the husband in Florida again soon… Skype is very useful but it gets old after a while. We only see each other a few times per year so we like to do something special when we meet. I want to go to Disneyland but we can’t really afford it so instead we will be doing a little road trip. We’ve had so much fun before singing along to classic rock on the radio and driving into the sunset, we thought we’d do it again. Nothing like being stuck together in a car for some real bonding.

As we are planning a road trip ourselves, I thought I’d put together a little list of what we ( and you would) need if you are going driving around Florida or anywhere hot, for that matter. So, after you decide on your destination, it’s time to start preparing!

You will need:

  • A GPS or a map. We prefer the GPS option as it is so much more convenient and you don’t need to worry about folding it right when you’re done with it.
  • Plan your trip in advance and check what might be of interest on the way to your final destination – we’ll be having a picnic in one of the National Parks. It’s cheap and you get to relax close to Nature and see some funny critters.
  • A car! We will be driving the Miata but if you’re not local, you can check what car rental is closest.
  • Verify the weather forecast – you might want to postpone your plans if a storm is on the way. It’s no fun to be caught in a hurricane, I can tell you (remember my encounter with Sandy in NYC?).
  • Wear light clothes even if your car or apartment has AC as you will melt once you set foot outdoors.
  • Sunnies and sunblock are a must – the sun can get really strong and if you don’t protect your skin you’ll end up looking like a lobster.
  • Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water or natural juices, avoid sugary soft drinks – they rot your teeth!
  • Don’t leave the house without applying plenty of mosquito repellent. Take the bottle with you to reapply as needed. Those bloodsuckers are nasty, last year the bite scars lasted for months!

Other than that, just use your imagination! You might want to do a music compilation for driving (did you hear that Mr D?) or get some camping gear if you want to go away for longer than a day. If you’re not a fan of camping, there’s plenty of B&B’s you can stay at for cheap. Stop the car and walk when possible – you will save some gas, you will exercise and have plenty more photo opportunities -there’s lots of great scenery for outfit photos! For more ideas on places to go and what to do, check out the Guardian’s Florida Road Trip live blog here.

Do you have any more suggestions of your own? I’d love to hear them!

 

Uncategorized

On the Road

February 8, 2013

I’ve got Jack Kerouak’s classic on my to read list because I’ve never read it. Is it any good? I digress… The reason for this title is the next few photos. It’s always good to drive across a country and although this was a relatively short trip, we did see a different type of America we had seen the other days we went driving around. This road to Tampa seemed a lot poorer than any other place we have been to before. All the businesses seemed to be set up in dingy shacks and have all sorts of signs, a lot of the times hand painted. I tried to snap a few photos, because nevertheless, some of those did look interesting. Some didn’t come out all that well as I was taking them from the car, but here are some that I managed to salvage and that look interesting to me.

And we arrived to our destination, Ybor City in Tampa. I will show it in my next Florida post.