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Enjoy Chicago - don't forget to visit the "we don't do fries" Billy Goat Tavern and the Hancock Tower bar has a better view than the Sears (free access too).
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uk beefy - point taken re car size. I will be doing considerable mileage so comfort should be a priority, but as I am hiring for 18+ days I have to watch costs. Compact car is £18 per day incl, convertible is double that. People have told me that often when you hire compact you get a free upgrade to something better... And I really want a convertible!! I hadn't thought of sleeping in the car, now there's an idea :-). We had a big Voyager type vehicle in Florida a couple of years ago which would be good for that!!
Kevin - Frommers USA ordered, good call, thanks. I'm looking forward to not having a fixed itinerary, and only myself to keep happy. I have a Canadian buddy who uses tents in camp sites, he says it's generally OK, but point taken re RVs. However I quite fancy a few (not all!!) nights under canvas. Maybe someone in an RV will take pity on me and feed me :-). I'd thought Texas was too far off route, but will see if I can incorporate Austin. I quite fancy including Texas...
Motorprop - can't get to autodriveaway site - seems to be there but not loading. A Vette would be good, or a Viper. :-) Will keep trying.
DaveyJP - found the Billy Goat menu - that's breakfasts sorted in Chicago - my mouth is watering already! Not sure going up a tower is my thing but have noted the Hancock tower on my list. I suppose if it's free it'd be rude not to :-)
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Like I said, Autodriveaway seems to have vanished ... pity, had a good website covering about 40 odd regional offices . Example : ' Seattle office , Minivan to Arizona on xyz date , 98 Deville to Montana on that date ... ' There must be similar companies out there .
When I did it in 2001 I paid $300 security on my card, and once the owner signed an acceptance form to say car was returned undamaged ( there was full insurance by the organisers anyway ) which I posted to the Miami office, the money went back on my card as agreed
Our car was ' only ' a standard Camry, but for those with more time and loose itineraries , there were some good options ,
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Here you go
www.autodriveawaydc.com/carlist.html
Hope you have a wonderful time smokie
Regards, cc
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Are you flying in and out of the same airport ? If not maybe worth considering fling into one city do the drive and fly out of Chicago.
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St Louis is worth a visit. Much better than Kansas City
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Thank - you Captain chaos , I was really upset to think they'd gone without trace. Interesting, but a lot less cars available to shift, and nothing really fancy , all bread n butter motors .
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As you say, no exotics, and none going the way I want to. But a great link on the page to America's roadside treasures, some of this stuff is precisely what I'm hoping to see. I like the idea of two tier outhouses, and what about the guy in Graceland 2 who is trying "to catalog every time Elvis has been mentioned on television. Ever." Now, there's a task and a half...
Having put out some feelers on various forums, I don't have time to assimilate all the info I'm getting, nor visit all the places on my list"! I think I need to be there longer, or twice, but Mrs S won't budge on that!!! Still, I at least have some Instant Friends at the Chicago Festival.
PU - I now have the flights booked to fly in and out of Chicago - and my itinerary is a loop so I won't be re-treading old ground on the way back to the airport. I'm now thinking of including Dallas to see that grassy knoll and the bookstore repository.
On a motoring theme, I've still got to book the car, now thinking about a Dodge Charger as that costs about £525 which is £160 more than the compact and £160 less than the convertible...and it should be a good ride, with enough space to spread out (and sleep!!) if necessary.
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It's taken me many hours but I have the outline of a route now. Broadly it goes from the Blues Festival in Chicago, to an Amish community, to the Great Smokey Mountains for a few days, down the Natchez Parkway to Jackson, up Highway 61 (the Blues highway!) to spend about a week lurking around Memphis and surrounding area, then on to Kansas via St Louis, then to Lincoln Nebraska to laugh at Larry The Cable Guy before returning home. All in 21 days - roughly 3000 miles but I will do more than that with some to-ing and fro-ing.
Anyway, a question. I have found 3 nights of an extraordinarily cheap room in a casino hotel just where I need to be - presumably the idea being that you gamble. If I don't gamble on night one, will they chuck me out?
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>if I don't gamble on night one, will they chuck me out?
Nope. No gambling necessary at all.
Casino rooms are ridiculously cheap mid-week. $50 for a double room in a four or five star hotel in Vegas is not unusual. The same room Friday to Sunday can be $300+ per night.
The restaurants are also pretty good.
All you can eat surf and turf buffet for $4.99, all-day breakfast $4.99 or treat yourself in one of their a la carte restaurants for $20 upwards.
Kevin...
Edited by Kevin on 27/05/2009 at 23:50
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Injury insurance claims - there used to be an Home Office advisory in 2000/01 regarding engineered accidents/damage to vehicles set against tourists using hire vehicles.
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Point noted Tron, thanks. I've got the full set of insurance which hopefully would cover anything like that.
I think that was more of a problem when hire cars were readily identifiable by their licence plates or advertising, and I believe there there is no longer quite such an obvious way for hire cars to be spotted. (Except the pasty faced driver in the England t shirt trying to get into the wrong side of the car to drive!!!)
(And I've only ever been guilty of the last of those three!!!)
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If you fancy something a bit different to hire go for a Pickup Truck, normally much cheaper then a car, you blend in more and sitting higher you see further ahead making the drive easier.
I once did Memphis to Chicago overnight, took about 10 hours driving. Don't forget to visit Buddy Guy's "Legends" in Chicago, used to do a great pint of Guiness!!
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3 nights of an extraordinarily cheap room in a casino hotel just where I need to be - presumably the idea being that you gamble. >>
As Kevin says, you do not need to gamble.
A few years ago, when the casinos could get domestic flights from the deregulated carriers at giveaway prices, it was said that they would offer US punters a package that included 3 or 4 days free full-board stays during the week, including the flight and $100 or so in chips to use at the casino. The casinos usually made a profit as most punters ended up spending a lot more.
Edited by jbif on 28/05/2009 at 11:30
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Smokie, I note that you are planning to hit both the Smoky Hills and the Great Smoky Mountains. Do I detect a theme here?
I've never been in the Smoky Hills, but I was in the Great Smoky Mountains a few years ago. If you've any specific questions about the area, just ask, and I'll try to answer them.
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hi Smokie
sounds like a great trip...I have been fortunate in enjoying several trips to CA/Nevada recently and on the most recent, last Sept, was offered a red Mustang convertible by the hire people.We paid the extra and it was the icing on the cake of the trip. Well worth the extra dollars and fuel costs....what chance have you of covering long lazy miles in Europe with the roof down and filling up at $3 gallon or whatever it is now. If you do, the 4.0 V6 is perfectly adequate...I still drool over our photos of 'Monty' Mustang.
Casino hotels offer great value..I use the Silver Legacy in Reno when skiing in the NE Tahoe area, and am very familiar with the Motel 6 chain.
Enjoy...and as already mentioned, an improving exchange rate. HIRE A MUSTANG!
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Already had the Mustang earlier this year when coming back from Key West to Orlando. It was a shared hire so costs were kept down. And it was great.
This time I'm on my own therefore bearing all of the costs. I've found some great deals, and am staying in everything from Holiday Inns to a "primitive" camp site for a weekend festival. Just booked a log cabin with outside hot tub in the Great Smokey Mountains (which is only a happy coincidence) for a couple of nights.
This is going to be a memorable one!!
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