I have been thinking about going on a solo roadtrip after high school for many years now. I've got at most two months to go across america, less would be fine. I have no idea what i want to see, but i kind of don't want too much of a plan. I'm going to be 18 so i was thinking about camping a lot to save $$ and because most places only rent to people over 21. I have my own car, and its 2003, under 50k miles, for focus so its in pretty good condition, despite buying it used. I have AAA and good insurance. I'm also going to have a GPS by this time which will help incase I get hopelessly lost. Also i'll have my cellphone of course. I'd have a budget of about $2,500 more or less. I'm very responsible and my parents trust me quite a lot; i also loooove driving 
Since I'm going away to college a couple weeks after I get back, I'm hoping this will help prepare me for being far from home and help me do some "soul searching". Do you think this is reasonable and could actually happen?
Certainly it could happen, that's up to you. I would like you to consider some things however. I'm a truck driver and travel all 48 states and Canada, so I'm familiar with some of the things you'll face. First, you'll find that the road can be quite lonely (even with a cell phone) and even if it's refreshing at first, you will find yourself longing for the human interaction that you're used to (even if you're a loner, the isolation can get to you). Second is your personal safety. There are alot of bad people out in the world, and a lone female makes a tempting target for a predator. I don't have a daughter, but seeing the creeps that I have seen out here, it would scare me to death if she were to roadtrip alone. Avoid rest areas at night. Try to find truck stops when you just need to rest your eyes, because they are open 24 hrs. I'm really not trying to scare you out of this, but just be aware that there are bad people out there and they look as normal as your neighbors. With two months to play with, you can see most of the country. I don't know where you're from, but I would suggest driving the Pacific Coast Hwy. from southern California to Washington state if you've never driven it before. There are many more places I could suggest but this is too long as is, so if you decide to do it, please be safe and have a great time!
January 13th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
This could def happen you can stay at KOA's for cheap if you wanna camp out and I suggest you take route 66 for at least part of your trip.(scenic) Mapquest a route it will tell you all the toll roads. Make sure to buy an atlas. My husband and I just drove from Phoenix az to Detroit mi in March, it was about 5,000 miles round trip and we rented a PT cruiser we got about 250 to 280 miles per fill up. We spent about 500 dollars for gas and slept in the car at rest areas. I don't recommend the rest areas if you will be by yourself tho. I wish I could do it all over again I love Road Trips. Good luck, I hope this helps.
References :
Personal Experience.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Certainly it could happen, that's up to you. I would like you to consider some things however. I'm a truck driver and travel all 48 states and Canada, so I'm familiar with some of the things you'll face. First, you'll find that the road can be quite lonely (even with a cell phone) and even if it's refreshing at first, you will find yourself longing for the human interaction that you're used to (even if you're a loner, the isolation can get to you). Second is your personal safety. There are alot of bad people out in the world, and a lone female makes a tempting target for a predator. I don't have a daughter, but seeing the creeps that I have seen out here, it would scare me to death if she were to roadtrip alone. Avoid rest areas at night. Try to find truck stops when you just need to rest your eyes, because they are open 24 hrs. I'm really not trying to scare you out of this, but just be aware that there are bad people out there and they look as normal as your neighbors. With two months to play with, you can see most of the country. I don't know where you're from, but I would suggest driving the Pacific Coast Hwy. from southern California to Washington state if you've never driven it before. There are many more places I could suggest but this is too long as is, so if you decide to do it, please be safe and have a great time!
References :