Let's face it—you are low on funds. That doesn't mean you have to spend spring break at your grandma's retirement community in Florida playing shuffleboard. Road tripping is an inexpensive way to travel to fun, warm areas—no mom and dad sing-a-long needed.
Although the whole idea is to be spontaneous, a little advance planning can't hurt. Websites like roadtripamerca.com and roadsideamerica.com can give an idea of the wonders awaiting your adventure. Maps and a tentative route are musts if you hope to be back in time for the start of classes. AAA offers TripTiks—maps with the route drawn out and some attractions listed alongside the route. Mapquest.com can help you figure out the shortest distance or shortest time for your trip, although time and distance should not be a major concern.
To get you started, consider this hypothetical road trip to the Florida panhandle. First stop is Des Plaines, Ill., home of The McDonalds Museum and the first McDonalds store. The museum offers a replica of a 1950's McDonalds with the male mannequins hard at work. There's a collection of old advertisements, pictures, a video history of McDonalds and a modern McDonalds, in case you are hungry for fries or apple turnovers.
Then, continue south to Arcola, Ill., where you cannot miss the 62-foot-long metal artpiece memorializing the hippie era. The artwork, made by a self-proclaimed hippie, is full of color and scrap metal pieces.
Continue moving toward warmer weather in Tennessee, home to country music and Jack Daniels. A rest stop at the Jack Daniels Distillery, in Lynchburg, Tenn., is in order. You can go on the tour, but don't count on sampling their wares.
""It is really great,"" said Megan Edwards, editor of the Internet magazine Roadtrip America, her voice tinged with irony—the distillery is in a dry county.
The next day, it is time to get some southern fried food at Johnny Reb's Chick, Chuck and Shack or KFC, in Marietta, Ga. It would be hard to miss the huge chicken with moveable beak and eyes attached to the front of the store.
Then it is onto Anniston, Ala., where you can check out (but not sit in) the world's largest chair.
""It is in the 1982 Guinness Book of World Records,"" Natalie Miller, whose husband built the chair, said proudly. The couple put the chair in the parking lot to attract customers to their furniture store.
The final leg of the trip will take you to Florida, where you can sink your toes in the sugary white sand and contemplate the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Of course, this is just a sample agenda. You can discover more attractions by collecting coupons and brochures at rest stops, often located near state borders. But to find the best places, talk to the locals along the way, advised Mark Sedenquist, the publisher and managing editor of Roadtrip America.
The price to pay for a week of intrigue and informality will be relatively small. Travelodge hotels offer stays averaging $50 per night. Other bargain hotels offer similar, though slightly more expensive, prices. Even with $50 per day for expenses, with a few friends in tow, you can plan to spend approximately $300—not bad for a week of adventure. And that's really what a road trip is all about.
