If air prices continually rise during the holiday seasons, like they did this past Christmas and New Year's Day, or the blackout days, our President days, and spring breaks, you might want to consider taking a road trip. You know, it's really not the worse case scenario when you think about it. And you even get the bonus of not having to rent a car when you get to your final destination.
For instance, if you're starting your road trip from New York or New Jersey, let's say, and you want to head toward the Sunshine State of Florida, there are a lot of interesting stop-off points along the way headed south on Route 81 or Interstate 95.
It's approximately a sixteen-hour drive from Central Jersey to Hollywood, Florida. I agree, it's a long haul. But if you break it up by stopping, let's say in North Carolina, or before N.C., in Virginia, spend an evening at a luxury hotel with all that airline money you're saving, B & B, or even a highway motel, go find yourself a nice restaurant on your GPS, have a glass of wine, and get a good night's rest. Just don't force the drive. Relax, you're on vacation!
I've found the best way to take a road trip, similar to the New Jersey-Florida route, the one taken over the past several years, not accepting the airlines' high winter prices, is by bringing along an audio book to listen to while in the car.
Ken Follett writes 800 to 1,000 page novels, which translates into 24 or 25 audio tapes, perfect for just such road trips. Follett's book or books, that I might not have indulged myself if I had to hold it in my arms every evening to read. His books are entertaining, educating, and long enough not to run out on the trip.
My husband and I have also taken several of Stephen King's books on the road with us on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. The countless amount of audio books that are on Amazon or Barnes & Noble will keep you in whatever genre you prefer to listen to well entertained while you're on your road trip.
After having taken several road trips, you decide how many hours you want to drive, what suits your needs as far as rest stops, eating out and exploring new cities along the way.
I think I was programmed as a young girl experiencing my first television set in the early 1950s, by the jingle, "Drive the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet." It's stuck out in my mind all these years later, and I'm really enjoying the sites and sounds of our great country, meeting folks along the way, getting to destinations I never thought I'd get to because air travel can be expensive on-season.
This Christmas holiday we made it to Key West and spent New Year's Eve on Duval Street, something I've wanted to do for a long time. I got to see Hemingway's house. For a writer, how cool is that?
So don't give it to the high costs of air travel; there are other options for people like you and me.
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