Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

dmbrumit · Joined: 06 Aug 2012 Posts: 29 Location: Albuquerque, NM USA

If any of you gents could make it to the good 'ole USA, what would you want to see? Grand Canyon? Would you consider taking a road trip? A ride down historic Route 66?

Riley Blue · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 1751 Location: Derbyshire

Coast to coast or Route 66 have always appealed to me but there are so many roads to explore in the UK and Europe first. I've always thought a great road trip would be from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Portugal; I might get around to it one day.

Uncle Alec · Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 734 Location: Manchester

Boston to Niagra is a good one, especially via New Hampshire and in the Fall.

roverdriver · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:58 am Post subject:

Riley541 mentioned- "I've always thought a great road trip would be from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Portugal; I might get around to it one day."

IIRC that was done in the early 1950's by one of the celebrated WW2 airmen. Might have been Douglas Bader or someone of near his fame. The car was (IIRC) a new Austin.

The driver wrote a book about the trip, but I have long ago forgotten the title.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

V8 Nutter · Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Posts: 605

I have visited the States several times My favourite part of the country is the deep south away from the Interstates.I have done parts of Route 66, but not the whole length.

RotaryBri · Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 465 Location: Warwick

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7219 Location: Edinburgh

We really enjoyed the canyons in previous visits. Currently we are in Yellowstone having just spent a few days previous doing the Tetons. After Yellowstone we head north and east and make our way round to Denver where we will dump the car in favour of a train taking us back to Salt lake City, our starting point.

One of the highlights from SLC was a visit to Bonneville
where we met this guy WWW.angelicbulldog.org.UK
who is hoping to exceed 400 mph on his piston engine motorbike.

Peteru
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

Inglewood · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:58 am Post subject:

I took the family to San Francisco and travelled north to Whistler in Canada taking in Highway 1 with the Sequoia trees, Salem, Portland, Seattle & Vancouver, Canada.

On the return trip took in Boeing at Everett, Mount St Helens, then inland to Nevada, Carson City, Virginia City, Bodie Ghost Town, Yosemite etc.

Fantastic trip, 3000ish miles.

roverdriver · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:15 am Post subject:

RotaryBri and Riley 541, After much head-scratching, I remembered that it was Richard Pape, and the book was 'From Cape Cold to Cape Hot'.

I have now looked it up and it was published in 1957, so I would have read it before 1961.
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Riley Blue · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 1751 Location: Derbyshire

Thanks; some info about Richard Pape here:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/609photos/Letter%20From%20Pape.htm

pigtin · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 1879 Location: Herne Bay

In 2002 We drove around the Gulf, from Florida to New Orleans. Good motor museum in Tallahasee. Great Beach at Panama City and great gambling at Biloxi... and what can you say about New Orleans? Fascinating. (Excuse the spelling.)
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

47Jag · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject:

Pigtin,

We did the the same trip in Jan. 2001. A friend's son was getting married in Cypress Gardens and we were already going to Altlanta so he invited us and our American friends to the wedding. We cruised down in my friend's Dodge coachbuilt van watching Gone With The Wind on the telly. After the wedding we headed off to 'The Big Easy'. We stayed in the Holiday Inn in Boloxi, Mississippi where you got a room AND an free 'happy hour' for $20. A couple of years later we did the area the Peter Scott is currently wandering. We flew into Pheonix and drove up through Monument Valley to Four Corners where four states intersect. You can stand on a spot and be in four states at once. From there it was down via the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas for a few day, then down to Tombstone, AZ passing the aircraft 'graveyard outside Tucson.

Art

dmbrumit · Joined: 06 Aug 2012 Posts: 29 Location: Albuquerque, NM USA

Glad to hear ya'lls thoughts. In America the road trip isn't as popular as it used to be. I live in Albuquerque right on Route 66 and it's a marketing thing around here, but I don't really know of many people who take road trips. My wife and I would drive to Arizona for golfing trips before we had kids, but that is on hold now that we have 3 little ones.

Richard H · Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Posts: 2154 Location: Lincolnshire, UK

simes205 · Joined: 01 Oct 2012 Posts: 6

I've dirven from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and back in a day.
Apart from the Hoover Dam the journey there was largely boring. Due to the fact that doing over 70mph will land you in trouble, as witnessed 3 times en route. This meant cruise control was set to 70.....and so was everyone else's!

I think I follwed the same car for 2 hours and gained 10metres!

On the way back I got on Route 66 at Seligman and that was a lot more fun (faster).

LA to Tijuana is good, note: avoid driving into the US Marines base in San Diego Wink

LA to San Fran along the Pacific coast highway on the other hand is awesome. It was shame that I couldn't make Pebble Beach though.