What 'says' road trip to you?

[TravelingBethelite]

Basically, what do you see when you begin one of these great long journeys?   

For me, something like this:

[jeffandnicole]

When I reset my trip odometer to 0, and note the time on the clock is what says roadtrip to me.

Because of my frequency of local driving within about 45 minutes/miles of home, when I'm about an hour away is when I know I'm settling in for the journey!

[Max Rockatansky]

What I always see is darkness outside because I always make a point to leave between 5-6 AM to beat traffic.  The last thing I want to deal with when I'm supposed to be having fun is commuters. 

[vdeane]

For me, usually Thruway toll booths.

[dgolub]

For me growing up as a kid on Long Island, it was always the Throgs Neck Bridge (I-295).

[Rothman]

I don't know if there are any visual cues for me to signify the fact that I'm headed out on a road trip.  My first gut reaction was that to feel like I'm really headed out somewhere, I'd have to head out at least further west than Buffalo and further south than Delaware -- I've traveled those lengths frequently enough that the roads are just too familiar. 

However, certainly there are places in New York itself that I haven't been that I'd take a trip out to see.  So, I've concluded that I'm with Max in terms of the road trip feeling settling in when I'm packing up the car in the dark of the early morning and heading off with a prayer for safety.

[US 41]

So, I've concluded that I'm with Max in terms of the road trip feeling settling in when I'm packing up the car in the dark of the early morning and heading off with a prayer for safety.

Interesting. I never worry about safety too much. Although yesterday some jackass driving a semi almost cut into my lane yesterday and hit me. In fact he would've hit me if I hadn't of swerved into the shoulder and hit the brakes. So I got off the interstate at the next exit and drove some US highway for a while.

Interstates (IMO) have to be the most dangerous highways in the US. They often times have way too much traffic on them while the "old" two lane highways that parallel them are often deserted. I've noticed that it doesn't matter if the interstate is free or tolled they still are full of traffic. I learned this in Oklahoma. OK 66 is pretty lightly traveled even though it is the free alternative to I-44.

In Canada, I noticed that ON 401 is very very heavily traveled while County Road 2 that parallels it is very lightly traveled.

Last July I drove all of US 40 (Scenic / Alt 40 in Maryland) from Hagerstown, MD to Columbus, OH. It was very relaxing. I got on I-68 for 5 miles in Maryland and there was a huge wreck on it, so I got back onto old 40. The same is true in Indiana. I-70 is pretty dangerous between Terre Haute and Indianapolis. The road is usually in bad shape and there is always construction somewhere. US 40 is what I've been taking lately. The bad part about US Highways is the fact that you have Barney Fife in every small town along the highway where the speed limit drops from 55 to 30. In big cities a lot of times the US highways will also run you into bad neighborhoods. When I get close to big cities on US highways I typically get back on the interstate. I find big city interstate driving fun anyways.

[Rothman]

Interstates (IMO) have to be the most dangerous highways in the US.

When I was at FHWA some years ago, there was a big study that concluded that rural "expressways" -- four-lane roads with at-grade intersections -- were actually by far more dangerous than any other broad functional class of road, including Interstates.

[Max Rockatansky]

Leaving during sunrise for me it's more about avoiding the annoyance of seeing all the bad driving habits coupled with all the rushing to work.  If I have 9-10 hours ahead of me I'd rather settle in and be comfortable for the early going and worry about the stressful parts later on.

Actually I would consider pretty much any busy rural stretch of two-lane road to be by far the most dangerous type of road.  For all the bad habits that contribute to accidents you see on freeway/Interstate type roadways the design itself often mitigates the worst brunt.  Probably the worst example of a two-lane road that's absolutely miserable and dangerous during a rush is US 1 through the Florida Keys.  Basically you have all the bad drivers from Miami trying to go as fast possible south bound coupled with people driving RVs and others who are terrified of the road.  Passing basically is close to impossible since there is so much oncoming traffic in the other direction, so people take chances and ram head on all the time. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Whenever I reach that stretch of a familiar route number that I don't see that often.

[US 41]

Interstates (IMO) have to be the most dangerous highways in the US.

When I was at FHWA some years ago, there was a big study that concluded that rural "expressways" -- four-lane roads with at-grade intersections -- were actually by far more dangerous than any other broad functional class of road, including Interstates.

I can see that. In my area however I-70 is way more dangerous than both US 40 and US 41 / SR 63 combined. You'd understand if you lived in Terre Haute. 

[1995hoo]

Whenever I reach that stretch of a familiar route number that I don't see that often.

I think I have to agree with that. Once upon a time I might have said "when I see a 70-mph speed limit," but since I-66 west of Haymarket was posted at 70 a few years ago I no longer view that as a sign of a road trip, and of course until recently that standard wouldn't have worked on northbound trips at all.

[Rothman]

Interstates (IMO) have to be the most dangerous highways in the US.

When I was at FHWA some years ago, there was a big study that concluded that rural "expressways" -- four-lane roads with at-grade intersections -- were actually by far more dangerous than any other broad functional class of road, including Interstates.

I can see that. In my area however I-70 is way more dangerous than both US 40 and US 41 / SR 63 combined. You'd understand if you lived in Terre Haute. 

I spent my very early childhood in Bloomington.

[vdeane]

For me, usually Thruway toll booths.

And on the other direction (Thruway is east/west/south), the Twin Bridges.

[CobaltYoshi27]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

[DeaconG]

Reaching the I-4/I-95 interchange in Daytona Beach, either I'm on my way leaving or almost home on the way back.

[Zeffy]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

The only people who hate our state from New York are the ones that are in denial that it's better. And the ones who make Jersey drivers look like saints.

[CobaltYoshi27]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

The only people who hate our state from New York are the ones that are in denial that it's better. And the ones who make Jersey drivers look like saints.

By this, I meant the drivers. The state itself is fine.

[Pete from Boston]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

The only people who hate our state from New York are the ones that are in denial that it's better. And the ones who make Jersey drivers look like saints.

Anyone that "hates" a state is short on useful outlets for their energy.

[CobaltYoshi27]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

The only people who hate our state from New York are the ones that are in denial that it's better. And the ones who make Jersey drivers look like saints.

Anyone that "hates" a state is short on useful outlets for their energy.

It's a joke. I don't hate any states.

[ModernDayWarrior]

This may sound silly, but one thing that always says "road trip" for me is a fast-food breakfast, such as sausage biscuits from McDonald's. 

I very rarely eat an actual breakfast anyway, and when I do, it's almost always a home-cooked one. The only time I ever drive through a fast food place for breakfast is when I am on the road early in the morning for a long road trip. So there's something that is pretty much uniquely road trip for me - McDonald's sausage biscuits.

[jwolfer]

For me it's when I get outside the Jacksonville beltway on i95 or west of 301 in i10

[Ian]

Since I live on Long Island, entering Upstate New York or New Jersey (eww).

The only people who hate our state from New York are the ones that are in denial that it's better. And the ones who make Jersey drivers look like saints.

Anyone that "hates" a state is short on useful outlets for their energy.

Tell that to all the roadgeeks who hate Pennsylvania solely because of their awful roads.

[US 81]

Along the lines of what others have said, I have a pretty big radius of familiar roads; so I tend to aim for sunrise to occur about the time I get to a road that's new to me. So, it's that twilight pre-sunrise light while driving, especially while driving on a two-line US highway-type road. (Nothing against interstates, I just have a fondness for 'the old roads.') Probably with a good audio book playing....

[Max Rockatansky]

Checking the weather forecast and seeing something that makes you throw the snow chains in the trunk.