As of Wednesday, July 14th, our road trip was officially over. The final stats? We traveled for 70 days, drove 12,300 miles and passed through 24 states (not including two provinces in Canada). And most importantly, after spending 24 hours a day for the last 7 weeks shoulder to shoulder in a mid-sized Subaru Legacy… Dallas and I are still happily speaking to each other. You can check out our final road trip map here, to see our (general) route and all the places we stopped along the way.
Click for a big-picture view of our summer adventure!
Despite the fact that OUR trip is over, there are still plenty of summer days and nights available for YOUR road trip, so we thought we’d pass along some general words of wisdom we picked up along the way. Consider them your Rules for the Road… the Whole9 guide to a happy, healthy and sane summertime adventure.
1. Only one person gets to be cranky at a time. Whoever calls it first, gets it.
2. Two people to one car makes the ideal companionship-to-legroom ratio.
3. The car keys must be held up in plain sight before the last person shuts the car door. (Saying the word, “KEYS!” out loud is recommended, but not mandatory.)
4. Everything goes back into the car in the EXACT same place it went in. Every. Single. Time.
5. You do not need half of the clothes you have packed. No, you don’t. Being stuffed to the gills in every bag, box and car-space isn’t a fun way to travel. Unload and give yourself some breathing room.
6. Pack twice as much food as you think you’ll need. This is the only exception to Rule #5. See below for further clarification.
7. Do not depend on “finding something to eat along the way”, unless you are traveling through major metropolitan areas. If you are in west Texas, west Utah or east Nevada, abandon all hope.
8. Do not ask people you meet along the way for a “healthy” restaurant recommendation. Just don’t.
9. Have a large variety of activities available during your drive, because you won’t want to talk for 38 hours straight. Books on tape, NPR interviews and scientific journal articles to read aloud are our favorites.
10. Don’t speed. A ticket is the surest way to ruin a fun trip. If you are in West Texas, especially please do not speed. (But if you do, please tell the Sheriff of Fort Stockton we said hello.)
11. Take lots and lots of pictures, but don’t forget to label them quickly. The side of the road in Utah looks suspiciously like the side of the road in Colorado four months later.
12. Bring a map. Like, an honest-to-goodness paper map. Because lots of places don’t have cell phone coverage, and sometimes your GPS tells you that you’re driving in a lake.
13. Finally, sitting in a car day in and day out does not do good things for shoulder, hip and hamstring flexibility, even if you maintain a pretty active training schedule. Prepare to lose 7# off your squats and deadlift and 2″ off your box jump for every 20 hours you accumulate in the car. (This is a scientifically calculated fact.)
Our first post-road-trip event, once we’re settled into our new home in Salt Lake City, is to throw ourselves a big homecoming party. We’ll be hosting our first Nutrition Workshop in our hometown on Saturday, August 14th, at Ferocity CrossFit in Woods Cross, UT (just north of SLC). Registration information is on our sidebar – hope to see you there!
Got your own Rules of the Road, road trip success (or horror) story, or summer vacation advice? Post to comments.
Lake Louise, in Banff National Park
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Awesome! And great road trip tips – they’ll come in handy when we move next week, too.
You still haven’t spilled the beans on what’s taking you to SLC, though! Beautiful scenery? Cool people? Someone giving you a house? Just couldn’t resist living that close to Speal?
Wow
I really loving reading your stuff Melissa you are a great writer. And I do mean great and not good.
Also an update on Paleo Diet life which was kick started by your Whole 30 thingie. Well I been following principles on the Whole for 11 months now and I have lost a total of 57 pounds so far bringing my Bodyfat from 36% down to 22% and counting. Not bad for an over the hill 50 year old guy, maybe I should say a former over the hill 50 year old guy.
And one question: Why Salt Lake City, UT?
Again thanks for the Whole30 program.
That picture is great…about 2 miles from my house! If I’d known you were that close I would have had you over for some paleo ribs & veggies.
Traveling makes for great stories and even better experiences unless yr in a panic to find a vegetable in a gas station somewhere no one has ever heard of or you finally make it to a Whole Food Market for the first time evr and …..why is there soybean oil all over that chicken breast? Whats up with the farmed seafood? Produce was a delight and fat a pleasure but the protien left us scratching our collective noggin. My husband and I didnt have a problem finding quality protien, it was just fiddled with. Sugar and soybean oils or dressings. Good thing we love hardboiled eggs! Keep up the good work Melissa and Dallas! After attending yr seminar in Medford,OR my husband went off his zone blocks and has remained Whole 30 compliant since. His body comp and performance improved and he loves stress free eating! Thanks a million! Im coming along….having a hard time busting away from the blocks but have been Whole 30 compliant since last October and loving it!
There’s a west Utah? I’ve lived in Utah my whole life never knowing and THIS is how I find out?
awesome! sounds like you guys had a great time
@Adam & Steve: Salt Lake City has all the “good stuff” we were looking for (mountains, sunshine, a centrally located, non-cluster-smuck of an airport, good food and a good gym) all in one condensed location. We spent a lot of time in the Denver area, but the airport is so far from the mountains, and the towns we looked at were a bit too “college” for us. Unless we’re mistaken, SLC is as far from a “party town” as you can get. We dig that. So far, we’ve found some great food, met some super nice people and hiked some beautiful trails. We can’t wait to get back there and spend more time exploring!
@Steve: Whoa – those are some serious results! We’re so happy to hear it, you’ve been on of our “star Whole30’ers” for a long time now. As always, keep us posted as to how things are going!
@Eric: No way! I think we were pretty hungry during that drive – next time, we’re in on the barbecue.
@Meredith: So glad to hear you guys are doing well! I know how hard it can be to let go of that “Zone” mentality, but I hope you can take a leap of faith based on your husband’s success and give it a go. That whole “stress free eating” thing really does have something going for it.
@Kyle: There are no Whole Foods in the Great Salt Flats. True story.
@Tim: Nice to hear from you! We’re having a blast, looking forward to being back in the Northeast this weekend. Plus I’ve pretty much worn my NYC Endurance shirt OUT along the way… how can I get another one? ;)
Hey, just found Whole9 a couple days ago, scrolling through the archives. Had to look at this one, as that Dallas Rd exit isn’t too far from my place either.
Such a small world…
@Ian: Welcome! Poke around our blog categories (at the bottom of our sidebar), as we’ve got a LOT of posts, articles and recipes. Also check out our Whole30 program – perfect for the New Year.
Best,
Melissa