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Thread: Aussie Invasion 2012?

  1. #1
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    Aussie invasion 2012 / USA road trip 2012 planning.

    Hey guys,

    This is aimed particularly those that reside in the US o' A..
    Or those that have experience there.

    I am cautiously piecing together a tentative road trip across your soft, greasy country.

    The vague plan is to start on one coast - buy an aircraft carrier and float my way across to the other side.

    The intention is to come accross some nice driving roads and pretty landscapes - A potential route trip is to follow the TG trip to the salt flats from San Fran, (because that mountian pass they found was godly).

    But I don't actually know anything in the middle of america worth seeing. As far as I know its all corn feilds and rednecks in the south, and in the north some fairly pretty lakes and uh, nothing else?

    I don't particularly care for amusement parks or other ultra rage inducing wastes of money - However things to see, Places to go, Drives to complete.. All of this information would be kindly appreciated.

    Pretty Vistas etc greatly appreciated..
    (If anyone can dig up that awesome set of photos from that bike trip a guy took I'd be eternally grateful)..

    In short -
    Please let me know what is awesome to see/where is awesome to go/where is better to start and to finish. And where all the pretty girls are.

    Thanks.

    Will be editing first post as a chalkboard for me to keep track of ideas.

    CITYS:

    New York City
    New Orleans
    San Antonio
    Las Vegas
    San diego
    Los angeles
    San Francisco


    ROADS:

    CA-1 (West coast)
    Arizona 89-A (through Prescott National Forest)
    Last edited by whiteballz; 07-22-2010 at 04:10 PM.
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    Dick

  2. #2
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    Sounds awesomesauce. Look up something called America Unchained by Dave Gorman, he tried to drive from east to west coast without giving money to The Man. No chain stores allowed, including fuel and accomodation. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll leave it on a USB key on my bike or something.. you can grab it next time you go teabagging.
    Life's too short to drive bad cars.

  3. #3
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    I should also mention an idea is to buy an RC plane and re-create the battle of midway using the cadillac as the aircraft carrier launching mock battles against other road users.
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  4. #4
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    This epic of epic epicness just attained a +10 epic.
    Life's too short to drive bad cars.

  5. #5
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    Sounds like fun. It's kind of hard to plot out anything definitively under those criteria, since you can find elements that fit that bill fairly nicely in just about any of the continental states. You should just keep in mind that each state is almost like an individual country unto itself. The people and the sights will vary greatly from one border to the next. I suggest doing alot of research online. Oh, and don't get too hung up on the typical American stereotypes while planning........there's plenty more to find in the southern states than "corn fields and rednecks".

    Out of curiosity, how long do you plan for this trip to be?
    "Wise man say: Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

  6. #6
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    I think a place I would love to visit (I think its in the north west) is the redwood pine / rocky mountians. Sounds weird but from all the photos / videos of the area the lane markings through the forest are in yellow?

    Any help for location guys?

    Length wise maybe 3 / 4 weeks. Not too short maybe 3 days in the bigger citys and overnights in smaller ones.

    And blood, I was using hyperbole a little about the middle states- I just honestly have no idea about their landscapes.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteballz View Post
    I should also mention an idea is to buy an RC plane and re-create the battle of midway using the cadillac as the aircraft carrier launching mock battles against other road users.
    Please tell me you plan on driving a more worthy aircraft carrier than a Cadillac. Surely you mean to do SOME spirited driving while here.
    "Wise man say: Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

  8. #8
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    Something cheap/pref V8 + RWD. Dynamics matter but honestly budget wont be big at ALL.

    Another few questions -
    Can anyone reccomend a good time frame?
    (Is 3 or 4 weeks a good amount of time?)

    East to west or west to east?

    Cool car events? (I'd be dead keen for a NASCAR event for luls)
    Last edited by whiteballz; 07-18-2010 at 07:26 PM.
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    Dick

  9. #9
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    You should try hook up with a LeMons race while there..
    Life's too short to drive bad cars.

  10. #10
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    Redwoods live basically in the northern half of California so anywhere along there is fair game, my personal recommendation would be visiting Big Sur which is near Monterey, about 100 miles south of San Francisco, which is a great city. Big Sur is really really beautiful.

    Pilgrimage to Bonneville sounds like a great idea, and something I need to do sometime soon.

    The Rockies are a healthy >1000 miles inland but you will have to cross them in some form no matter your route, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

    As in the TG special, buying an old floater may not be quite as easy as you'd expect, but you should be able to find an okay 70-80s Caddy for $500-2,000, with reliability not necessarily included.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
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  11. #11
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    i probably won't make it. need the money to buy more cars or whatever. unless i buy something over there and bring it back?
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  12. #12
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    Fair enough. It's a pitty if you dont come though - Buy an AR15 while your over there..

    CA-1 has just been recomended to me, So theres a must visit apparently.
    Last edited by whiteballz; 07-18-2010 at 10:32 PM.
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  13. #13
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    Sure you wanna go the Dr. Gonzo route with wheels? A great shark/aircraft carrier has appeal, but after awhile will probably boor you silly. Scope CL well ahead of time, you should be able to find something cheap & dependable enough to make some of those scenic roads pretty rewarding. Just a quick search in Seattle showed this for $1500:

    1994 S.H.O. Taurus but no worries if ya gotta have this, mate: 1983 Cadillac Coupe Deville Lowrider

    Of course, whatever city you land in (has cheapest direct flights from Oz) will do, but drive down the PCH (definately include Big Sur), hang a left to Bakersfield and through Sequoia and Death Valley, then south to the Grand Canyon, finally heading north to stop at Bonneville, just because. Maybe shunt to follow Route 66 for a good stretch... say to Oklahoma City. Turn right at St. Louis, south down the Big Muddy, get some raw-roots culture along the way. After that, up through Alabama/Georgia to the Blue Ridge Parkway... Virginia, a trip into DC & Philadelphia, ending in NYC. Pretty ambitious, but worth the effort. Two or three weeks is about right, just as it would be for a visitor to Australia wanting more than a tourist taste. Google Earth/Maps will be your best planning friend. America's drippy wang (Florida) is half tourist bait, and an additional 1000-1200 miles if you try the perimeter trip.

    And that's skipping the Keys. Orlando and Miami simply aren't worth the gasoline.
    Last edited by csl177; 07-18-2010 at 10:44 PM. Reason: Avoid Florida. Really.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  14. #14
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    i'd have to visit san diego. plus i'll need to bring back a car, probably loaded with stuff.
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  15. #15
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    I was told that route 66 can become quite boring in the mid to mid-west part, which is a significant share of the trip. May be tour around in the west coast region for a while (two weeks), take a plane to the east coast and do another roundtrip there. (another two weeks). My experience is limited to the westcoast, and you could easily spend four to five weeks there, if you do not want to sit it the car for 8 hours each day.
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

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