Monday, September 13, 2010

A Road Trip Out of the City



To leave the city on a road trip might not be easy, especially if you have to rent a car, but it can feel like the greatest freedom ever and give you the crispest fresh air! We decided to go on a road trip and camp out, well not really camp out, we did sleep in the back of the car!

The first thing to do to prepare for a road trip outside of the city is to pack food. I packed a bag of chips (these are the healthy ones, potatos, oil and salt, so basically its like hash browns!) with two apples for the road.
Bringing your own food and meals will help to curb spending at rest stops and/or restuarants and will allow for some spending at Starbucks!

Next thing to do is to make sure you have a vehicle to drive and/or sleep in for the trip. Renting a larger car like an SUV will help with saving costs because you can set the back up like a bed and sleep there instead of renting a hotel room! Which is what we did. We set up the back of the SUV with pillows and lots of blankets and slept overnight in the back and it was great! After a little hike and moving around all day and driving its great to be able to plop right down in the back and sleep!  You might want to see if you can get little screens to tape along the outside of the windows to let air in, the car had ventilation and it did get chilly at night but it would've been nicer to have alittle more air.
Places to rent a car in NYC:
New York Rent a Car - 1800 697 2227
Dollar Rent a Car - 1800 800 4000
Enterprise Rent a Car - 1800 736 8222
Budget - 1800 527 0700
Hertz - 1800 654 3131
Avis- 1800 230 4898

The next thing you will want to prepare for is bug spray.  I don't like to use too many chemical but walking through high grass where ticks could be is scary! It helps to have a deet or bug spray that you can put on your pants and shoes. Its great if you have tall socks you can roll over your pants and then higher boots, so that when you spray nothing actually gets on your skin! For the summers we give Lealu frontline and this helps in case she gets any ticks on her. I also made her a little scarf because it did get cold up there. Look how cute she looks!

Next you will want to make sure you have a map with you of where you will be driving and good directions. You can get great directions at mapquest.com. In order to leave the city without paying any money for tolls, you can take the Manhattan Bridge into Manhattan and take the Lincoln Tunnel out of the city. This way you pay no tolls leaving!! Its very difficult if not impossible to pay not tolls coming back in. The Lincoln Tunnel costs 8$, the Goethals coming onto the Verranzano costs 8$, even the George Washington Bridge now costs 8$. But it saves you if you can not pay going out.

Getting gas outside of the city is always cheaper than getting gas in NYC so if you can, its best to wait until you are outside to purchase your gas for the trip. We found that gas outside the city was 50 cents cheaper than in the city.  Below are some pictures of our road trip, enjoy!




7 comments:

  1. So beautiful! Looks like you went near binghamton? That is about an hour or two outside of where I grew up in Elmira! :)

    What a fun trip!

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  2. Great photos....it really looks peaceful....I love a road trip!!

    Statements in Fashion

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  3. I would love to just go and drive. I would probably end up at the beach. I am not keen on sleeping in the car especially with three kids. I suppose a truck and camper would be the next best thing. ;) Looks like it was a great trip. And yes, she does look cute!

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  4. Beautiful pics! Looks like an all around good trip to me!

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  5. Sounds like a great adventure! Were you scared sleeping in your car? I'm all kinds of chicken like that:)

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  6. Looks like a wonderful trip! Love your pictures and good money saving tips. :) I'm sure it is nice to get out of NYC for awhile-- all that hustle and bustle.

    Speaking of trips, I loved your comment on my blog about how you would save money when you were a kid. You saved up a lot! I think it is neat how you used the money for going on trips. :)

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  7. Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures.... packing those snacks sound like something I would do!

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Thanks for stopping by and dropping some comment love!

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