How To Choose Your Next Gluten Free Road Trip
Road trips are the best way to get to know the geography around you, have the opportunity to talk to locals, and learn about new places along the way. I've found many different museums, parks, and cool, non-touristy off-the-radar areas I wouldn't have noticed if I had not taken a road trip.
Road Trips are Economical
The great thing about road trippin' is that you can easily fall within your budget when you aren't flying or renting a car. Flying and car rentals can be significant expenses on your trip. Consider that you can also bring as many foods, drinks, and snacks as your car space allows. Getting your own food also substantially lowers your trip's expense by reducing the amount of eating out. And, of course, when you're gluten-free, you are at least guaranteed to be able to survive if you're bringing food with you because, seriously, being sick on vacation is right up there with having bad hair on your wedding day.
Oh, the places you’ll go! Road tripping is budget-friendly and opens a wealth of doors to you, including knowing the food you’re eating is safe - because you packed it!
How to Choose Your Road Trip Location
When you choose your road trip, you must use a backward design. If you're unfamiliar with the term, backward design is a way to create a path using your goal in mind. Starting with your plan, in this case, a location, direct your route from A to B with your end goal in mind.
With a road trip, you want to consider what type of car you drive when considering your land destination. Ensure your vehicle is equipped to handle the road type and road conditions, and know the seasonal conditions before deciding on a location for your road trip.
You'll also want to consider the weather at the location you are headed for and what type of weather you want to visit. If you plan your trip in summer and want to get out of the heat, go north to a cooler location. I often head for California as I'm only a 12-hour drive, and the weather is similar year-round. Cali has been sunny, mild, and beautiful every time I've been there. Haven't had to worry about crazy weather or road conditions except for Donner's Pass.
Another way to choose your next road trip is to find a destination you've read about in a magazine, fall in love with, and decide to go there. I've also watched a video or seen a picture of the destination, which gets printed and placed on my vision board.
How to Plan Your Road Trip
I discovered PCH, Pacific Coast Highway while reading Sunset magazine. It's one of my favorite travel magazines by far. Exploring US 1 on the Pacific Coast was life-changing (you know you're a travel junkie when a scenic byway changes your life). Also, I realized that part of the highway I had been traveling on for an extended weekend vacation to central California was a small piece of a road from southern Cali to the Washington State coastline.
Living in the Pacific Northwest makes the entire western US very accessible for road trips. The downside is it makes the Northeast extremely more daunting to plan. I generally choose road trips in the west half of the US because a) it's geographically accessible within a 12-hour drive, and b) there are many different types of road trips, locations, and experiences in the West that I haven't delved into yet.
Pick what you want, base your trip using your destination city or location, and what you love, plan it out, and do it. The only thing stopping you from experiencing the vacation of your dreams is yourself.
Discover tips on how to safely travel gluten-free with my complimentary ebook, Ten Tips for Traveling Gluten Free! You can also find out more details about how to travel via cruise, road trip, or camping and learn the freedom you can have when you know how to travel with Celiac disease when you grab my Guide to Traveling Gluten Free.