Drive across the USA in four minutes

Haven’t we all dreamed of taking that cross-country road trip? That amazing opportunity to just jump in a car and blast across the United States from coast-to-coast? The trouble is that not many of us have actually had a chance to do it. There’s any number of reasons why, ranging from the oft-cited lack of American vacation time to the hassle of logistics planning such a trip. Well my friends, the days of your road trip excuses are numbered. Because before your next coffee break this Friday, we guarantee you will get to travel across the entire United States by car. And you’re going to do it in just about four and a half minutes.

Did Gadling somehow discover how to bend the laws of physics? Well, not quite – but we did find this sweet time lapse road trip video by YouTube user physiciandirectory. During their recent cross country road trip from San Francisco to Washington, these traveling filmmakers set their camera to take a photo once every 10 seconds. The result is a tour of our vast country taken at breakneck speed. It’s fun to watch the scenery rapidly change from desert to grassland to town as the pair motors along, accompanied by the fast paced soundtrack. If you’re still looking for reasons to make that cross country trip a reality, consider this as your inspiration.

[Via Metafilter]
%Gallery-64352%

%Gallery-65766%

Surf’s up, East Coast!

Although Hurricane Bill is playing havoc with weekend travel plans for many on the East Coast, it’s proving to be a landmark event for surfers up and down the Eastern Seaboard. This Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be some of the biggest wave days in recent memory, and the excitement among Eastern wave riders is palpable.

With sustained winds at over 100 MPH, Hurricane Bill has been whipping the wave action on Eastern beaches into a frenzy. At the time of this post, North Carolina’s Outer Banks, was experiencing wave action of 16 to 20 feet, while Maryland, the Jersey Shore, Long Island and Cape Cod can expect waves of anywhere from 9 to 15 feet in height. In Bermuda, which has taken the full brunt of the storm, waves have been cresting as high as 30 to 40 feet!

Considering the average wave size for most of the Eastern U.S., you can expect experienced surfers to be heading to the beach this weekend in droves. For less experienced surfers and beachgoers, this is definitely a weekend to stay off the shore, as strong rip currents and unexpected wave action are going to make for extremely dangerous conditions. Do you happen to live near the water? Let us know how it’s looking this weekend in the comments.

Sick of High Airfares? Bus It

“Greyhound” is considered a curse word in some travel circles. With its share of horror stories, America’s most famous bus line has earned a bit of a bad reputation.

I mean, imagine being stuck in a plane for two hours next to a crying baby or someone who thinks you want to hear their life story. Then imagine similar circumstances on a bus where the travel time is multiplied by ten. Bus travel is not for everybody.

Fortunately, Greyhound and others are offering things that are for everybody: cheap fares and free WiFi. Greyhound has launched a budget service called Boltbus. Its competitor, Coach USA, has also put its budget brand, Megabus, on the roadways.

These buses only offer curbside pick-up, a model begun by so-called Chinatown bus companies. This cuts down on costs associated with maintaining a terminal.

Most of the action is on the East Coast where a battle royale is beginning. Boltbus has been offering $1 fares between some cities and Chinatown carriers and Megabus are primed to respond. The result is that it’s cheap to travel up and down the Atlantic Coast by bus. And it’s a hell of a lot easier to put up with crying babies or talkative passengers when you paying such low fares. Maybe you could spend some of your newly saved dough on a good pair of headphones so you can tune everything out.