Karol Gajda is on a solo mission to conquer every roller coaster in the United States – and he’s given himself just three months to do it.
Karol’s ambitious coast-to-coast roller coaster ride started last Saturday, and he’s already faced a few ups and downs. His dream was to travel cross-country in a hearse or similarly quirky car, but he had to settle for a more modest vehicle (although he hasn’t yet divulged any details for fear it might break down). He also ripped his shorts at his first stop, Michigan’s Adventure. Let’s hope he brought more than one pair for the trip!
Why is Karol on this mission? Because he wants to. “It’s that simple,” he writes on his blog, Roller Coaster Tour, where readers can keep track of his adventures as he circles the States.
Above, Karol talks more about his quest and encourages followers to meet up with him at parks. Luckily, the coaster enthusiast did have the foresight to get cool rock band-style t-shirts with tour dates on the back, which will make him easy to spot at theme parks during the busy summer season.
[Editor’s note: Paul Brady has replaced Eva Holland as the pilot of the 2011 Explorer due to technical constraints. You can read his intro to the series here!]
There’s something powerful about the American road trip. It’s a travel tradition that’s steeped in history but re-made fresh every summer by families across the country. And it’s a standby in literature and pop culture – from John Steinbeck’s classic Travels with Charley to Smokey and the Bandit through to the recent foul-mouthed buddy comedy, Sex Drive.
In 2011, it’s time to refresh that tradition once again.
Times have changed since Steinbeck and his dog Charley made their way across the country 51 years ago. The interstate system has spread its web across the Lower 48. The internet age has arrived, complete with in-car GPS systems, a blanket of wi-fi and hundreds of travel apps. Gas prices have skyrocketed, and the country is clawing its way out of a brutal recession. But one thing hasn’t changed: A cross-country road trip is still the best way to get into America’s backyard, see its natural wonders and – most importantly – meet its people and tell their stories.Traveling the American Road will take me across the country in a 2011 Ford Explorer. I’ll visit national parks, historic sites, big-name tourist attractions and quirky roadside Americana, and meet the people who make them work. I’ll profile small towns and big cities in recovery, and write about life as a blogger on the road. With blog posts, video, photos, Tweets, Gowalla check-ins and more, I’ll aim to share America as I see it from the driver’s seat.
This is a dream trip for me. Even living north of the border in Canada, I grew up on stories of Route 66, Yellowstone and Yosemite, the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. I’m looking forward to exploring the country by road, and I hope you’ll join me. Follow along on Twitter, Facebook and here on Gadling.
When we think of what we need for a road trip, a common list unfolds. A cooler, ice, beverages, snacks, maps and pillows are all normal items we might bring along. We’ll fill up with gas and head out on the highway to get away, even if just for the Memorial Day road trip weekend. This year, some of those items will cost a bit more, some a bit less and there are some new things we might want to consider bringing along.
More than 30 million people nationwide will travel more than 50 miles during Memorial Day weekend, defined as the period from Thursday, May 26 to Monday, May 30 says AAA, an increase of 0.2 percent.
“In 2010, Memorial Day travel experienced a gain of more than 14 percent,” AAA-Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai told the Washington Post. “Many travelers have told us they’ll compensate for higher fuel costs by cutting back in other areas of spending.”
They’ll pay more too, with gas running just a bit less than $4.00 per gallon, compared to $2.85 this time last year reports TulsaWorld. But while the high price of gas does not appear to be stopping road trip plans, travelers are looking at expenses carefully, saving where they can.
“You’ll see people eating sandwiches out of the cooler instead of going into a restaurant,” Susanne Pelt, spokeswoman for the South of the Border roadside attraction in South Carolina told SeattlePI.com.
In fact, new ways to save money traveling have been gaining in popularity as more people are expected to travel for the Memorial Day holiday than have since the Great Recession. That means more cars on the road, and more opportunities for motor vehicle accidents during what is already a time when safety concerns prompt law enforcement officials to begin a focus on Click it Or Ticket campaigns, handing out traffic citations for those not using seat belts.
A $200 fine does not exactly fit in with the whole money-saving focus but neither does a traffic accident and ignoring seat belt laws are not the only concern. Avoiding texting while driving is a cause that has even teen sensation Justin Bieber teaming up with PhoneGuard, a system that disables texting while driving.
“It is tragic that almost on a daily basis there are reports of deaths and severe injuries caused by drivers who are texting and driving,” Bieber said in a statement. “We need to change the attitudes in our society toward texting and driving and I am making it one of my personal goals to make this happen.”
He’s not alone in his concern either. The Associated Press reports that Texting and Driving has reached epidemic proportions killing one person every 11 minutes in the United States making it four times more dangerous then drinking and driving.
Johnny Cash is a music legend, and now his boyhood home in the otherwise obscure town of Dyess in northeastern Arkansas is being turned into a museum.
Funds from the Johnny Cash Music Festival on August 4 will go towards renovating the home and creating the museum. Family members will be among those performing, as well as George Jones and Kris Kristofferson. Locals are also raising funds with an annual Dyess Day.
So what else is there to see in Dyess? It was built as an agricultural colony during the New Deal and has an interesting past and lots of historic buildings. It’s also close to some beautiful natural areas such as the Ozarks and the Saint Francis Sunken Lands Wildlife Management Area. More importantly for music fans, being only an hour’s drive from Memphis and Graceland, it makes a cool stop on a musical road trip through America’s heartland.
If you’re starting to think about that Summer road trip and how much it is going to cost, take another look at gas prices. At about 96 cents above average prices last year, experts say prices could beat July 2008’s record $4.11 as Summer driving season demand, speculators and political uncertainty in Libya and the Middle East drive crude oil prices up.
“We’re going to see some more increases, but $4 gas is enough to cut demand,” Peter Beutel, president of energy risk manager Cameron Hanover told USAToday. “Once you get to a place where everyone is paying $4, the pain threshold is universally shared.”
Here are a few tips that can help save fuel:
Get off the highway to buy gas. The highest prices around will be on the interstate or turnpike. Look for well-marked exits that have multiple gas stations listed
Bring an extra friend to help share the cost. If the price of gas goes up 25% (which would be like a buck a gallon- not likely), adding a third or fourth friend along to share the cost can make a big difference.
Keep a log or journal. If you have done this before you know that things can get kind of blurry after driving 15 or 18 hours straight. Keeping a log of where you are when you buy gas, how much it was and how far that got you.
Have a plan on where you are going. It’s no problem to say “I want to see the country” but America is a pretty big place. Waking up in Kansas City to say “Next stop:Miami!” is more of a long-term goal. There will be a lot of stops between Kansas City and Miami.
