Spadea cross-country road trip begins Friday: The final route

I'm heading out for two weeks starting this Friday, Aug. 13.

The RV is ready, got the tanks flushed and cleaned, oil change after our Florida trip and I've got a stock of coffee, water, beef jerky and audio books ready.

It's a great American activity to drive across the country, I'm disappointed I didn't think of it years ago, but better late than never!

My wife and son are flying out Wednesday and I'm meeting them on Sunday when I pull in with the truckster. My daughter is meeting us, flying in from London on Wednesday a few minutes before my wife and son land.

I've settled on a route, departing at 11:30 a.m. on Friday; driving the first leg of the journey straight to Indianapolis.

Google Maps has me in Indy in less than 10 and a half hours. If you factor in two stops for gas, I should be able to get there in 11 hours. Since it's still in the same time zone, I should arrive at 10:30 that night.

Then a 3.5 hour break departing at 2 a.m.

Next stop Oklahoma City. Again, another 10-11 hour trip with a stop at the Petro Rest Stop outside of Joplin. If all goes as planned, allowing for a few delays here and there, I should pull into Oklahoma City by 12 noon (I gain an hour with the time zone change).

Thinking a 3-4 hour break here, departing again no later than 4 p.m. local time. Then it's off to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

It's an estimated 8-hour trip; I'm figuring 9 but I gain an hour with the change from central to mountain time. So arrival should be close to midnight.

Thinking a 2-hour sleep break here departing promptly at 2 A.M..

Another 7 hours of travel gets me to Phoenix by 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

Here I'll stop for an hour or two and leave again at 11 a.m. for the final drive into San Diego.

That's a 5-hour drive with me gaining an hour traveling into the Pacific Time Zone, so I should pull in right at my 3 p.m. deadline!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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