2024 Fall Roadtrip – OH, GA, TX
Sometimes a good plan turns into a roller coaster and you just go with the flow!
Last year we learned about the biggest Oktoberfest outside of Munich in Cincinnati, Ohio and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go. We knew we would be going for months, it was all a question of how long we would be there and how we would get there.
We went back and forth a dozen times on whether we would have a short trip and fly there are back, or drive and be able to visit nearby cities and explore.
As we were about to settle on a decision to keep it short and sweet and fly, both of our companies requested that we travel for some in-person meetings. Both requests were conveniently timed so that we could do a big loop across the country. So we said why not, lets go big!
Table of Contents
Preparation
Now travelling for so long and only taking a couple of days of PTO is a very different dynamic. We have done week-long trips to Idaho Falls before and that has gone well but we knew things would have to be a little different for this one.
First, food was a big concern for me. I knew I wouldn’t be happy eating out and having a burger and fries every day for that long. So we needed to be able to store ingredients that may not be available everywhere like my ketchup, BBQ sauce, and bread. Plus we had to be able to cook all our meals in the hotel, some of which were Hampton’s without a full kitchen.
So Amazon to the rescue! We bought a portable induction stove-top and an electric fridge so we could bring the kitchen along with us anywhere we went.
The fridge, while it initially looked small, actually fit more than enough food for the travel periods and then we stocked up at each location on things like eggs and milk.
The only downside is that we went from being easy travelers with a suitcase and a backpack to needing a cart at every hotel to bring the crates of dishes and dry foods, the fridge, 3 suitcases, 2 backpacks, and 2 pillows. 🤦♀️
Good news is the X5 was a fantastic choice and fit everything we could want and then some!
In addition to food, clothes were a concern. The longest trip we had taken up to this point was 2 weeks, and both of those trips were a tight fit to get enough clothes and toiletries to last. So we knew we would be doing laundry at least once.
Not normally a big deal but we don’t keep cash, let alone coins 🤦♀️.
In today’s world, banking digitally is usually a blessing, but we have run into this before where getting cash becomes difficult. We took the chance that we would come across an ATM at some point at the hotels.
It’s no surprise with us that the ATM plan didn’t go smoothly. The hotels didn’t have ATMs. Thankfully we were able to find enough singles and random coins to have the hotel exchange them for quarters so we could get one load of laundry done. Then later in the trip Nathan went on a hunt for an ATM and after a while finally found a store with one.
All in all, we were able to get it sorted. Plus it was my first experience using a laundromat! Which gave me a big appreciation for never having to deal with that before.
Now that we have our supplies and everything is prepped, it’s time to hit the road!
Driving to Cincinnati
In total, we had over 4,100 miles, 61 hours, and 14 states to complete the impromptu road trip across the country!
We split the drive to Cincinnati into two days and our first destination was Oklahoma City. Going through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas isn’t exactly exciting so not much to report there.
The long drive did give us the opportunity to start a new book series after we had finished ACOTAR earlier in the month. Fourth Wing came highly recommended and kept us company throughout the whole trip! (Thanks Kelsie!)
Now, nothing can ever go perfectly. So it wasn’t more than an hour or two into our drive before a rock was kicked up off the road and hit our windshield leaving a quarter sized crack on the drivers side. Frustrating but not the end of the world… that is until we drove across multiple states changing elevation and temperature constantly.
Over 3 weeks we watched the crack slowly grow and grow until it was running through the majority of the windshield. The dash cam even caught the slow growth through its viewpoint. Since it wasn’t ideal to get it fixed while we were on the move, it stayed with us through the entire trip. 🙄
After a night in Oklahoma City, we were on our way to Dayton, Ohio. As we got into eastern Oklahoma I started to notice fuzz on all of the trees. My brain was hopeful that it was cotton or something coming off the crops… I was wrong. 😳
It was extremely difficult to get a picture or video of it. So it doesn’t even begin to capture the worst patches of it, but if you look in the middle of the photo you will see some white fuzz.
Disturbingly, Nathan confirmed that those were spider webs. They covered the trees as we drove for miles.
I will never be living in Oklahoma. Ever. 😳
In better news, we did start to see some of the fall color changes throughout our entire drive. We were still probably 1-2 weeks too early but since AZ was still over 100* we were excited to see any changes in the weather.
We also definitely knew when we hit the “south” and these gigantic crosses were built. I think we saw at least a dozen of them over the entire trip.
It was fascinating that they were all built the same, but they seemed to be for different churches. Or no church at all, just the cross.
While not something that appeals to me, still fascinating to see across multiple states.
Our drive continued on into Missouri. While we didn’t spend any extra time, we did get to see a few landmarks and hit some crazy weather! St Louis Gateway Arch (sorry for the terrible picture!) and the Mississippi River.
The best part of packing a fridge full of food was that I didn’t have to live off plain burger patties and fries the whole trip. Speaking from experience they get old really quick! So I was so happy to have access to a ham sandwich instead.
Plus the tailgate on the X5 is the perfect table for me to put together my little picnic.
Once we arrived in Dayton and then Cincinnati, the first of our 3 mini trips. There was so much packed into that week that it deserves its own post which you can find here!
Here is a sneak peak at all the photos!
~ Use arrows on the left or right to see the full album, or select “Open in new window” to view in Google Photos ~
Drive to Atlanta
After Cincinnati, we were off to Atlanta, Georgia!
The drive was pretty straightforward. Beautiful, but nothing too crazy. You can see just a tiny tiny bit of red coming through for those fall colors!
~ Use arrows on the left or right to see the full album, or select “Open in new window” to view in Google Photos ~
Once we got into Atlanta, we wanted to grab a bite to eat and head to bed. Looking up what was close to the hotel we landed on Waffle House because they were EVERYWHERE!
Even though they were popular, that didn’t mean they were good. We love Waffle House, but this one was rougher than normal. Employees weren’t even around and when we did finally order, they didn’t have sweet tea… at Waffle House… in the south! 🤦♀️
We made it to the hotel, and since it was part of the work trip we didn’t get to choose where we stayed. Bonus was it was a swanky hotel.. but weird. They had these calming bags at the entry way, and I am not sure what you were supposed to do with them. Then the toilets were huge but square so we felt like we were falling in. Thankfully we only had to stay there two nights.
Now unfortunately, while we were in Atlanta our next curveball of the trip hit.
One of Nathan’s many interests includes weather, so he had been following Hurricane Helene from the start. We knew it was going to be big but, but its wasn’t until we were in Atlanta that we realized it was going to be a risk to our trip.
While Atlanta wasn’t expected to be in extreme risk, as we talked to coworkers we realized that trying to drive in the aftermath of the storm hitting was going to be a nightmare. Not only would most of our tourist plans be cancelled due to weather, the freeways would be crazy with people trying to leave or just actual damage.
So while I was in all day meetings, Nathan was amazing and rescheduled all of our hotels and prepped to leave first thing Wednesday morning.
As part of my work trip, I got the opportunity to go to a baseball game for the first time. Since the game didn’t start until 7:30, Nathan decided to stay back so he could get some sleep and I would get what I could the next day.
Now I don’t care about baseball at all! I can do soccer and Formula 1, football isn’t bad and I have even enjoyed the lacrosse and baseball games we have been to in the past. But baseball… 🥱.
The executive suites were pretty great though, even though I couldn’t eat much, and I love working for a company who doesn’t care about alcohol at events!
So I got to try cracker jacks for the first time, not great, and enjoyed my vodka soda with my super classy Crush packet added for a fruity flavor. I don’t think I lasted more than 5 minutes of sitting alone before I just pulled out my book and read until everyone was able to leave. 😂
Thankfully we left the game early and I got back to the hotel around 11. Nathan had just gone to bed so I didn’t disrupt him too much.
That is until the hotel fire alarm goes off about 5 minutes after my head hit the pillow! We both looked up at each other in disbelief and slowly started to get dressed to evacuate. After a few minutes the alarm turns off and we poke our heads out into the hall to see if anyone else was up.
Nope! Not a soul. So we went back to bed.
We expected to get a call saying false alarm or something, but nothing was ever said and the hotel didn’t burn down so all is well!
Finally we got to go to sleep and move onto the next part of our trip!
Driving to Dallas
Thankfully, our drive to Dallas was really uneventful. The freeways weren’t too bad but we did see a lot of trailers/RVs heading out and then quite a few lineman and their trucks heading east and south to be ready for the damage of the storm.
Since we were able to explore Dallas more than Atlanta, you can see all the fun details here. In the meantime, here is a sneak peek at our photos!
~ Use arrows on the left or right to see the full album, or select “Open in new window” to view in Google Photos ~
Once our time in Dallas was done, we were ready to be home. It wasn’t so much that we missed our home per se, but we were done loading and unloading hotels, uncomfortable beds, and constantly changing our working routine.
We learned a lot on this trip and wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again, but it probably won’t be top of the wish list. We would prefer to pick one place to stay for a few weeks if we are going to be staying on land.