Mickstang

Well, I had a great trip on the going out leg, but I sure am dreading the return part of the trip. I think I will have some nasty weather/road conditions in front of me.

wanted33

I can think of only one road trip I've made that didn't come with some crappy weather. Hope you had a safe trip Mick.

MRiley

Great pics! I actually grew up in Long Island. I don't recognize this but there's so many nice areas there. Do you remember where you drove? The traffic we get here doesn't always make for the best driving, but out east more there's some nice wide open roads.

Hadtohaveit'13

Ooooooo that's going to be fun. Stay safe

Xar

I'm back, and it was fun washed all the bugs off and everything LOL

NC14GT

Getting to Long Island sure was a chore and my left leg got quite a workout using the clutch constantly around NYC. Once we got on the highway it was smooth sailing. We mostly visited the eastern forks with Montauk on the south fork and Greenport on the north fork. We also visited the Hamptons to see what it was like. Here are a few non-Mustang shots of the Montauk Lighthouse and harbor. How about 'The Lunch' on the way out? (incredible food and I guess quite the celebrity stopover). Also some crazy giant duck near Riverhead.

phiggs54

Now I'm hungry! That looks great

Mickstang

Thanks for the good wishes, Jim. The return trip started out pretty sketchy, with snow on the ground-- in Tennessee, no less! But everything went well, and the Mustang proved once again what a great little one or two person runabout it is... the perfect road trip car for long OR short tours.

Stevedotmil

I have always loved road trips since I was a kid in the 80's. My parents would pack us up in the Ford Econoline and head for my grandparents house in FL from KS and WA. We spend the late 80's in Bamberg, Germany. Since I have been in the Army my wife and I have taken road trips across the country more than 20 times in the last 19 years. Mostly to go see the family in WA from various duty stations across the south. We have driven from GA to WA 6 different times on about 4 different routes just to see what's out there. Also from Louisiana and TX. We haven't driven home from SC because now that the kids are older they don't fit as well in the minivan.

The first trip we took together was in 94 in my 89 Escort GT from GA to WA when my wife was pregnant with our first son. We actually broke down just outside Manhattan, KS and luckily I still had a couple of gears that weren't trash in my 5 speed enough to limp to my old pastors house to get some help. I hadn't been there in over 10 years and he still remembered me. We ended up spending a couple of nights at a farm in the middle of corn fields. This was another friend from our old church. Got a new trans the next day and installed it in the barn with an air lift used for tractors. On the road for the next day. One of the best sections of that trip was going from Cheyenne to Salt Lake on 80 and then down into OR from ID. Then of course driving along the Columbia River all the way to the Portland area.

We drove from TX to home once in the middle of winter and hit a small road from the grand canyon to southern UT. It's Highway 89 from Flagstaff all the way up to where I70 meets I15. Great road and it runs right by Lake Powell.

I'm in Germany now without the family this time for 2 years. My Mustang and I plan to take some road trips around Europe while I'm here. Europeans don't do road trips. They don't get the concept. Public trains are cheaper and they think it's a waste of money. Fuel is almost $9/GAL here (4.50 Euro/ Liter) so it's not cost effective for them. It's not a big deal for me to jump in the car and drive 3 hours to go see some awesome castle or stuff like the Porsche museum on a weekend. I have some plans on things to hit while I'm here. Mainly car oriented stuff. Here's the list....

The Nurburgring
The Hockenheim Ring
Normandy
The Alps from Bavaria to Italy
Rome
Paris
I'm going to drive to England (Uncle lives there)

My wife and I have our 20 year wedding anniversary next Christmas Eve so she's going to come over next summer and we are going to Road Trip around Europe in my Mustang. Pictures and video will follow.

Prost!

NC14GT

Wonderful post and I hope you have great times on your trips.
I underlined the part of your post that reveals the horrible reality of European 'socialism' and how it corrupts individual thinking. That's what makes America great, the freedom to jump in your 8 cylinder 300HP Mustang and drive anywhere you want, and get 'thumbs up' at every stop along the way. I'm afraid our future generations will have this taken away from them. We are all very fortunate to be alive in this time period. My wife and I have taken road trips every year of our 35 years together. We have spent a total of over $100,000 easily! Would we want our money back? Not a chance. This is living and what we love. As I posted earlier, we are off on another 5,000+ miles journey to San Diego in April, and next year we have money saved for our ultimate trip to Alaska which will cover over 10,000 miles.

NC14GT

Some of you may get a kick out of one of our first Mustang road trips back in the '80's. Our first 'new' car, an '82 Mustang GT which set us back the full sticker price of $9,616.00. Off we went to Maine and Nova Scotia. Our GT was parked tight aboard the ferry that travels from Bar Harbor, Maine to Nova Scotia. With all the drug traffic craziness back in the 80's we were searched thoroughly upon arrival in Canada, especially with FL tags on our car. After that we were off to see the entire province all the way up to Cape Breton. Here is a picture of us at Peggy's Cove, a little village right on the ocean. Our '82 GT with it's 4 speed manual performed wonderfully with it's 5.0L HO putting out a whopping 157 HP!! That was hot stuff back then. I wish I had more pics of the GT but film and processing weren't cheap back then. You had to be careful as each photo was $$.

wanted33

NC, you brought back our first trip memories. Although not in a Mustang (couldn't afford one then) we headed north up the coastline from NC to Mass. Across NY, and back south. All this was done in Subaru. The one coming up will be out first in a Mustang, and can't wait. I'm ready for some top down weather on Route 66, and points west.

Stevedotmil

Fixed it for you. Enjoy your trip. My wife and I love the open highway. She eats beef jerky by the bag with her feet on the dash and I take it all in. You always remember the music that you listen to on certain road trips. The first one was spent listening to the new Stone Temple Pilots CD (1995). I even had a disk changer in the back of the Escort.

Xar

That is so very true! Had a girlfriend some 14 years back that her and I would drive out to the coast (Pt. Reyes Station area in CA). Stay in B&B's and just enjoy life. I was going through a divorce so I needed those little getaways more than anything. I still get a smile on my face when certain songs come on.......

NC14GT

Wise guy! I forgot I wasn't posting in the '05-'09 category.

Stevedotmil

Ha ha. I'm here to help.

tukatz

That really gave me a chuckle. My Honda S2000 is a great little one or two person runabout. My Mustang is a great Grand Touring convertible, but a little runabout it ain't.

tacbear

We do the "Cherahala Sky way","Tail of the Dragon", and "Moonshiner 28". Sometimes in the Mustang, sometimes in the Z4.

NC14GT

Yeah, have to agree there. We actually took this little two-seater (2002 Z3) on a 6,000 mile trip several years ago, from here in NC to CA and up to Portland, OR to see family. Here we are going through a fallen giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park in CA.
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NC14GT

Small world. See my old Z3 above. Did you ever do the 'Z meet' in Maggie Valley in the Fall? We have driven those roads you mention at least a dozen times since we live so close. This year the Mustang will 'slay the dragon'. Is that the 'Fugitive' dam in that photo near Fontana?