I think many people will ask why you don't plan visiting the North East of USA. Well, at least, I do.

From after Chicago all the way until you hit the Pacific it's going to be really really boring.  There's nothing at all up there.

Yeah that's the phase of the journey I'm not too sure about. I could go further south at that point, as in further away from the border, or I could just get a greyhound all the way across and not really stop anywhere. I've also considered crossing into Canada for a bit, but I definitely want to go to Seattle.

Well no, I'm not doing some sort of specific Mario Kart world trip. This is something I've been planning for awhile and I have arranged to meet up with some non-kart friends at various places. However, it suddenly struck me that I might be passing by some fellow karters.
I'll give a bit of insight into my thinking, which may explain why I have chosen such a route.
I'm starting in Florida because I went to Miami a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, but didn't get a chance to see what else was around there. I never went to a water park!
From there I'd like to visit the Great Lakes and the surrounding towns/cities, so the quickest route would naturally be straight up (I don't mind stopping off in places along the way though). Once I reach the lakes, the windy city is an obvious choice, plus I've heard there're a few good college towns near there, such as Madison, Wisconsin. Any more info on this area would be appreciated though! I have friends in Toronto, so I guess I would have have the option to cross the border at this point.
Next place which is an absolute must is Seattle (with the option of going to Vancouver, big X Files fan) so road tripping westward from the lakes will have to be done. As I said before though, it doesn't necessarily have to be a straight line so I could zig zag a bit to hit some good spots.
From Seattle the next must is San Fran, and I'd like to go through LA and San Diego before finishing in Vegas.

So maybe this explains why I've chosen this path. Oh, and where are the best women?

Harvey Kartel wrote on 03/14/13 at 16:49:01:


This reminds me of why I'm definitely a Southerner lol, because that just sounds awesome.

Anyway, from the route I see, you appear to be passing through my part of Virginia. Not much through there but the scenery is nice. I think the only thing around here worth noting is that Franklin County (just south of Roanoke) is the home of moonshine, but there really isn't anything there to see.

TellTale wrote on 03/14/13 at 14:09:10:


This is so wrong.  You could spend a lot of time in Montana going to the parks as Etch mentioned.  Going across the US in the northern parts will be amazing if you like the outdoors.  One way you could do this is after Wisconsin, head north through Minnesota into Canada, then you can definitely enjoy seeing things near Winnipeg, then cross Canada on the main Canadian route till you get to Glacier National Park in Montana.  Then onward to Seattle!

Alternatively, you could head out of Wisconsin on I-90 and see the Badlands area in South Dakota, but this isn't quite as exciting -- you can probably see some 'brown stuff' near Vegas anyway at the tail end of your trip.

You should stop in North Western Pennsylvania and help me with RRy 3lap!

If I had the time and money, I would definitely join you. That's my dream to travel all around the world like you're planning to do. I'll do that some day. Definitely.
Especially as I have family/friends in Australia and Florida.

Also, you should plan to meet some karters everytime you move on to another state.

Trystan_Pugh wrote on 03/14/13 at 16:19:15:


Madison is a good college town, but not so much a tourist town.  If you're just looking to hang out with friends for a day, you could find plenty to do (laser tag, mini golf, go to a movie, etc.), but there's nothing here that you couldn't just do somewhere else on your trip.  If you're interested in water parks, you should go to the Wisconsin Dells.  It's only an hour away from here, and there are a handful of cool parks there.  Mt. Olympus is probably the best because it has a lot of water slides, roller coasters, and some really cool go kart tracks.  

Joe Reinreb wrote on 03/16/13 at 13:25:33:


Well said Joe. I still have a few friends and relatives in the Dallas area but haven't visited since '09. Though I have the feeling that the Mexicans really want Texas back after a century and a half.  
Very nice place though. Texas has one foot in the South and the other in the Southwest. The Mexican influences give the Lone Star State a unique culture unlike any other.

As for the size of Texas, well it's larger than France or Ukraine, almost as big as Turkey, twice as big as Japan or Germany, and nearly 3x the size of the UK. Only about 20-25 million people though (less than half of Britain), most of whom lives in Dallas-Ft. Worth, the Houston area, or the San Antonio/Austin corridor. Rest of the state is pretty spread out, people-wise, especially the western side and most of the Mexican border area. In Europe you'd have to go to northern Scandinavia or Iceland to experience such sparseness.

Worth noting that if you're driving Interstate 10 across the U.S. (which I don't think you are going to), if you're at the eastern edge of Texas (in the town of Orange) you are closer to Jacksonville, Florida, on the Atlantic coast, than you are to El Paso on the western edge of Texas (very isolated place indeed). And if you're in El Paso, then you're closer to Los Angeles, on the Pacific coast, than you are to Orange! 880 miles from one end of Texas to the other.

After some thinking. I've drawn up an alternative route as a possibility. Would like to hear some thoughts. Doing it this way would depend on whether I'm able to change my outgoing flight from Vegas to Seattle.
Thanks to those that have offered to meet up so far. I'll be in touch shortly about that.

Joe Reinreb wrote on 03/18/13 at 09:39:12:


Good to hear about Colorado. A tour with free beer sounds right up my street! I'm waiting to hear back from my travel company with regards to changing my outgoing flight destination from Vegas to Seattle. If they can it means I can do the second route I've posted and go to the grand canyon etc. I think Texas would be too far out my way and would add a lot more road miles on, but I can always visit there at another point in my life as I seem to be hearing good things!