On the Road with Bryan - All Comments

re: Farewell to Bryan

Malta Vacations — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:23:44 GMT

Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, these things can sometimes happen which is a bummer :(

He can always resume his travels when he gets better though so here's hoping that will happen soon :)

Cheers,

Marica

re: Farewell to Bryan

Wesley — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:14:57 GMT

So sorry to hear this. Hope you will be ok soon!

As I am planning a trip to the US, the information on this blog has been very useful. Thanks for the hard work!

re: Day 102: Asheville, North Carolina

Pratik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:23:54 GMT

Really its a good place. The weather is really awesome and the <a href=http://www.downtownluxuryhotels.com>Downtown luxury hotels</a> in the city are really great.

re: Day 91: Galveston, Texas

Vanessa — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:54:11 GMT

Great blog, love the images you have posted, please feature this on the bizymoms <a href="www.bizymoms.com/.../index.php" alt="www.bizymoms.com/.../index.php"> Galveston </a> community page, I am sure the mom’s will love it.

re: Day 37: Hells Canyon, Oregon

bryan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:06:01 GMT

Hey Pamala,

I'm definitely no expert on that region - it's a beautiful area, but there are more tourist towns north of Hells Canyon - Joseph and Wallowa, especially. I might look into somewhere around there, if I were you. Other amazingly beautiful but remote areas with plenty of tourists are central Idaho/Sun Valley, and northeast New Mexico/Taos & Santa Fe. If you've got more questions, email me: bejohnston(at)gmail.com. Good luck!

re: Day 37: Hells Canyon, Oregon

Pamala — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:55:46 GMT

thinking of moving to halfway....I'm an artist and like the clean air and water. What do you think? Are there tourist town around there that would be good for my business but I do like being reclusive. Help...

33日目: 旅行再開

BRYANと一緒にロードトリップに — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:36:26 GMT

昨晩、父が電話して来ました。どうやら私が車と交換しようと待っているバンは完全に廃車になったらしいです。破損を修理する金額はバンの車体価格よりとても高くなることを意味しています。バンと交換しないことにしたので

re: Day 102: Asheville, North Carolina

casey — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:21:54 GMT

Malaprops? Cute! :)

re: Day 99: Memphis, Tennessee

bryan — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:45:38 GMT

Hey Ann,

Thanks for the note! Let's see what I can help with...

Money is a totally legit concern when trying to travel for very long. Because (1) it's expensive, and (2) you can't work a 'normal' job.

I was able to travel for longer than I planned because I ended up spending less money than I'd budgeted. It ended up being around $700 per month in total expenses. Which seemed like a good deal to me when I was splitting a 2 bdrm apartment in LA for more than that.

My best suggestions are to avoid hotels, camp on national forest land, and use couchsurfing.org when you go into cities, with hostels as a backup in case you can't find a host. Also, facebook and friends of friends are good resources for finding a place to crash. And sometimes you'll meet people who will host you. That obviously takes some discretion on your side. But people generally want to hang out with the mysterious lone traveler.

I was lucky enough to have worked a fairly well-paying job the previous year and saved up some money. As far as deferring payments and stuff, well... I don't really have much good advice. Sometimes you have to do what you want to do and just make it work.

I'll admit that there were a few times I felt unsafe being alone, but I never ran into any problems at all. I usually had a big knife and bear mace with me. Maybe avoid isolated camping, if you can. But free camping is generally isolated, so that's something you'll have to weigh. I don't really believe in protecting yourself from the world or anything, because the world is what you're trying to get to know, right? I loved my time in the woods alone, it was a definite highlight of the trip.

It sounds like you've got the right idea, I'm excited for you. Just go for it.

My email is bejohnston(at)gmail.com if you've got any more questions.

Bryan

re: Day 99: Memphis, Tennessee

Ann — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:03:09 GMT

Hey! I'm trying to plan a similar cross-country road trip, and I'd appreciate some practical info. from you about a few things: (Please forgive me if I sound crass; it's mostly about money ;)

5 months is a long time to be on the road, not working. How did you plan your budget, and how much money should I be considering on a per month basis? I plan to take full advantage of cheap/free lodging and food, and I'll be driving a hybrid.

I noticed in your original post that you planned on being done with traveling by this time. How has it been possible to extend your trip financially? Did you have a little extra saved up, or have you sold some possessions or worked odd jobs for the extra money?

I don't know about your other financial obligations, (bills, student loans, mortgage, etc.), but I've unfortunately got a few. I'm wondering if you know of any ways to defer payments on things like I stated above, or maybe get a travel grant or some similar such thing for financial support. My house I can rent out while I'm gone, but the bills I don't know what to do with and it doesn't seem possible to save up money for both covering bills and traveling. It would be a great inspiration if you have experience in dealing with this and would share it with me.

One last thing. I'll be a single traveling woman on my trip. I have great faith in humanity, but I'm not naive. From your perspective, what do you suggest I watch out for in terms of staying safe? For instance, I love camping, but a woman camping by herself is at a disadvantage compared to a single male camper. Should I maybe forgo camping in favor of hostels, or do you see the campgrounds as a pretty friendly and safe place for the most part? I'm good at befriending people, so maybe if I make good connections wherever I am, I can always have someone around me that I trust.

Thanks for reading this novel! It'll really be a great help if you can give some insight on the things above because you have so much experience on the road now. Anything else you want to add is most welcome.

Thanks again for your time and attention,

Ann

Bryanを探せ？ #2

BRYANと一緒にロードトリップに — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:14:58 GMT

Bryan を探せ？規定およびその他のこと。英語バージョンに正解を最初に回答した登録者の方が USAtourist ロゴ入り T シャツを受賞します！お忘れなく：登録メンバーの方が当写真を撮影した都市に住んでいる

Wo ist Bryan? # 2

Auf der Strasse mit Bryan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:07:59 GMT

Wo ist Bryan? Regeln und Einzelheiten . Der erste, der auf der englischen Version zuerst kommentiert

¿Dónde está Bryan? #2

Viajando Con Bryan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:01:24 GMT

¿Dónde está Bryan? Reglas y esas cosas . ¡La primera persona que deje su comentario correcto en la versión

re: Day 55: Jackson, Wyoming --> Steamboat Springs, Colorado

bryan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:16:02 GMT

Thanks Josie, you're correct. Unfortunately, some NF's are super strict about it - every turnout has a sign saying 'no overnight parking or camping'. This was one of them. You could park outside the forest and them hike in to camp, but there was no parking in the forest.

re: Day 55: Jackson, Wyoming --> Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Josie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:31:53 GMT

I'm not sure what kind of camping you were looking for, but you can legally camp in any National Forest (free) unless posted otherwise:

camping.about.com/.../aa000803a.htm

Too bad the timing didn't work--that offer sounds great!