Road trips make me lose my mind
Road trips. There’s something about the idea of a road trip that makes many people, including myself, go nuts from intense excitement.

Just the thought of a road trip triggers such giddiness and ecstasy that I immediately start dreaming of all kinds of magical road trip scenarios. And I can get lost in such thought for hours.

Usually, what makes me so enthusiastic about a road trip has nothing to do with the region where it might take place or the vehicle I’ll drive or the route I’ll take.

It’s the absolute freedom that gets me, and perhaps you, going. The freedom to go wherever we please, to stop whenever we want, to be in complete control of our travel experience. Our brains find this idea so unbelievably appealing it seems. Try saying ‘road trips’ without getting genuinely excited, even if you don’t have any plans to take one.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to embark on several road trips. Australia, Thailand, Romania, Mexico and the USA are just a few of the countries where I’ve been able to enjoy that freedom.

And today I write to you from Los Angeles, California, the city where my next road trip shall begin in 2 days.

My California Road Trip

My girlfriend and I flew out to LA last night from Florida. The main reason for this visit out west is for a family event taking place in beautiful Mendocino Country, way up in northern California, in about 10 days from now.

About a month ago, after confirming we would attend the family event, we came upon the idea of not only adding a road trip to our visit, but renting a camper van to do it with. This would be a first for both of us.

So I did a little research and quickly discovered Lost Campers USA. I sent them an email and received an immediate response. After communicating with them for a week or so, it was obvious that this was the camper van company to use out in the western part of the USA. If you look at the Lost Campers website or Facebook page, you’ll see why I quickly became hooked on their laid-back, family-owned style and their very clear dedication to making road trips affordable for travelers on any budget.

And with thousands of overwhelmingly positive reviews from other travelers, it was an easy decision and we went for it.

We won’t be traveling in a huge RV. Lost Campers rents small camper vans, like converted minivans, complete with everything you would need for a road trip – comfy bed (with so many positive reviews about their beds, I’m curious to try it out), sink, storage, a table, awning, cooling chest and more. Their rates start at around $37.99 USD per day, which is remarkably inexpensive for both transportation and a bed!

Starting on Saturday, this will be our Sierra Class camper van:

Road trips

Once we get set up with our van, we’ll just start driving.

We only have 6 days for this road trip and we need to head north to end up in San Francisco. However, we don’t have much of a plan. We have no idea where we’ll spend our nights and we only have a vague idea of the route we’ll take. Some possible stops include beaches, the Hearst Castle, a winery, the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, a seldom traveled dirt road through the mountains (looks like an awesome recommendation from the team at Lost Campers!), Monterey and a National and/or State Park or two.

If we make it to all of that, great. If not, that’s perfectly fine too.

Wherever we end up, if we get lost, we don’t care at all. Our brains are already buzzing from the freedom that awaits us in a couple of days, the freedom that can only derive from that awesome, awesome form of travel…

…road trips!

(I’ll be posting updates on the blog and the Wandering Earl Facebook from the road starting Saturday.)

Let’s hear it…what’s your most epic road trip experience? If you’ve yet to take one, where would you love to do a road trip?