Interstates or back roads?

Road trip. Can you picture it? Just you and your trusty vehicle, heading out to find adventure. Explore new places. Meet new people. Revel in the freedom of the open road.

Famous road trippers include Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (remember the "Road To" movies?), the Blues Brothers ("It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.")... and me.

People call me the Road Trip Queen. They call me other things too, like vagabond and gypsy - and crazy. I've logged more than 230,000 miles on my Toyota Solara, most of those in 10,000-mile chunks. Every few months wanderlust strikes, and I need to be anywhere but here. So I grab a map, pick a route and hit the road.

Got a week or two to spare? Even a couple of days is enough to escape your everyday routine. Whether you leave with no destination or plan every mile of the trip, here are a few hints. Grab a pen and paper - class is in session!

Planning:

Where do you want to go? Drive the Pacific Coast Highway? Taste wine in Walla Walla? Eat a Big Mac at every McDonald's from Dallas to Denver? Let your imagination soar. Then sit down with a map (or an online mapping program like Mapquest) and sketch a basic route. You can change course at any time, but it helps to have an outline.

How do you want to get there? If you're in a hurry, stick to interstates. But if you want to explore, take the back roads. You'll travel the same terrain, but it's a completely different experience.

Plan to be off the road by dark: all you can see at night are headlights. And try to limit your driving to eight hours/day; 14-hour days are doable, but it's hard to sit for that long.

Lodging:

If you have friends who live along your route, drop them a note: I'm going to be in Outer Podunk, it'd be great to see you, any chance you have a corner I can curl up in? Staying with friends (or Aunt Edna, if you have to) means home-cooked meals, visiting people you like (or can tolerate for a few hours), and if you're lucky, they'll show you the sights. Oh, and it's free!

If your friends don't offer you a corner and you're forced to stay in a hotel, use common sense: a cheap hotel in downtown Detroit is cheap for a reason. If you can, check online travel sites for low rates and hotel reviews. But keep in mind that sometimes hotels get a bad rating because the reviewer didn't like the color of the carpet, and not because there were suspicious stains in it.

If you're really adventurous, there are other options. Camping is a great way to experience the local flora and fauna up close and personal. Hostels and couch-surfing (sleeping on strangers' couches - seriously) are budget-friendly lodging choices, and you're bound to meet some very interesting people.

Dining:

If you're touring barbecue joints, your dining choices are already decided. But if you're exploring Arizona's national parks, it's a lot easier. Joe's Diner will be more interesting than a national chain. But if you're in a hurry to get to Yellowstone, hit a fast food restaurant for a bean burrito or an egg sandwich, and get back on the road. Hopefully the friend you're staying with that night (or Aunt Edna) is a good cook, and they'll feed you. Or better yet, take you out for a nice meal.

Equipment:

You'll need a reliable vehicle, although it doesn't have to be a car; I rode 1,500 miles on the back of a Harley one very long week. Whatever your vehicle of choice, make sure it's road-worthy before you leave, or invest in an AAA membership. Finding a new transmission in Outer Podunk might make a great story, but it will definitely change the nature of your trip.

My favorite travel tool is my GPS. "Marge" guides me when I'm lost, reroutes me around traffic jams, and nags when she thinks I'm on the wrong road (if she could only do that in other?areas of my life). But I still carry a road atlas, just in case Marge decides to take an unscheduled break.

Remember the Boy Scout motto: be prepared. Bring a bottle to fill at water fountains; snacks to get you through burrito and egg sandwich-less stretches; a towel for impromptu swims or walks in the rain. A camera. A chair for watching sunsets, a raincoat for a Florida monsoon. Bathing suit, good walking shoes, little black dress/good suit - be ready for any occasion!

Advice:

Be flexible. Don't schedule yourself so tightly that you can't stop when you see a sign for the largest ball of twine in the world.

Talk to people. Whether locals or fellow travelers, they might mention a sight you shouldn't miss. Besides, meeting people is part of life on the road.

Stretch your boundaries. Be open to new experiences. Never zip-lined? Toured an underground cavern? Attended a minor league baseball game? This is the time to do it. Reinvent yourself!

Look on the bright side. There are no bad road trips. Even if your battery dies, an avalanche closes the road, or you get food poisoning - think of the stories you can tell. Whatever happens, it'll be more interesting than staying home.

There you have it, Road Trip 101. Now pull out that map, pack that bag and get going. There's a great big world out there, waiting for you to discover it. And if you pass a dirty black Solara, wave - it's probably me!