Cross Country Road Trip Ideas
Posted by Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers on April 14, 2010
Hi blog readers! No photos in today’s post… for those of you who’ve been reading for a bit, you know that the Husband and I are moving to Las Vegas! Well, that move is coming up quite quick. We leave Charlotte in a little over a week!
We’re currently trying to plan our drive out there and we’re looking for any recommendations for hotels, restaurants and sites as well as stories or tips from your own experiences. In general, we’ve broken down the trip to stop and stay in:
Nashville
Little Rock
Oklahoma City
Albuquerque
Flagstaff or Sedona
Been to any of these cities? If so, any hotel recommendations? Eaten in any? Do share!
Of course, we’ll be blogging throughout the trip but we’d love to get some ideas from our readers on what to do and what to steer clear from. Thanks!! 🙂
The Hungry Wanderers 
Amy said
Stayed in Flagstaff a year ago. My hotel wasn’t great, but the city was AWESOME. I wasn’t expecting too much, but the scene was so cool and it had a great vibe.
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
Thanks Amy! We weren’t sure about whether we’d stay in Flagstaff or not (we weren’t sure if there was anything there!) but we’ll be sure to give it a chance in our planning!
Caitlin said
I have never been to Oklahoma City, but I just moved to Tulsa and I absolutely love the atmosphere. There are plenty of hotel choices to choose from ( My parents have stayed in many of them!. There are unique restaurants that I love to visit as well. You should make a stop in Tulsa.
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
I have a friend from Tulsa who loves it as well. I don’t think we’ll make it there on this trip, but we’ll add it to our places to check out during a future cross country road trip!
Michelle said
In OK City, I recommend Cattlemen’s (steak) in the Stockyards. And check out Bricktown, which has a neat canal around it that you can walk or take a water taxi. If you can’t make it out to the Stockyards, try a restaurant around there (I recommend Nonna’s).
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
Thanks Michelle! We’ll definitely try to check those areas out and hopefully try Cattlemen’s.
Bec said
The only one of those that we’ve been in for more than a drive-by is Albuquerque, which we really liked. We camped, so I can’t give you good hotel recs, and it was like 7 years ago so I don’t remember any restaurant names, either (I know, “so why are you commenting?”), but I just wanted to say that you have to make sure you eat at a local Mexican place while you’re there, because Albuquerque’s take on Mexican is our favorite of all the places we’ve been. We ate at a few different places and they all had the same basic seasoning palette (which was slightly different than I’m used to from most other Mexican restaurants) and, while it was definitely hotter than I’m used to, it was really good.
You should also stop in Knoxville and take pictures with the Wigsphere. 😉 And you should eat the “free” 72 oz. steak at The Big Texan in Amarillo when you go through (or just eat reasonably there and gawk) (the hotel at the Big Texan, btw, has a Texas shaped swimming pool and the furniture in the rooms is made entirely of cows…pretty classy stuff… ;-)), and go to Cadillac Ranch there, also. You should also detour north and take pictures of yourselves in four states at once at Four Corners (ok, you can probably skip that, as it’s overpriced and kind of lame…but still) and, while I’m sure you aren’t really looking for this as you’re on a moving road trip, we have a lot of suggestions for cool places to camp/hike/see cool old ruins in the four corners area, on both the New Mexico and Arizona sides. (Chaco Culture, Canyon de Chelly, El Malpais, and, our favorite, the Bisti Badlands, would all be awesome.) I think that’s all I have for your route.
Looking forward to hearing about your trip!
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
Thanks Bec!! 🙂 We will definitely try Mexican while we’re in Albuquerque. Justin is so very excited to get green chilies. I’ll definitely note all of your suggestions for the cities we pass through and hopefully we’ll be able to do some or all of them! As for the four corners, I highly imagine we’ll get back there over the next few years on a vacation or two so we’ll check back with you for more details and suggestions.
gingerbreadpirate said
The more I read about Arizona, the more it’s clear that it’s a treasure trove of wonderful outdoor adventure. We’d like to try to see either the Painted Desert or Petrified Forest on our cross-country voyage, but whatever we miss, I definitely see us coming back to Arizona to see more of everything it has to offer. Knowing that the Four Corners area has a lot to offer (aside from an overpriced, underexciting picture of what is otherwise an arbitrary landmark), puts it squarely on the ever-lengthening list of places to visit. Thanks, Bec!
Leslie said
Hi Amanda,
We ate a little place in Flagstaff that was soo yummy!! I don’t remember the name of it, but it was right next to the rail road crossing. It is a pub, but excellent food! Flagstaff is beautiful, enjoy your day there!
Welcome to Vegas!! I have lived here for 2 years now, and love it!! My husband and I love going out to eat, and this is certainly the place to do it. You MUST eat at Roy’s Hawaiian Restaurant on Flamingo. It is by far our favorite place here. Go on a special occasion, and make sure to tell the person who takes your reservations that you are celebrating something..you will thank me later! 🙂
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
Thanks Leslie! We’ll keep our eye out for the pub 🙂 Thanks for the Las Vegas restaurant tips as well. We are looking forward to our move!
Kylie said
I have to disagree about Cattleman’s. While an OKC tradition, I think its time has passed. You won’t have a bad meal here, but I don’t think it will be anything special. I eat here with my Grandpa every 1-2 months. He likes it. If you do go, order the lamb fries.
There is a great breakfast burrito (have tacos and such as well) place just south of Cattleman’s called Los Comales. It is a dive, but I’ve always felt safe there. And they have Mexican coke!! Just don’t go much further south on Agnew because the area becomes sketchy.
The talk of the town right now is El Pollon, a Peruvian restaurant. It is on the Southside. I almost hate to mention it because I haven’t been, but have plans to go next Monday. It has great reviews on Urbanspoon.
For lodging, The Skirvin would be a nice place to stay in downtown OKC. It has loads of history and a ghost story. It was recently re opened by Hilton. Very nice place. For downtown eats I like Nonna’s and a La Baguette is down there too. I haven’t eaten at the downtown location, but frequent the North side location often. It is a local chain with I think three locations. I just checked the reviews on Urbanspoon for Nonna’s and La Baguette, thye both have mixed reviews. Sushi Neko on Western is a good place for sushi.
The Cherokee on I-40 between Weatherford and Clinton Oklahoma has a good coconut pie and a chocolate pie. A little old lady used to make the pies for them. They used to be phenomenal, they are still great, but no one can make crust like she could. You will pass a Cherokee on I-40 just out of OKC, I’m not sure if they have pie or not. Wait for the 2nd Cherokee if you wish to stop.
I do so wish you were stopping in Santa Fe for a green chile cheeseburger from Bobcat Bite! Oh well. For ABQ, I like Sadie’s, Padilla’s, and the Frontier across from the college for local color. I love the carne adovada burritos and fresh squeezed OJ. What a combo. My sister loves the cinnamon rolls and breakfast burrito. Have a great trip! And please blog about it of course!
Kylie said
Also, since the Husband likes a fried egg so much…my favorite thing in the world is a green chile cheese enchilada with a fried egg on top. So good! You will probably be able to order something like that at any New Mexican restro of your choosing.
Amanda @ The Hungry Wanderers said
Oh my goodness! That sounds AMAZING!!