Where I've been the last two weeks...

[Zzzptm]

... vacation. 

Flew to Rochester, NY and then rented a car to drive all the way back to Dallas, TX. Wife and kids all along for the ride, to track some family history through the USA. We stopped in Rochester, Ohio, and Illinois to see where my ancestors had been and then headed home.

While we had a lot of fun - especially with determining if the place we were eating lunch in was a greasy spoon, eatery, or proper diner - the most shocking part was driving back home across the flooded lands of Missouri and Oklahoma. We had to cancel our hotel reservation in Arkansas because we looked at the roads and realized that even if all the interstates didn't get flooded out completely, there were enough closures along the way to make the trip a potential nightmare. Google Maps had no clue and kept suggesting directions that would terminate prematurely with a "ROAD CLOSED" barrier.

As it was, the path we took still went across the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers and those are totally out of their banks, with many of the rivers and streams feeding into them similarly at record stages of flooding. Shocking and makes my heart go out to the people in the path of that flooding, especially those whose homes and businesses are currently standing in water.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

When I saw the title of the thread I assumed you were incarcerated somewhere for some minor offence!

Yes, the weather can play havoc with plans. We were in Miami 2-3 weeks after Hurricane Andrew (August 1993 I think) and much of the attractions were still closed. It meant we had to go to Fort Lauderdale instead, so not all bad!

[Typhon]

Any homeowner has to have proper insurance for the more likely disasters in their area.  If you can't afford the insurance, then you can't afford the home.

[Charger]

Ah....you know I was just pondering where you have been...but I thought it might be something like this...

You know it was always my dream to do a road trip across the US....I do feel gutted I never got to do it...

[Zzzptm]

Ah....you know I was just pondering where you have been...but I thought it might be something like this...

You know it was always my dream to do a road trip across the US....I do feel gutted I never got to do it...

I've done now 4 road trips of over 2000 miles. This one was the shortest since we flew out and had airplane miles take the place of road miles. I've never done a coast-to-coast trip, but I've driven from Dallas to both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

If you can get the flight to the USA, the car rental is pretty cheap per day. I'd recommend flying into Denver, Salt Lake City, or Las Vegas and then making a circuit trip around the Colorado Plateau. That's the USA's geology at its best. Some great mountain roads and you can take in Bryce Canyon, Zion National Monument, and the Grand Canyon all near each other. (North side of the Grand Canyon is less busy than the south side and more convenient to the other two monuments mentioned.) If you can make it to Arches and Colorado National Monument, both of those are amazing. Utah Highway 20 between Moab and Grand Junction, to me, is the reason why I bought a car, so I could drive that beautiful river road. If you can also drive across Monarch Pass in southern Colorado, so much the better.

East of the Mississippi, the Natchez Trace Parkway is gorgeous driving and just about any road in Tennessee that isn't an interstate is a treat. Driving up in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia is also full of some amazing scenes.

[Typhon]

Ah....you know I was just pondering where you have been...but I thought it might be something like this...

You know it was always my dream to do a road trip across the US....I do feel gutted I never got to do it...

If you fly into Boston or Providence, Rhode Island, then I will pick you up at the airport, Charge. 

[Charger]

Haha! Yeah...well I need to win the lottery first...oh and then build a time machine so I can travel back in time to get a passport when it still was possible.

[Zzzptm]

Haha! Yeah...well I need to win the lottery first...oh and then build a time machine so I can travel back in time to get a passport when it still was possible.

Well, that's a bummer. Lots of great roads here in the States.

[Charger]

Yeah I know...the ones you mentioned and ofcourse Route 66....It was honestly one of my biggest dreams...Although I always thought that if I'd come there I'd never want to leave again so I guess that scared me a bit too...

But yeah...that plane has now flown and I was never on it...So I'll just go to my grave (or urn to be more precise) without ever visiting further abroad than Stockholm.

[Zzzptm]

Route 66 doesn't really exist as it once did. Interstate 40 follows much of the old route, but it's a boring interstate. The fun is taking an exit from the interstates and getting into some winding back roads, where you could actually get into trouble... or find some beautiful scenic overlooks.

I bet there's a way to make the trip happen and still get you back in one piece.

[Typhon]

Yeah I know...the ones you mentioned and ofcourse Route 66....It was honestly one of my biggest dreams...Although I always thought that if I'd come there I'd never want to leave again so I guess that scared me a bit too...

But yeah...that plane has now flown and I was never on it...So I'll just go to my grave (or urn to be more precise) without ever visiting further abroad than Stockholm.

I know what you mean, Charger.  I always wanted to get to Europe, but I have never been off my continent.  It seems especially tough to do when you are on your own.  But, you should never say never. 

[Zzzptm]

Both of y'all should meet half way. Fares to Iceland are pretty cheap.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Haha! Yeah...well I need to win the lottery first...oh and then build a time machine so I can travel back in time to get a passport when it still was possible.

Why can't you get a passport?

[Charger]

Why can't you get a passport?

Well the thing is Passport is an official identification document and in order to get one you need to have an official identification document. And by recent legislation Driver's licence is no longer an official identification document and as such I cannot prove my identity anymore thus I can not get an official identification document so that I could prove my identity....a nice little catch 22...way to go Finland.

[Zzzptm]

Why can't you get a passport?

Well the thing is Passport is an official identification document and in order to get one you need to have an official identification document. And by recent legislation Driver's licence is no longer an official identification document and as such I cannot prove my identity anymore thus I can not get an official identification document so that I could prove my identity....a nice little catch 22...way to go Finland.

Birth certificate should do the trick, I would imagine. I just looked over the website for applying for a Finnish ID card, and there's just an online form and a photo needed in order to get one. Once you have that, you are on your way to a passport. It can be done!