I’ve driven cross-country from the East Coast to CA and back a number of times, both solo and with friends. Usually I took the Southern route through the bluegrass and delta states, stopping for a few days in New Orleans and Taos, New Mexico before the long haul through the Mojave desert to LA. I’ve also taken the Northern route before, though its not half as interesting, and twice gone through Vegas, over the Colorado rockies and through the Midwest. Whichever way you go, it doesn’t take long before you’re out of the city and on the dusty, open road with nothing but Baptist preachers, country-western music and static on the radio. All of those trips were full of memorable events and adventures, but then so was taking the ‘Magic Bus’ (yes that one, made famous by the Who) from Amsterdam to Istanbul with a busload of exceptionally gonzo fellow travelers. And the there was the truck-top trip up the Khyber Pass from Peshawar to the drugs and arms dealing town of Gilgit and then by jeep over the high mountain passes to the village of Chitral at the base of the Himalayas, during which I almost died- That was fairly unforgettable too.