I'm sure there are others that have done it and thought I would post up here to share my experience and hear some other people's experiences, maybe even encourage more people to try it out.
Last March I found a Mariner for sale in California that seemed like a good deal. After talking with the owner and having a friend check it out to make sure it was okay for the most part I bought a one-way ticket for my brother and I and flew out within the same week of selling my previous car in the middle of my semester, hoping this one would be worth buying. Flew into LAX at 10:30PM and drove down to San Diego in our rental Fiesta to stay at a friend's place for the night. The next morning we drove about an hour to go see the car. After a lengthy test drive I decided to buy it and start planning the drive back. After taking care of everything at the DMV we dropped the rental off at the airport, packed up the Miata and headed on our way.
Since it was March we wanted to stay south as much as possible to avoid any snow. The route we planned out would go through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and finally Michigan.
To keep it short I'll just post a few pics and give a general impression of driving a little Roadster 2,500 miles.
Some of the scenery:
Side of the highway in Arizona to put the top down:
Mandatory gas station shot:
Up in the mountains. Snow in Arizona?
End of day 2:
Starbucks in Albuquerque, NM:
Oklahoma City:
Overall it was an awesome roadtrip other than getting sick from having the top down so often. Earplugs are almost a necessity. But I would definitely recommend the drive to anybody, even in a little Miata. I would actually rather do it in a Miata than something bigger or more comfortable. We drove 10 hours a day with multiple stops to reload on Arizona Iced Tea and Beef Jerky.
My favorite states to drive through were probably Cali, Arizona, and New Mexico. I can't wait to go back sometime.
So who else has driven across the country? Any highlights, things you'd do differently, places you recommend to check out?
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... I miss: My running peeps in Tampa, running barefoot @ Clearwater Beach and First Choice BBQ, in Brandon. In So Cal I miss: The Malibu Canyons, CA 33 and In & Out Burgers ! I'm from Tampa, if I was from Tampa Bay, I'd be a fish!
Originally Posted by Jeremy Clarkson
