Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home [Paperback]

Phil White (Author), Carol White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2008

Boomers, Gen-Xers, Seniors and more everyone has a dream of that long trip that they ve had in the back of their mind. If so many dream it, why do so few do it?

Authors Phil and Carol White believe it is not only fear of the unknown, but more importantly, inertia. It takes a fair amount of thinking and planning to take off for an extended period says Carol, but the rewards of working through your issues and actually getting out of town to see our country or another place, will be with you forever. Don t wait for some other time start planning now.

The White s award-winning, how-to book, Live Your Road Trip Dream is now released in its second edition after a very successful three printings of the first edition. Due to the popularity of road tripping, but not just amongst the retired set, the White s have included expanded coverage of topics of interest to the younger generation.

Today s younger generations aren t waiting until retirement to hit the road says Phil, they want to do it now if they can figure out how. With our expanded sections on sabbaticals, working on the road and road-schooling for children, we ve covered many of the topics that we get asked about frequently.

And the Whites do get asked often. As National Spokespersons for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, they speak at such prestigious conferences as AARP s Life@50+, and attend national conventions like The Good Sam Club s Great North American RV Rally, and talk to the press frequently as experts on road tripping. The Whites are also frequent guests on TV and radio and have been featured speakers for AAA in their home state of Oregon.

Live Your Road Trip Dream is more than an inspiring adventure, more than an information-packed how-to guide to help you turn your personal travel dream into reality it is the ultimate handbook to turn your wanderlust into action.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Road Trip. I would be hard pressed to think of any other two-word combination that evokes more dreamy smiles and wistful daydreams than these two four-letter words. Hitting the road seems to be a quintessential feature of the American experience, and no degree of economic or political uncertainty ever seems to reduce our collective yen to see what s around the next bend. From the days of piling into the old Rambler station wagon with my family to my current affinity for exploring the deserts of the southwest, the irresistible siren call of the open highway has never diminished.

As the publisher of RoadTripAmerica.com, I have been privileged to connect with thousands of road trip aficionados from all over the world as they plan their adventures in North America. I often make the point that whenever we set tire to pavement, we re on a road trip the trick is simply to notice it. But even though I like to emphasize that attitude is everything, there is still a difference between a run to the grocery store and hitting the road for an extended period. In addition to a dream, heading for the horizon takes courage, commitment and a certain fierceness of spirit.

And it takes planning. For six-and-a-half years, I lived exclusively on the road. When I began my open-ended odyssey, I would have gladly swapped ten tanks of gas for a book like Live Your Road Trip Dream. Between these covers are the tools and resources that have helped many a vision become reality. This second edition has even more of the invaluable knowledge that Phil and Carol White have so ably compiled, organized and distilled to create the finest road trip planning guide now available in print. --Mark Sedenquist, RoadTripAmerica.com

From the Publisher

The Whites decided that the time had come for them to live their dream. Once they were on their adventure, people peppered them with questions, not so much about what they were doing (everyone has their own dream!), but about how they actually made it happen. It was with the encouragement of want-to-be traveler's everywhere that this book was created.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rli Press; 2nd edition (March 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975292838
• ISBN-13: 978-0975292839
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Senior Travel
  • #70 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Budget Travel

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Prepared for a Year on the Road September 15, 2005

By Jennifer Brown

Format:Paperback

I have to admit that when I first opened LIVE YOUR ROAD TRIP DREAM by Phil and Carol White, I wondered who in the world could pull off such a task? I mean, really. Living on the road for a whole year? What about responsibilities? What about possessions? What about finances?

I quickly learned that Phil and Carol White had already thought of these things - and more! In fact, their decision to carefully plan absolutely everything turned this feat (and yes, I do mean feat, as even the most dedicated traveler might be overwhelmed by lack of planning when attempting to vacation for an entire year) from an unrealistic dream into a doable possibility.

Fortunately for the rest of us, the Whites lived their road trip dream with the objective to share with us their experiences, warts and all. Because of their meticulousness, their journals, their detailed accounting, and their willingness to be pioneers of travel, the rest of us can avoid the minor pitfalls and poor decisions that can inconvenience or derail even the tiniest vacation, much less a year-long trip across the country.

Through the Whites we learn about (among a great many other things):

*What to do with your house while you're gone

*Who will take care of your responsibilities while you're on the road

*Traveling with pets

*Choosing a vehicle for the trip

*Packing a year's worth of clothing without dragging along everything you own

Quite possibly the most detailed vacation planning guide you could get your hands on, LIVE YOUR ROAD TRIP DREAM will have you more than wishing you could spend a year away - it will have you actually believing it is possible!

The first half of the book is dedicated to planning for your trip, with tons of advice that could be useful for even shorter trips and proves to be absolutely necessary for a year on the road. The second half is a travel journal of sorts, complete with pictures, that chronicles the White's vacation experience and offers glimpses of what is to be seen in regions literally across the country. Unlike typical travel guides which offer prices and hours of exhibits but little in the way of commentary on what was enjoyable and what was not, LIVE YOUR ROAD TRIP DREAM attacks the vacation experience from a refreshing angle - like that of a trusted neighbor who's just come home from a holiday.

In addition, there is a lengthy appendix at the back of the book that is packed full of worksheets, tip sheets, and templates that would get a prospective year-long traveler well on his way of getting started.

A good resource guide to have around for future vacations of any length, LIVE YOUR ROAD TRIP DREAM is a tempting book for any travel fan. And, who knows? Maybe with the help of Phil and Carol White, your own road trip dream can become a reality.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Leave Home without Reading "Road Trip Dream" First July 27, 2006

By R. Agredano

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I have been on the road for almost a year, and we owe much of this successful year to Phil and Carol's book.

I bought the book because I wanted to figure out how we could take some time off without going broke, and Road Trip Dream succeeded in helping us do just that. We aren't even close to retirement, and this book really helped us to see that a trip like this was possible at our age.

With the release of its second edition, the Whites' book is as vital as ever when it comes to considering every critical aspect of how to plan, execute and live your own road trip dream. Don't even think of embarking on a journey without reading and following the advice laid out by these two seasoned road trippers.

Great Budgeting Information
Based on our own spending habits over the last year, I can vouch for the fact that the book's budgeting methodology is on the money. Their budget's "memory joggers" will help you look at every aspect of road trip living that you'll spend money on, from postage to Internet access. They also spotlight important things to consider, like realizing that you need to plan for fluctuating costs in different regions around the country (for example, campground fees in the east are much higher than in the west).

Get Creative, and Get on the Road NOW!
For working age people like my husband and I, the Whites have included a section about sabbaticals, working from the road, and even "road schooling" for families. The information, suggestions and ideas provided in this section help get a reader's mind around the fact that you don't have to be retired to take time off to travel. With some creativity and flexibility, they illustrate how even working people and families can hit the road. In this edition of the book they've provided a number of resources and ways to research this further.

Keeping In Contact on the Road
Technology changes so much in just a couple of years, and the revised tech section in the book is great. I can appreciate how the Whites do a good job of presenting a general overview of road technologies, without going over the heads of novice users. They did a fabulous job of explaining air cards for internet access, which is what most people end up using on the road. A comprehensive resource section at the end of the book includes lots of great websites to consult.

Hit The Road with the Information You Need
By reading and following the White's advice in Live Your Road Trip Dream, we were able to pull off our journey in the kind of organized, budgeted and well-prepared manner that makes us both comfortable. If we had just taken off without doing our research first, this journey might have ended months ago.

There are so many things to consider and planning for something like this can seem overwhelming. Don't let it. Buy Road Trip Dream, and you will receive the comfort and encouragement that it takes to believe in yourself, and know that you can get your way to living your own road trip adventure.

65 of 75 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much substance December 17, 2006

By J. Parker

Format:Paperback

The book is well-organized, well-written, and a smooth, easy read. Carol writes well, and obviously put a lot of time into it. But there is very little substantive information in it. This is not a book for RV'ers. Although they used a Class B RV (basically a full van conversion), they stayed in motels most nights. Their RV advice was to buy one of the excellent books on RVs already out there. Sadly, their trip seemed rushed. I think they were more interested in being able to say that they visited every state, than enjoying where they visited. The whole last half of the book is just entries from their journal. These are cryptic, and offer little help in choosing where you might want to visit yourself. Financially, the book assumes that you are retired, and that you sell or rent your house and use that money, along with your retirement income to pay for the trip. In all, the book reads like a day dream, and doesn't give much more information than the obvious. If you are just looking for inspiration and confidence to do the trip, this may be a good book for you.