The Journey around America in 17 days in an RV
So we rented our RV and everything went fine, both getting there top pick it up as well as the process of picking it up. We found a special deal for $19 per day if we rent an RV and pick it up in Chicago and drive it to Tampa. The post related to this is here. The company, Cruise America, did not know anything about this blog and, therefore, this deal was available to anyone who wanted it. They periodically do special one-way deals like this so check that other story out for more details.
Our Journey Begins
We rented a car one-way from St. Petersburg to Chicago (we used Budget as they were the least expensive) for approximately $250 and all went well with that except the Ford Fusion has a very tight steering wheel so that it was difficult to control the car without moving from side to side. The slightest movement of the steering wheel made the car move. When we returned the car in Chicago the agent said that was a common complaint. I suppose if you own one you’d get used to it though. In the end, we both agreed that the RV was far easier to drive than the rental car!
The blog posts in the near future will be all about this 17 day adventure and what we learned along the way, the places we discovered and some of the wonderful places we visited. We hope you’ll find something interesting in the posts. In this post, I’ll outline our itinerary which was mostly made up as we drove along but based on a lot of searching through the visitors guides for the respective states.
I will be posting reviews of cities, restaurants, scenic drives and other interesting things we learned along the way in hopes of being able to help someone planning some type of experience, whether it is a road trip similar to this or a visit to one of the towns we visited.
For the record, here is the itinerary that unfolded aided a bit by trying to outrun bad weather at times:
Day 1: Tampa to Southern Illinois via Macon, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee
Day 2: Southern Illinois to Franklin Park to pick up the RV, then south to Indianapolis
Day 3: Indianapolis to Western Maryland via the National Road in Indiana
Day 4: Family time in Frederick, Maryland
Day 5: Frederick, Maryland to Virginia via Martinsburg, WV and Roanoke, VA
Day 6: Roanoke to Crossville, TN via Jonesborough, TN
Day 7: Crossville, TN to Decaturville, TN via Linden, Hohenwald, Hampshire and Sparta
Day 8: Decaturville, TN to Little Rock, Arkansas via Parsons, Lexington, Jackson, and Memphis, TN
Day 9: Little Rock, AR to Atlanta, TX via Hot Springs and Texarkana
Day 10: Atlanta, TX to Onalaska, TX via Jefferson, Marshall and Nacodoches
Day 11: Onalaska, TX to Brookeland, TX to via Livingston, Woodville and Jasper
Day 12: Brookeland, TX to Natchez, Mississippi via Leesville and Alexandria, Louisiana
Day 13: Natchez, Mississippi to New Orleans via Gloster, Clinton and Greensburg, LA
Day 14: New Orleans, LA to Gulfport, MS
Day 15: Gulfport, MS to Lake Talquin, FL via Biloxi and Pascagoula, MS, Mobile, AL and Blountsown, FL
Day 16: Lake Talquin, FL to Cedar Key, FL via Perry, FL
Day 17: Home to St. Petersburg via Crystal River and Hudson, FL
How Do I Travel 
Man, Chicago to Tampa by way of Texas? that sounds like it is going to be A LOT of fun. Sounds like a very interesting read, can’t wait!
Thanks so much @HitchAnything. We’re back and i’m trying to get started writing and organizing the pictures. Coming soon!