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I live in England and when I was in America we were sayign that we were going to Cornwall to a park attendant in Orlando and when we said it's an 8 hour journey she was saying, 'oh so it's not that bad'. I was in shock lol. I then realsied that you are in a bigger counrty and must drive for hours and hours so...
What is the longest car journey you have had?
Yeah, I've found that Europeans have no real conception of how big the U.S. is. While they understand in the abstract that it's big, they don't really "get it" until they come here and see for themselves.
Anyway, the longest one-day drive I've ever done was from central Illinois to Connecticut just outside of NYC, about 1,000 miles completed in just under 15 hours. The longest multiple-day journey was with my family when I was a kid. We drove from Chicago to L.A. to Phoenix to Houston and back to Chicago. Just the Chicago to L.A. leg alone was 2,000 miles, and the whole trip was about 6,000 miles over three weeks.
I live in England and when I was in America we were sayign that we were going to Cornwall to a park attendant in Orlando and when we said it's an 8 hour journey she was saying, 'oh so it's not that bad'. I was in shock lol. I then realsied that you are in a bigger counrty and must drive for hours and hours so...
What is the longest car journey you have had?
In the U.S., long car journeys are easier to take than in most of Europe because of:
1. Straight, WIDE interstate highways (as well as state and even local highways which are of a grade much higher than in most European countries)
2. Large displacement engines which generate little noise travelling at 75 or 80 mph.
3. Automatic transmission and cruise control. You wouldn't believe the difference cruise control makes on long journeys. Manual transmission dominates in virtually every country across the Atlantic, and even if you have do happen to have a manual car with cruise control, it's still work to shift it. In the U.S., on the trip between Duluth and Minneapolis (150 miles) I often make, I set the cruise control at 70 once on I-35 (about 4 miles in) and can often leave it on that for 100 - 120 miles - basically until I enter the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro.
4. The presence of "creature comforts" in cars - air conditioning is probably the largest of these, power seats, mirrors, and windows is another one (the latter a standard or an almost omnipresent option in pretty much all cars today), and even (increasingly) back-seat entertainment systems, satellite radio, etc. I realize many cars in Europe now have air conditioning, but it's been a standard feature of all but the cheapest American cars for at least two decades, and even the cheapest models have it on.
5. Relatively deserted yet excellent condition highways outside of major cities, although some European countries have them (and some, e.g. the Netherlands, do not).
6. Numerous highway-side businesses, not just a standard chain (e.g. AutoGrill in Italy). Of course, you'll have to exit for these if you're on an interstate highway, but exits are often closely spaced and usually have services available (shopping at Wal-Mart, eating at countless chains and local restaurants, etc.)
All of these things make long car journeys (and the attendant "road trip" culture) much more practicable in the United States (and Canada) than almost any European country. The Europeans I've known tend to own cars, but rarely take them more than 10 miles out of town, except perhaps on the occasional vacation. There are trains and low-cost flight for that, however; neither exist on a large scale in the US.
My family drove 17 hours straight from San Diego to Lubbock... I never want to do that again. We took a two week road trip up to Montana and some legs pushed 12 hours.
1650 miles in 2 days. From Missouri to Quebec, it was an awesome time that I will not soon forget. I have also traveled roughly 1300 miles another separate time from Missouri to Georgia and then down to Florida. I truly believe that there is nothing better then experiencing the world and that, with the good lord willing, is what I intend to do forever.
In the U.S., long car journeys are easier to take than in most of Europe because of:
1. Straight, WIDE interstate highways (as well as state and even local highways which are of a grade much higher than in most European countries)
2. Large displacement engines which generate little noise travelling at 75 or 80 mph.
3. Automatic transmission and cruise control. You wouldn't believe the difference cruise control makes on long journeys. Manual transmission dominates in virtually every country across the Atlantic, and even if you have do happen to have a manual car with cruise control, it's still work to shift it. In the U.S., on the trip between Duluth and Minneapolis (150 miles) I often make, I set the cruise control at 70 once on I-35 (about 4 miles in) and can often leave it on that for 100 - 120 miles - basically until I enter the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro.
4. The presence of "creature comforts" in cars - air conditioning is probably the largest of these, power seats, mirrors, and windows is another one (the latter a standard or an almost omnipresent option in pretty much all cars today), and even (increasingly) back-seat entertainment systems, satellite radio, etc. I realize many cars in Europe now have air conditioning, but it's been a standard feature of all but the cheapest American cars for at least two decades, and even the cheapest models have it on.
5. Relatively deserted yet excellent condition highways outside of major cities, although some European countries have them (and some, e.g. the Netherlands, do not).
6. Numerous highway-side businesses, not just a standard chain (e.g. AutoGrill in Italy). Of course, you'll have to exit for these if you're on an interstate highway, but exits are often closely spaced and usually have services available (shopping at Wal-Mart, eating at countless chains and local restaurants, etc.)
All of these things make long car journeys (and the attendant "road trip" culture) much more practicable in the United States (and Canada) than almost any European country. The Europeans I've known tend to own cars, but rarely take them more than 10 miles out of town, except perhaps on the occasional vacation. There are trains and low-cost flight for that, however; neither exist on a large scale in the US.
And also, going to a different country in Europe is like going to a different state in America (France is the size of Texas, Germany is the size of Montana). Europeans probably visit more countries, but that's only because their countries are so small. You can find so much variety in America because of the size so there's not as much of a need for Americans to visit other countries.
The most boring and longest drive was from my hometown of San Diego to San Antonio, Texas. it was 1276.09 miles through the most boring scenery. Arizona and New Mexico were beautiful, but the drive between El Paso and San Antonio was so boring. It was some of the most boring scenery I have ever seen
I just completed MY longest drive this past saturday.
I did an LA to Seattle trip, but did an overnight in the Bay Area to see some friends at my old university. Altogether, it was around 1210 miles.
I'm going back to LA at the end of next week, so by the end of this it will be around 2400 miles. Not bad, considering I did this drive all alone. Just imagine how dead my iPod must be. Good thing I have 8900 songs on it
A cross-country trip is in the works for next year. This time, I'll actually have people with me, and not be on my lonesome!
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My grandparents completed the circle to return to Everett, WA, bringing their total to about 4400 miles. 
This time, I'll actually have people with me, and not be on my lonesome!
