4. FIND THE BEST ROUTE

If there's one thing you should remember on the road it's this: take your time. The best part about driving cross-country is driving cross-country. No matter how much you love the feel of the wind in your face while you jet down the highway, the trip always takes the most memorable turns when you get out there and explore. So if you see something on the side of the road that intrigues you (except for Crazy Roadside Killer Bob), pull over and check it out.

If you want to stick to a schedule and find the quickest way to get to your destination, mapquest.com can give you detailed route maps. But if you really want to be adventurous, there are a few roads that stand out as the quintessential road trip routes. So grab yourself a big-ass map and look at:

Route 66 (California to Chicago)

Also known as the "The Mother Road" and the "Main Street of America," Route 66 was the first all-weather highway to link Chicago to Los Angeles. It traverses through countryside and cityscapes, bumbling along from rural to urban while remaining the most popular highway in the country for tourists. It's for those who want to stop at country diners for milkshakes and those who appreciate things like Cadillac Ranch, a place where dozens of old painted Cadillacs are buried and propped nose-up along the horizon.

US-50 (California to Maryland)

The sole surviving non-interstate transcontinental highway, US-50 runs coast-to-coast, beginning in Oakland, CA, and ending in Ocean City, MD. Along its meandering 3,200 miles through the heart of America, the road cuts through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.

US-80 (California to Georgia)

Consider the US-80 if you're looking for some Southern Comfort. Over its 3,000-mile span, the road goes from the golden sand dunes of San Diego, to the prickly deserts of the Southwest, to the steamy bayous of the Mississippi Delta, to the foothills of the Appalachians, to the sea islands of Savannah.