Best roadtrip routes as determined by machines
This is a great data mining project from Randy Olson who was inspired by Discovery News to plot out the optimal road trip path through every one of the 48 contiguous states.
With 50 landmarks to put in order, we would have to exhaustively evaluate 3 x 10^64
possible routes to find the shortest one.
That's a monumental task for a person, but not quite so big for a computer. So that's where Randy used Google Maps API and machine learning to plot out the map. But he didn't just make one map. He made several, and not just for the United States either (London, Canada, France, and Germany are included too!).
You can visit all 47 National Parks with almost no backtracking (efficient!!!), you can simply step foot in 48 states by visiting 50 major US landmarks, you can even skip the boring parts and go straight for popular destinations in all 48 states!
And if you don't drive, there are walking tours too for NYC and Philadelphia!
6 years since my first trip to Detroit
Photo by Herman Yung
July 16, 2010. This is how I traveled then. Light, duffel in hand and backpack with a camera on my back. I was trying to think of the last time I did something like this and I think it was the summer of 2013 when I drove from LA to NYC with Melanie. But even then, it wasn't quite like this. This was almost completely unplanned -- I remember being given a few days off work -- and I just got into a car with my packs and drove, first to Buffalo, NY, then across the top of the US toward Detroit (passing a little part of Ohio along the way).
At the time, I stayed in budget hotels as they were cost-effective for my needs (just a shower and a bed) and basically always had free internet (you wouldn't believe the number of "higher-end" hotels that charge for internet).
This particular trip was a few days long and I remember sleeping in the car for the first few days, completely unaware that at any moment, I was a prime target for robbery. I had a bright red car, NY plates, and no tinted windows. But I guess not knowing helped me to not be scared because I did it anyway. Only on the last night back toward NY did I stop at a hotel for a shower. It rained, I remember, as I was at Michigan Central Terminal and I had gotten cut while inside there so I needed some place to rest and clean my wound. I still have a scar on my left butt cheek from that wound. Don't worry, I won't share a photo of it. But it always reminds me of how much fun this trip by myself was. I think it's time for another.