Traveling cross-country can be a truly amazing adventure if you adopt the right strategies. The key is to introduce diversity into the potentially monotonous journey and take care of yourself so that you arrive with your stamina intact.

PLAN FOR TIME

Schedule enough time to get to your destination so that you aren't rushed. Once you calculate the time it will take, add an extra day, if possible. You can always find a way to spend the extra time when traveling across the U.S.

If you don't provide enough time, every little obstacle and delay will make you angry. The problem is, over the course of a cross-country trip, you'll encounter lots of little obstacles and delays.

Even if you don't get angry, you'll feel pressured to make your schedule. That pressure will make the trip less enjoyable as you won't be able to enjoy the trip and take the time to make those little discoveries that can cheer and inspire you.

PLAN FOR DIVERSITY

The highway is monotonous. You've got to break it up, which you can do in a variety of ways. Here are a couple that work for me.

When you plan your root, pick out a couple attractions you really want to check out. These can be simple roadside attractions, or little towns you want to drive through. Heck, it could be a national park or national forest for that matter. Whatever it is, schedule it and go. You'll feel like an explorer and your trip will be more fun as a result.

Or, if you need to get from point "A" to point "B" without stopping, at least plan some secondary highways or back roads to break up the scenery. I have driven Interstate 70 across the U.S. more times than I care to remember. I thought all of Kansas looked like I70 until I drove a few minutes away from the highway. It's a whole new country out there!

THE ONLINE SUPER HIGHWAY

I'm addicted to my computer and the internet. Thus, the only bad thing about cross-country trips for me is being offline.

I've found that some states, like Iowa, have wireless access at rest areas. Most hotels and many motels now provide free wireless, as is true with some restaurants and truckstops. I simply pull into the parking lot for a quick internet fix and am on the road before you know it.

DON'T SKIMP ON THE BED

I can drive twenty-four hours without stopping. That usually gets me from my door to Denver, Colorado. What I've learned is, what I do from there on out determines the quality of my trip. If I push it and try to sleep

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