The Ultimate Road Trip - NY to Florida to BMW Driving School to Vegas to Denver to NY

Automotive Goals · 08-01-2018, 01:20 AM

Last month I did a small road trip around the entire US. The trip took a total of 16 days. I did the trip with my Dad. My brother lives in Los Angeles and he just had a kid, so we decided to make a life time trip out of visiting our family on the West Coast.

I would say the trip started out about a month before we actually left New York. That is when I received my 2018 M4, that I was waiting for about 6 months. The month gave me time to drive the car a bit and have the break in service done, before we departed. I am glad we decided to take the M4 on the trip. The car is amazing. Plus the only bad roads that I drove on, where actually located in New York, where I live. Everywhere else, the roads were pretty much perfect. Which made the fact that we took a sports car on a long trip like this, very tolerable and did not really tire us out.

The trip started in New York, on a Saturday. I planned out the trip to drive about 750 miles per day at a maximum (with some layover days). First stop was South Carolina. Next stop was West Palm Beach, Florida. We stayed in Florida for two nights, to enjoy the warm water.

Third stop was Pensacola, Florida. I did not realize how freaking long Florida is. Took almost the entire day to drive from West Palm Beach to Pensecola. The white beaches in Pensacola, were worth the drive.

Did 2 more stops, before reaching BMW Performance Driving Center in Thermal, California. Last year, I was lucky enough to experience the driving school in South Carolina. This year, with this type of trip, I could not pass on the opportunity to take the 1 day M school, in Thermal, California.

Here are the highlights of the 1 Day M School:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSNUGasx-Gs&t=26s

Ummmm, it was AWESOME! Anyone that has the opportunity to go, do not pass on it! I got first place. Probably years of driving BMW's, helped....or I just got lucky.

After BMW Performance Center I drove to Los Angeles and visited my brother. Stayed at his house for 3 nights.

Next stop was Las Vegas. Stayed in Vegas, another 3 nights. Decided to keep the theme of making this a real car trip and rented a 2017 Lamborghini Huracan. Here is my 1 day review and some driving videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiUPzW-Nj1Q

I have been to Vegas a few times, but this was the first time I was able to find some real nice roads right next to Vegas. Basically if you go west or east of Vegas, you are going to be hitting mountains, with a lot of twisties. Roads were perfect for the Lamborghini. Loved the car, trying to put my kidney up on eBay....they keep taking it down.

After Vegas, drove to Denver, to stay overnight. The road from Vegas to Denver, is probably one of the nicest roads I have ever driven on. The mountains are very tall, so the roads keep going up, down, left and right. The views were breathtaking. Views wise, this stretch was the best from the entire trip, to drive on.

After Denver, it got really, really, really boring. Everything straightened out and all I saw was fields and dead straight roads. This lasted for quite some time. Basically until we reached Pennsylvania.

Once in PA, the roads became very familiar. As quickly as I left New York, the trip was over and we were back.

This was an awesome trip. I am a huge fan of driving, so I would certainly do this all over again (actually this is the second time we did this trip, last one was about 6 years ago). I am going to put up some photos of the trip below.

Here is a video of me driving through the entire US, in about 22 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WUGIM-5BOk&t=4s

Hope everyone enjoys the pictures and videos. Please do not hesitate to give me opinions on the videos. I am trying to make as many as possible and want to make sure that they keep improving with every video. So feedback is appreciated. Next video will be of MPACT. Follow me on YouTube if you want to check that meet out.

Automotive Goals · 08-01-2018, 01:21 AM

More photos.

Oh and we also did an oil change in Los Angles. I found a nice spot, that let's you just rent out a lift and work on the car yourself. So we changed the oil, used all OEM fluids and filter. This way got the second oil change done at about 5k miles.

BMWM5NYC · 08-01-2018, 01:27 AM

I have done the cross country drive 3 times. One time with the similiar route you took. Once in an E46 M3 once in an E60 M5 and Last year in my F10 M5. I love it Glad you enjoyed yourself. And I agree, the Western half of the US is much better scenery to drive through than the eastern half, I love driving through the mountains and the desert. Utah is one of the most beautiful states to drive through.

Automotive Goals · 08-01-2018, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWM5NYC

I have done the cross country drive 3 times. One time with the similiar route you took. Once in an E46 M3 once in an E60 M5 and Last year in my F10 M5. I love it Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Awesome. Glad to hear I am not the only crazy one!!! lol. I have an f10 m5, and was already trying to plan out another trip like this in the future, on the m5. It probably would have been even more comfortable, but the M4 was not bad at all.

BMWM5NYC · 08-01-2018, 01:52 AM

Well if you want a suggestion for a cross country route, I took the northern route west last year, as I had already done , southern and middle, I drove from here in the city to Chicago first. Then from Chicago to Mt Rushmore as I had never been and it was a bucket list item. From Mt Rushmore to Vegas, through Wyoming and Utah, Arizona. Then to LA. Visited SanDiego while staying in LA. Then headed back east , first stop Sedona AZ.(oh the scenery) Then from Sedona, to Dallas TX. (Wanted wife to see Dealey Plaza) then to Mississippi to visit family and from there back home to NY through , AL, GA, TN, West Virginia, VA, MD, PA , NJ and back to NY.

Speedwell-Industries · 08-01-2018, 11:17 AM

Awesome! This looks very fun!!

That's one heck of a road trip!

Automotive Goals · 08-01-2018, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWM5NYC

Well if you want a suggestion for a cross country route, I took the northern route west last year, as I had already done , southern and middle, I drove from here in the city to Chicago first. Then from Chicago to Mt Rushmore as I had never been and it was a bucket list item. From Mt Rushmore to Vegas, through Wyoming and Utah, Arizona. Then to LA. Visited SanDiego while staying in LA. Then headed back east , first stop Sedona AZ.(oh the scenery) Then from Sedona, to Dallas TX. (Wanted wife to see Dealey Plaza) then to Mississippi to visit family and from there back home to NY through , AL, GA, TN, West Virginia, VA, MD, PA , NJ and back to NY.

That sounds good. I would love to do a trip and drive around Colorado more. Washington State would be awesome as well.

Last trip I did, I went to San Francisco from Los Angles. The drive from San Francisco was a lot more boring back to New York. From Vegas to Denver, it was a lot more exciting this time around.

dardeca · 08-05-2018, 03:13 PM

OP - what color is your M4? Looks amazing.

E31BMW · 08-05-2018, 04:23 PM

Amazing write up and trip. Car looks beautiful.

ChuMpion3 · 08-05-2018, 04:49 PM

Bravo! I am a noob, what are the white dots on your route?

Kief · 08-05-2018, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dardeca

OP - what color is your M4? Looks amazing.

Looks like Tanzanite Blue to me

Automotive Goals · 08-06-2018, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dardeca

OP - what color is your M4? Looks amazing.

Thanks. Tanzanite Blue.

Automotive Goals · 08-06-2018, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuMpion3

Bravo! I am a noob, what are the white dots on your route?

I think Google maps puts the smaller white dots, to show a change of highway or road.

dardeca · 08-06-2018, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecoce1

Thanks. Tanzanite Blue.

Absolutely beautiful. What color is the interior? Is that an individual color? Looks a bit like caramel to me.

Automotive Goals · 08-06-2018, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dardeca

Absolutely beautiful. What color is the interior? Is that an individual color? Looks a bit like caramel to me.

The interior is full Golden Brown.

Fugly M3 · 06-30-2019, 02:06 PM

OP, this is awesome! I am grappling with doing the same in about a month for my Advanced M School at VIR...did you have trouble with rock chips, storms, hail, no spare tire anxiety? I am sure I'm over-thinking it but these things keep coming into my mind. I have full ceramic coating...but no clear bra. Car does already have 15k miles of LA rock/debris chips as it stands.

knightarmor · 06-30-2019, 08:45 PM

Nice trip!

08-01-2018, 01:20 AM	#1
Automotive Goals Captain 563 Rep 776 Posts Drives: 2000 M5, 2018 M550i, 2022 M4 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: brooklyn, ny iTrader: (3)	The Ultimate Road Trip - NY to Florida to BMW Driving School to Vegas to Denver to NY Last month I did a small road trip around the entire US. The trip took a total of 16 days. I did the trip with my Dad. My brother lives in Los Angeles and he just had a kid, so we decided to make a life time trip out of visiting our family on the West Coast. I would say the trip started out about a month before we actually left New York. That is when I received my 2018 M4, that I was waiting for about 6 months. The month gave me time to drive the car a bit and have the break in service done, before we departed. I am glad we decided to take the M4 on the trip. The car is amazing. Plus the only bad roads that I drove on, where actually located in New York, where I live. Everywhere else, the roads were pretty much perfect. Which made the fact that we took a sports car on a long trip like this, very tolerable and did not really tire us out. The trip started in New York, on a Saturday. I planned out the trip to drive about 750 miles per day at a maximum (with some layover days). First stop was South Carolina. Next stop was West Palm Beach, Florida. We stayed in Florida for two nights, to enjoy the warm water. Third stop was Pensacola, Florida. I did not realize how freaking long Florida is. Took almost the entire day to drive from West Palm Beach to Pensecola. The white beaches in Pensacola, were worth the drive. Did 2 more stops, before reaching BMW Performance Driving Center in Thermal, California. Last year, I was lucky enough to experience the driving school in South Carolina. This year, with this type of trip, I could not pass on the opportunity to take the 1 day M school, in Thermal, California. Here are the highlights of the 1 Day M School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSNUGasx-Gs&t=26s Ummmm, it was AWESOME! Anyone that has the opportunity to go, do not pass on it! I got first place. Probably years of driving BMW's, helped....or I just got lucky. After BMW Performance Center I drove to Los Angeles and visited my brother. Stayed at his house for 3 nights. Next stop was Las Vegas. Stayed in Vegas, another 3 nights. Decided to keep the theme of making this a real car trip and rented a 2017 Lamborghini Huracan. Here is my 1 day review and some driving videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiUPzW-Nj1Q I have been to Vegas a few times, but this was the first time I was able to find some real nice roads right next to Vegas. Basically if you go west or east of Vegas, you are going to be hitting mountains, with a lot of twisties. Roads were perfect for the Lamborghini. Loved the car, trying to put my kidney up on eBay....they keep taking it down. After Vegas, drove to Denver, to stay overnight. The road from Vegas to Denver, is probably one of the nicest roads I have ever driven on. The mountains are very tall, so the roads keep going up, down, left and right. The views were breathtaking. Views wise, this stretch was the best from the entire trip, to drive on. After Denver, it got really, really, really boring. Everything straightened out and all I saw was fields and dead straight roads. This lasted for quite some time. Basically until we reached Pennsylvania. Once in PA, the roads became very familiar. As quickly as I left New York, the trip was over and we were back. This was an awesome trip. I am a huge fan of driving, so I would certainly do this all over again (actually this is the second time we did this trip, last one was about 6 years ago). I am going to put up some photos of the trip below. Here is a video of me driving through the entire US, in about 22 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WUGIM-5BOk&t=4s Hope everyone enjoys the pictures and videos. Please do not hesitate to give me opinions on the videos. I am trying to make as many as possible and want to make sure that they keep improving with every video. So feedback is appreciated. Next video will be of MPACT. Follow me on YouTube if you want to check that meet out. Attached Images __________________
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08-01-2018, 01:21 AM	#2
Automotive Goals Captain 563 Rep 776 Posts Drives: 2000 M5, 2018 M550i, 2022 M4 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: brooklyn, ny iTrader: (3)	More photos. Oh and we also did an oil change in Los Angles. I found a nice spot, that let's you just rent out a lift and work on the car yourself. So we changed the oil, used all OEM fluids and filter. This way got the second oil change done at about 5k miles. Attached Images __________________
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08-01-2018, 01:27 AM	#3
BMWM5NYC Captain 496 Rep 812 Posts Drives: 2013 F10 Monte Carlo Blue M5 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	I have done the cross country drive 3 times. One time with the similiar route you took. Once in an E46 M3 once in an E60 M5 and Last year in my F10 M5. I love it Glad you enjoyed yourself. And I agree, the Western half of the US is much better scenery to drive through than the eastern half, I love driving through the mountains and the desert. Utah is one of the most beautiful states to drive through. __________________ Formally known as BMWM3NYC
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08-01-2018, 01:52 AM	#5
BMWM5NYC Captain 496 Rep 812 Posts Drives: 2013 F10 Monte Carlo Blue M5 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Well if you want a suggestion for a cross country route, I took the northern route west last year, as I had already done , southern and middle, I drove from here in the city to Chicago first. Then from Chicago to Mt Rushmore as I had never been and it was a bucket list item. From Mt Rushmore to Vegas, through Wyoming and Utah, Arizona. Then to LA. Visited SanDiego while staying in LA. Then headed back east , first stop Sedona AZ.(oh the scenery) Then from Sedona, to Dallas TX. (Wanted wife to see Dealey Plaza) then to Mississippi to visit family and from there back home to NY through , AL, GA, TN, West Virginia, VA, MD, PA , NJ and back to NY. __________________ Formally known as BMWM3NYC
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08-01-2018, 11:17 AM	#6
Speedwell-Industries 434 Rep 884 Posts Drives: 2017 YMB M3 Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Southern California iTrader: (0)	Awesome! This looks very fun!! That's one heck of a road trip!
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08-05-2018, 03:13 PM	#8
dardeca Major 500 Rep 1,313 Posts Drives: 2019 M5 Competition Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Dallas iTrader: (2)	OP - what color is your M4? Looks amazing. __________________ E92 M3 Supplemental manual p.38: "The laws of physics cannot be repealed, even with DSC."
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08-05-2018, 04:23 PM	#9
E31BMW Major 97 Rep 1,223 Posts Drives: Cars! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: NYC iTrader: (28)	Amazing write up and trip. Car looks beautiful.
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08-05-2018, 04:49 PM	#10
ChuMpion3 Lieutenant 327 Rep 417 Posts Drives: M3 DCT (x2) Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NYC Area iTrader: (0)	Bravo! I am a noob, what are the white dots on your route?
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06-30-2019, 02:06 PM	#16
Fugly M3 Major General 5021 Rep 5,090 Posts Drives: 2023 M3CX Join Date: May 2006 Location: SoCal iTrader: (5)	OP, this is awesome! I am grappling with doing the same in about a month for my Advanced M School at VIR...did you have trouble with rock chips, storms, hail, no spare tire anxiety? I am sure I'm over-thinking it but these things keep coming into my mind. I have full ceramic coating...but no clear bra. Car does already have 15k miles of LA rock/debris chips as it stands. __________________ 2024 M4CX M2C PCD M2C Mountain West Roadie M4 Cross Country Roadie 2017 230i ED 2023 G87 Nurburgring Trip Last edited by Fugly M3; 06-30-2019 at 02:24 PM..
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06-30-2019, 08:45 PM	#17
knightarmor Lieutenant Colonel 853 Rep 1,549 Posts Drives: 2017 M3 Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Washington iTrader: (2)	Nice trip!
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