Artists featured in Sal's Road Trip Playlist

I've prepared my 22 hours of programming, only slightly exceeding my allotted time - 60 hours of music at the ready! This should provide a good mix while in Shuffle mode.

My road trip playlist consists 900+ songs by the following artists: Alicia Keys, Archie Bell and the Drells, Arlo Guthrie, The Band, the Bar-Kays, Beastie Boys, Billy Joel, Black Sheep, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Canned Heat, Carole King, the Cars, Chic, Chick Corea, Chris Isaak, Chuck Brown, the Commodores, Dave Brubeck, David Newman, Dazz Band, Diana Ross, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Doobie Brothers, the Doors, Dr. John, Duke Ellington, Edie Brickell, Emmy Lou Harris, Galactic, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Gershwin (Manhattan Soundtrack), Indeep, J.J. Fad, the Jacksons, James Brown, James Taylor, John Caputo, John Lee Hooker, John Mellencamp, Johnny Adams, KC & the Sunshine Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Knack, Kool & the Gang, Kurtis Blow, Leon Redbone, Lightnin' Slim, Little Feat, Lou Rawls, Lyle Lovett, Madonna, Marvin Gaye, Mayer Hawthorne, Miles Davis, Moe, Montell Jordan, Mose Allison, Muddy Waters, Papa Grows Funk, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Paul Simon, Pete Seeger, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Prince & the Revolution, R.E.M., the Raconteurs, Ray Lynch, Reel Big Fish, Rick James, Rob Bass & DJ EZ Rock, Roy Orbison, S.O.S. Band, Santana, Steve Miller Band, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Stevie Wonder, Sugarhill Gang, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Taj Mahal, Talking Heads, TLC, Tom Waits, Trombone Shorty, Van Halen, Vanilla Ice, Velvet Underground, Wild Cherry, Willie Nelson, Yarborough & Peoples, and Young American Primitive.

Good Times indeed!

The Great American Road Trip: Music Considerations

66 hours... that's how long we'll be in the car as we drive across the US. Cecilia has already decreed that we each get 22 hours of music programming time, where we each determine the musical selections during drive time (how very democratic of her).

I have decided that my 22 hours of programming will consist of music by American artists only (this is the great American road trip after all). Unfortunately, this leaves out many of my favorites including Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, and Led Zeppelin. I guess I'll save those for the flight out to Oregon.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for Kelly and Cecilia), my portion of the programming will consist of heavy doses of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, the Doors, and Moe, just to name a few. I'm also including some jazz favorites like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and others. I'll mix in some late 70's R&B, some 80's old school hip-hop, and some Beastie Boys just to keep it funky.

Wondering what's in store when Cecilia has the programming wheel... hopefully not Justin Beiber. Wait... he's Canadian, right?

The Great American Road Trip: Planning Realizations

The great American roadtrip is less than 2 weeks ago. We're finalizing our plans and in doing so have some eye-opening realizations:

1. Longest day ever: Because our flight leaves very early in the morning, we'll need to be on the road to the Philly airport by 4:00 AM. So that means we're up by 3:15 AM or so. We'll gain 3 hours due to time zone changes so we'll still be in Portland, OR by just after noon local time. We have a few spots to see in Oregon before dinner, then a 2 hour drive to our hotel for the night. We should be checking in around 10 PM - making for a 18-19 hour first day. Hopefully, the views along the Columbia Gorge (see picture) will remind us we're making this trip in the first place.
   
   
2. River crossings: With all the flooding throughout the country, we need to check ahead near those cities where we'll be crossing major rivers like the Missouri and Mississippi. So far, those roads are passable.
   
   
3. States beginning with "I": It seems that states beginning with "I" have vast stretches of nothing to see. We anticipate a lot of music listening during passage through Idaho and Iowa.

Planning continues as does the anticipation!

The Great American Road Trip: Planning Underway

For years, we've been talking about seeing America the old-fashioned way... driving across the country. Now, we're close to making the trip a reality. We intend to share the experience with you by blogging along the way.

This summer, we're planning to complete the 1st leg of 3-part country tour - seeing some of the northern parts of the country. After flying to Portland, Oregon, our journey (see map) begins with a ride up the Pacific Coast to Cannon Beach, OR where we'll pick up the route taken by Lewis and Clark. Cecilia recently completed a several month study on the American pioneers and the Oregon Trail. We decided to incorporate a little field exercise to compliment that learning experience. The 3500-mile, 9-state trek winds its way through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, culminating with a scenic drive along Pennsylvania's Route 6 on the way home to Bensalem, PA.

Along the way, we'll be stopping to see some famous and not-so-famous attractions, including Haystack Rock, the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood, Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Thunder Basin National Grassland, Mount Rushmore, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Lake Michigan, and the NFL Hall of Fame. We're still exploring other sites along the journey.

In the future, we hope to travel along the southern portion of the US (leg 2) and then tour the New England states (leg 3). Stay tuned for more posts about our great American road trip!