Best travel reference & tips books according to redditors

Weird roadside attractions! Find all the silly little things (second biggest chair in 1981, largest firehydrant, corn palace, second largest pencil, etc) you can possibly see, just for the experience. And check out the national parks along the way.

If you're planning on going out to bars/restaurants where you stop, one thing my friend and I did was get cheap-o rings that could pass as engagement rings so we could wear them out. I can't actually say whether we would've been bothered if we didn't have them, but it was a little protection from being chatted up and also led us to spend hours giggling and developing back stories of our hypothetical fiances.

Also, I received The Bad Girl's Guide To The Open Road as a gag gift when I turned 16 and I've just always kept it in my car. It's a bit of practical advice but mostly fun anecdotes and games along the road which are at the least entertaining to read to each other as you drive if you're not solo! Or just look up fun road trip games (marshmallow toss, etc) and jot some down.

Edit: just remembered, as for snacks be wary of the salt. A lot of the foods that are convenient to munch on while driving are also very salty. Dried fruit (mango! just don't eat too much or you'll have some... Emergency bathroom breaks), fresh fruit, etc are super important. I also really liked having sucking candies like werther's or jolly ranchers, they're a good way to prevent bored eating.

Audiobooks that are visually descriptive worked the best for me. I loved Ready Player One as a roadtrip audiobook if you're into 80's culture and fantasy, and a bit of a guilty pleasure The Outlander series worked well lots of romance and suspense and descriptive scenery (not something I'd ever opt to read, but it worked on the road). If you're into mythology then the Iron Druid Chronicles were good road trip listening too.

Have fun!

The NatGeo Scenic Highways & Byways is a good book for making plans.

I would do a bit of local camping first to see what works for you and what doesn't.

• Cigarettes (Marlboro Red) are a currency, especially along the borders
  
• Commuter Buses will stop anywhere along the road
  
• You aren't going to be kidnapped - hitch hiking is safe
  
• Accept invitations for lunch or dinner
  
• Ignore the garbage along the road
  
• Use all your senses and absorb the environment
  
• Always use a water canteen and iodine tabs - your body is not prepared for their water
  
• Be friendly and smile
  
• Don't forget that you are there to learn about other cultures, not show them yours
  
• Buy Adventure travel in the Third World
  
  Depending on where you are going and how remote, you might also want to look into a local guide. I have never used one but I will be doing more remote trips soon and they are said to be invaluable - otherwise people might take your presence as hostile.

Cars

Photography

Comic Books 1, 2

Apple

LEGO's

American Football

PostSecret

Video Games

Vinyl

Warhol

Outdoors

Star Wars

Motorcycles

The Dark Knight

Paris

Interior Design

World Atlas

Banksy

Wes Anderson

Tribal Cultures

Playboy

Girls

Libraries

The Cosmos

The Beetles

Travel

Preppy

Steve McQueen

The Moon

Don't listen to the haters, OP. You've got this. I suggest that you read a couple of books on RV and van living, though. It will give you a great perspective.

There are a lot of workarounds for modern convenience. Living in an RV is not an easy prospect, but it is very doable.

Here are a few practical guides, though many of them pertain to living in a 15 passenger or cargo van.

How to Live in a Car, Van or RV

The VanDweller's Guide

Van Living: The Freedom of the Road

The Tiniest Mansion

Live In a Van, Truck, Trailer, or Motorhome

Living in a Van Down By The River

My House Has Wheels

The Simple RV Life

So, You Want to Be an RVer?

Retire To an RV


Here's one just for fun, though you may glean something from it.
Walden On Wheels

I also suggest /r/vandwellers and /r/gorving for tips and tricks on living in a small mobile space.

Read this

Hey there! Early 30s here, and have run the gamut of failures and successes, from overcoming divorce to losing 60 pounds. Here are a few keys:

• You are totally normal in your goals for where you're at in life. You're in the phase of wanting increased independence and adventure, and you have limited time to do that. That's a great place to be.
  
  
• Listen to what you said: "I secretly hate the type of personality that will be required of me to do well there." You've made an assumption that in order to make a living, you have to be a corporate lemming or a tool. There are a zillion different ways to make money, so go with your gut and avoid something that doesn't sound fulfilling. Did you know you can be get free room and board while working on a goat farm in France? Now you do. More on that below.
  
  
• When I was in my early and mid-20s, I was paralyzed by the number of things I wanted to accomplish, and ultimately did nothing about them because it was too overwhelming. It was only when I picked one thing at a time and worked toward it that things started happening. First, that was changing careers. Second, it was finally getting my health together.
  
  
• Don't take life too seriously! Have fun with this! Your goals will change over time. I guarantee you in a decade you will look back and chuckle about some of the things you want right now compared to then. That's good! That's okay!
  
  On a practical level, here's my advice:
  
  
• Go read the book Vagabonding by Rolf Potts to learn about long term travel.
  
  
• Go look at the site Nomadic Matt to learn about travel hacking. I highly recommend the community forum. Tons of people want to help you travel.
  
  
• Go look at sites like HelpX and WorkAway to learn about how you could take time to travel while also working.
  
  Bottom line: You can do whatever you want. Pick something - I suggest travel - and make it happen. Stay true to who you are, don't become a corporate stooge for the money. In 20 years you will wake up and realize you wasted your youth and freedom.
  
  Keep us posted.
  
  Sam
  

No one says you must have to be somewhere first. But if you can, you'd be an idiot not to go somewhere.

Don't be an idiot... Just go... here's something that might help: http://www.amazon.com/Journeys-Lifetime-Worlds-Greatest-Trips/dp/1426201257

This is in fact how crap stats are spread. Ask anyone who knows about hippo and human encounters. The FAO is a real organization under the auspices of the UN. Don't take my word for it. Just look it up. Here's a National Geographic source.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1426201257/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?keywords=national%20geographic&qid=1351193645&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

Bob Wells' How to Live in a Car, Van or RV. Good overview and only $3.

For boondocking I liked:
Sunny Skye's RV Boondocking Basics: Living Well on the Road Less Graveled and pretty much anything by Difley.

You would be surprised at how many resources there are to assist you in your solo fem journey. I gave a book on the best places to travel solo book to a friend for her birthday last year, but I also saw:

1. One
   
2. Two
   
3. Three
   Looks like there are a lot of memoirs as well, so I'm sure you can find one that is more targeted towards Europe.
   
   One of my biggest regrets during my travels in Europe when I was 20 was that it took me too long to venture out alone. When I finally did, I was perfectly fine, met lots of people, and had the time of my life. Just prepare yourself and go with confidence.
   :) Good luck.

In terms of preexisting islands, there are plenty of places which wouldn't mind selling the land to you (in the same way you could buy a small island in, say, the Great Lakes)...but giving up sovereignty would be another matter entirely. And in the history of "micronations", even if you were able to manage that, you very likely wouldn't be afforded the same protections other nations have if and when the former owners decide for whatever reason to renege on the deal and take the land back by force. In terms of man-made islands, the UN passed a resolution a few decades ago to the effect that any landmass, natural or man-made, which has not already claimed by a recognized sovereign nation, and is in international waters, would automatically default to the jurisdiction of the nearest sovereign country. Since the concept I linked to above wouldn't technically be a LANDmass, the people behind it reasoned they'd be exempt from said resolution. Here's a couple of related books, if you're interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Micronations-General-Reference-John-Ryan/dp/1741047307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254563140&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/How-Start-Your-Own-Country/dp/1581605242/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254563185&sr=1-1

The problem is that practically everything Marvel-related takes place in New York.

Because, well, practically every U.S.-based fiction takes place in New York.

Rob Redmond moved from Atlanta to Japan to train for two years. he wrote a book about his adventures in and out of the dojo.
http://www.amazon.com/Year-Chicken-Rob-Redmond/dp/1430328045

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

This is the book for you...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBFMKM/

You don't need to be rich to travel. A lot of places can be cheaper than where you're from.

https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel-ebook/dp/B000FBFMKM

Read this book, imo.

I was in electrical/computer engineering, so I think I can relate. Just graduated 2 months ago.

• The workload seems intimidating, but it's really not that bad. Professors and other students alike will tell you that you guys "are in for a ride" and that you're "sacrificing for the future" - you do have more work than others but that doesn't mean it has to be your life. This kind of notion spreads because 1) it makes the program seem challenging from the outside and inside, and 2) it makes students feel like academic juggernauts. Realize that it's not that bad - tons of people do it every year.
  
  
• Parkinson's Law: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." IE - don't feel bad about procrastinating. Accept it, and spend your time having fun instead of worrying. You'll quickly learn the "bare minimum time needed" to get shit done.
  
  
• Talk to girls. Lots of them. Go to the dining hall, sit down, and just chat. Freshman year is one of the best times to experiment with your social skills; everyone's re-integrating.
  
  
• Don't buy books. I didn't buy any books my last two years in college; chances are you can find an old edition of the text online or just borrow from a friend that has rich parents.
  
  
• Make friends in your classes and learn to help each other. If you realize that university is more of a business than an education, you won't feel so bad about cooperating so that you can spend your time developing as a person, and not as a slave.
  
  
• Exams test you on the basics of the material. I'm not saying you should do this, but I didn't go to many classes at all during my last two years and I did just fine. I talked to the TAs, went to the review sessions, did the homeworks, and studied with friends. Sitting down and listening to someone drone on while you scramble to record everything does nothing for your education; reading books, studying independently, and engaging in one-on-one review is way more effective, for me anyways.
  
  
• Start a business now. Something small and unrelated to your discipline is fine. My current employer didn't even look at my GPA - they saw that I started a business, was involved with extracurriculars, and started a photography club. Extra-academic initiative says way more than following the lockstep of a cookie-cutter curriculum. Worst-case scenario, you spend time developing tons of skills (well, I suppose you could always die). Best-case, you don't need a job.
  
  
  
• Get a motorcycle. It's incredibly fun, not only for you, but for the girls that you meet that have never been on one before. Getting someone else's adrenaline pumping is almost as exhilarating as getting your own pumping :). Of course, take the MSF course before you put anyone on the back.
  
  
• Don't worry about having a super high GPA. I graduated with a 3.0/4.0 yet I had multiple job offers; it's more about the personality and initiative. GPA's a re a convenient way to filter through thousands of online applications; a smile and a solid handshake will pull ahead of a GPA in any personal engagement, at least in my experience.
  
  
• Go to career fairs. Even as a freshman. I noticed that anyone who got an internship freshman year had internships every year, and job offers lined up before everyone else.
  
  
• Work out regularly. Endorphins are a hell of a drug.
  
  
• These books had a HUGE impact on me. Wish I'd read them freshman year:
  
  Don't let school get in the way of your education.
  
  Learn about human sexuality.
  
  Learn how to outsource, but be very skeptical about some of the philosophy in this book.
  
  Travel.
  
  
  
• and finally, don't do any hard drugs
  
  My 2cents. Have fun :)
  

This map is from page 23 of Lonely Planet's book on micronations.

Hi all,

My first (and only) book! I decided to self-publish a collection of blogs from a charity event I took part in around 18 months ago, where two friends and I drove from the UK to Mongolia in a 1.1 litre car. I blogged on the road, and they formed the majority of this book.

UK Amazon,
Paperback

I don't claim to be a fantastic writer, the only reason to self-publish was to share some of our great stories and perhaps even ignite a desire for the reader to travel.

Feels great to have finally finished it. If anyone fancied reading it, I'm happy to provide free copies - just send me a message and I'll email you the .epub or .mobi

Thanks!

A very enjoyable post, I loved reading your thoughts. Would this happen to be your book? Cause if so I'm actually interested in getting it as a gift for a friend of mine who's an aspiring traveler.

Do you have any plans to author any works on Armenia or its culture/soviet/locations/what-have-you in the future? I enjoyed your writing style and wouldn't mind exploring it some more from a perspective such as yours.

"Don't Go There. It's Not Safe. You'll Die.: And other more rational advice for overlanding Mexico & Central America"

Check this out if you haven't already. I haven't read it yet but its on my list.
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-There-Safe-Youll-Die/dp/0983512744

The guy who runs the CheapRVLiving YouTube channel has a pretty short book about full timing which you can find here. In it he talks a lot about the dangers that come with the lifestyle, the fear, and how in the end, if you wanna pursue full timing you have to face it. I can't recommend the book enough, Bob is fantastic and reading it helped me clear my head about full timing quite a bit. Can't wait to start full timing myself but I can't pretend I'm not a little scared still.

I'm driving from Alaska to Panama starting July. I'm thinking of trying to put a convoy of sorts together along the way when I get to Mexico. I just ordered this book and this book. Both were highly recommended.

http://www.international.gc.ca/experience/intro_incoming-intro_entrant.aspx?lang=eng

Get yourself a working holiday here in Canada. Not many Canadians go the other way, but as I hear it told the quota for coming TO Canada fills up pretty fast so apply as soon as you know you want to come here (only 5300-ish spots were available for UK citizens for 2014 and the quota for rounds 1 and 2 were filled the day they were opened and within 3 days for the 3rd round). If you miss it there's always the next year etc until you turn 30.

There's similar programs for you to go to Australia.

I don't know about the USA though. That being said once you get into Canada, you can easily drive or take the bus/train across the border into the US. You wont be able to work there though.

Take advantage of the working holiday visa prgrams while you have the chance. I didn't learn about them until I was about to turn 30 and I wish I had known sooner. Once that time is gone you'll never get it back. However, University will always be there and employers love international and life experience. I've landed several jobs when recruiters were impressed by my ability to travel and live solo in other countries.

They seem to like that independance and ability to manage in strange and stressful environments apparently.

If you need someone to help you set it up, there's lots of organizations that will do it, for a fee. But they're rarely mandatory and, in the end, it's more satisfying to accomplish these things on your own. Many people on this board can help you if you get stuck on some details.

Also, Lonely Planet (http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/world/the-big-trip/) and Rough Guides (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rough-Guide-First-Time-Around-World/dp/1848365101) publish books intended to guide you through the process of planning your first gap year. Pick up one of those and give it a read for a lot of useful tips and destination ideas.

> essenciais para quê?

Eu tava pensando mais sobre os animes que mais marcaram, que ajudaram a moldar o gênero, os primeiros que o pessoal geralmente assiste, os clássicos e tal, algo na vibe desse livro: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die


Citando você mesmo:

> é sempre válido conhecer

Exatamente isso, antes de determinar ou de descubrir qual caminho eu vou trilhar dentro do hobby eu acho super valído conhecer o que existe e é aclamado pela comunidade de maneira geral.

> Você tem também o (pequeno) segmento de pessoas que vão atrás dos chamados "clássicos", aquelas obras que criaram tendências e que são super importantes pra história da mídia

Atrás disso que estou a principio, e partir daí eu me viro, sabe? haha

Oh– haha, I guess the Japanese culture stuff is not so exciting, then!
I grew up in rural America, and had a similar experience with NYC– reading Marvel comics as a kid meant I knew where a bunch of places were, though I didn't understand until I lived here why certain things were the way they were (when Peter Parker goes from his home in Flushing, Queens, to see the Fantastic Four Midtown East, for example, is laden with meaning if you know those neighborhoods!).
There are some Marvel-themed tours of NYC: here, here and here

Kata: The Folk Dances of Shotokan - lulu.com

The Year of the Chicken - Amazon.ca | Amazon.com

I really enjoyed the Kata book. Have yet to purchase Year of the Chicken, but it is on my wishlist.

I use an designer on fiverr and he always does a great job for a tenner.
Here are a couple of examples.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L7DRU02

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1UKZC6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CI6SZOQ

There are books available on road tripping in the US like this, that show you the best non interstate roads to take.

A lot of the trip is sculpted to conform to the recommended routes in this book. The Nebraska waypoints are only there for that reason. I don't plan on doing a lot of stopping there. After Colorado, it's mostly high tailing it back to NY.

I had thought about going farther up in to Oregon, but I've decided to save that for another trip. There's so much I want to see in OR, WA, WY and MT, that I think I'm going to save for summer.

I did the vanlife thing for about a year after I ETS'd. I converted a 2001 Dodge Ram conversion van and traveled around out west. Was fun but can't imagine doing that while still active. Anyway here's some resources I used.

https://www.amazon.com/Live-RV-Debt-Travel-Freedom-ebook/dp/B008S129XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538577349&sr=8-1&keywords=robert+wells+book

​

freecampsites.net

​

https://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums/index.php

​

r/vandwellers

Depends on what kind of travel you prefer but these are a few I've read and heartily recommend:

Vagabonding by Rolf Potts

• My bible for motivation and the reasons why I travel. Lots of information about why you should prioritise travel in your life.
  
  
  A Short Ride in the Jungle by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent
  
  
• A young british women rides the original Ho Chi Minh trail, well written with a great amount of history thrown in.
  
  
  Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
  
  
• Not your standard travel book, Guy draws daily life in the countries he's living with his wife. This book is all about his time in Burma (Myanmar)
  
  
  Jupiters Travels by Ted Simon
  
  
• Another motorcycle adventure book, Ted rode around the world on a Triumph back in 1973. Great example of don't fret about things outside your control.
  
   
  
  If anybody has any similar recommendations based on the above I'd love to hear them too :)
  

Loney Planet put out a travel guide on Micro Nations a few years ago. It's a pretty fun read:

http://www.amazon.com/Micronations-General-Reference-John-Ryan/dp/1741047307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240042898&sr=8-1

I'd recommend picking up a copy of The Next Exit.

Jeff Randall and mike Perrin are very nice and very smart gentlemen, and their book gives realistic information of making it through other countries.

A friend of the family runs this site:

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/wander-tips/wanderluster-tips/

She also has a book out by the same name that I picked up recently. I haven't actually had time to read through it yet, but I know she's done a hell of a lot of traveling in the past several years and is no dummy. Might be worth taking a look if you get a chance?

There's actually a book called 1000 places to see before you die, check it out.

I use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Bay-Area-Backroads-Deck-California/dp/0811834360/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483577183&sr=8-2&keywords=bay+area+backroads

Someone I know on a forum wrote a book about his trip;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Want-Breakfast-Mongol-Rally-Experience-ebook/dp/B007QVRYSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407581915&sr=8-1&keywords=you+want+breakfast+now%3F

Im not sure on euro vehicles (maybe the large ford transit with bike carrier?), but there are a few good newbie guides out there. Bob Wells has a pretty good ebook that covers the basics
https://www.amazon.com/Live-RV-Debt-Travel-Freedom-ebook/dp/B008S129XY
His website cheaprvliving is a good resource too, if you dig through his articles and blogs you can basically glean all the info from the book too.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die, the second edition: Completely Revised and Updated with Over 200 New Entries

I have this fantastic book and whenever I travel I try to catch one of these drives while I’m there. It will give you a short writeup about stops that you can make a long the drive to give you a framework of where to start exploring the area.

The Most Scenic Drives in America.

Exactly, trying to eyeball the blue food/gas/lodging signs as you approach each exit and crossing your fingers that the exit you pick doesn't lead you 5 miles off your route to get to the damn gas station.... I've wanted this forever.I'm almost resigned to buying this damn book of all things: http://www.amazon.com/Next-Exit-2015-Complete-Interstate/dp/0984692134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421349056&sr=8-1&keywords=exit+guide+highway+2015

Just random notes -

• go to the library (or buy your own) and check out guide books like National Geographic's Scenic Hwys or Road Trip USA to get ideas for scenic drives along your route
  
• if within your diet, Memphis BBQ
  
• maybe go no farther than Hot Springs the first day
  
• example of scenic highway you can find in those guide books - Talimena
  
• maybe Amarillo, TX, for the second day - Cadillac Ranch, Palo Duro Canyon SP nearby
  
• Santa Fe for food and museums the 3rd day; maybe overnight here or continue on to some place like Durango - lots in the Santa Fe area like Bandelier NM, Jemez Springs Mt Trail, Valles Caldera that you can check out while in Santa Fe or on your way to next destination
  
• Now you're entering a stretch where you wish you had more time. You could do Mesa Verde NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse Pt SP, Goblin Valley SP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP, Cedar Breaks NM, Snow Canyon SP but that would take a week; instead take as many scenic highways as you can - UT24, UT12, UT14, and more if you look. Hate to recommend not actually stopping at any of the national parks but you really don't have time - so take notes for your planning your next vacation; you can search out some cool restaurants on these scenic roads too. like Hells Backbone Grill; maybe overnight in St George for the 4th night (lodging near the National Parks is expensive and likely booked)
  
• maybe head to the Mammoth Lakes area for the 5th night
  
• You don't mention time of year for the trip, but if Tioga Rd is open (generally early June), take that and swallow the Yosemite entrance fee (unless you've already purchased a National Park pass for $80 that's good for a year); if Tioga Rd not open, then go up to Tahoe area before heading to San Francisco

Car camping is easiest and by far the cheapest, too ($10-20/night as opposed to $35-70/night, since you'll be in peak season). It's nice because after you've been driving all day, you can stretch your legs and go on a pleasant hike, take in some beautiful scenery. You really do get used to it, and most facilities offer showers. Motels can attract sketchy crowds, but aren't as bad if you're driving through a small or mid-sized city. You might also want to try /r/meetup, I've heard of redditors putting others up.

I've done two major road trips in my life, one for six weeks from LA -> Pacific 1/101 -> Olympic Peninsula/Seattle -> Canada/Banff -> Dakotas -> Wisconsin -> Illinois. I also did Illinois -> Dakotas/Badlands -> Yellowstone -> Utah/Zion -> California. I also backpacked Europe. I'm happy to answer questions.

Where are you going? If you're in the US, a good book is Road Trip USA .

Edit: formats

Here is the comment linked in the above comment:

> essenciais para quê?

Eu tava pensando mais sobre os animes que mais marcaram, que ajudaram a moldar o gênero, os primeiros que o pessoal geralmente assiste, os clássicos e tal, algo na vibe desse livro: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die


Citando você mesmo:

> é sempre válido conhecer

Exatamente isso, antes de determinar ou de descubrir qual caminho eu vou trilhar dentro do hobby eu acho super valído conhecer o que existe e é aclamado pela comunidade de maneira geral.

Comment by: u/winterwulf | Subreddit: r/animebrasil | Date and Time: 2018-03-30 16:35:10 UTC |

I'm a bot. Please click on the link in the original comment to vote.

Regardless of where you decide to go i'd suggest this book. It has a lot of good info on where to go, where to stay, what sort of budgets you can expect in different parts of the world. it's quite inspirational. Who knows you may just want to turn that 12 day trip into a longer one :)

http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-First-Time-Around-Edition/dp/1848365101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341340852&sr=8-1&keywords=first+time+around+the+world

BTW, I traveled alone for the first time last year through S.E Asia for 6 weeks and was horrified. That fear lasted about 1 day, after arriving at my first hostel I met so many people and just went with the flow and ended up having traveling partners for a few weeks of my trip.

Good luck and have fun!

We really liked Jack London state historic park. http://www.parks.sonoma.net/JLPark.html

You'll find there are a huge number of day trip worthy things in the bay area.

Great bunch of day trips in this deck thingy.
http://www.amazon.com/Bay-Area-Backroads-Deck-California/dp/0811834360

>whatever happens once is absolutely guaranteed to happen again

I think you're absolutely wrong about that. The universe is like an irrational number, infinite and non-repeating.

It's actually going to take you a lot more than 20 billion years to investigate everything in the universe. How long do you think it would take you to see the amazing places to see on the Earth? Well, let's start with this book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and figure we'll limit ourselves to 1,000 places per planet and let's say it takes 3 days to fully see the place and other cool things in the area. So now we're at 3,000 days, which is just over 8 years.

As I said before, there are 10^24 planets right now. So just checking out the planets is going to take 8*10^24 years. That doesn't take into the account the travel times between them, nor the new planets that are forming while you're doing that, nor all the other cool things to check out, and that's just one pass through.

I understand I still have all the time in the universe left to do it again and again and again, but I'd rather be alive and learning than dead and gone.

Maybe the best state of affairs would be the ability to live as long as you wanted and then only death when you choose to commit suicide.

An aquantance of mine did it a few years ago and wrote a book on it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakfast-Mongol-Rally-Experience-ebook/dp/B007QVRYSW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

he had a wicked time by all accounts, and talks of it often. I'd love to do it!

I would recommend Bob Wells' "How to Live in a Car, Van or RV". It has the basic, nuts-and-bolts info you need to get out there.

Remember you don't need a sweet craftsman conversion to travel, save money and have adventure. That's just the (expensive) icing on the cake. Starting simply is far better than not starting at all, and lets you add what you really need and nothing you don't.

https://www.amazon.com/Live-RV-Debt-Travel-Freedom-ebook/dp/B008S129XY

Make it something related to what she likes related to, but outside of interior design. First thing that comes to mind would be travel and fashion:

Worlds Greatest Trips
Humans of New York
Paris in Color