Road trip from california to dayton ohio?

3 questions


1: how can i convince my parents to let me go on a road trip to ohio in april to surprise my friend at his final competition?

2: if not a road trip, if i can fly there, could i grab a taxi to go where i wanna go, or is it impossible? and since i'm 18, could i rent a car or do i have to be 21?

3: say my parents say it's ok to go on a road trip (which is unlikely =/ )...how much money should i plan on saving from now till then?

Okay are you planning on doing this by yourself? If you and a friend or two were going it might be easier to convince the parents to let you go. You are 18 and I am assuming you are responsible so what I would do is plan your trip, make sure it is detailed. Show your parents that you are going to drive this far on day one and stay here and so on. If they see that you have thought this out and planned it well they might be more willing to let you go. One problem you might face along the way is the fact you are only 18 and a lot of hotel companies require you to be 21. Each company can set their own age limit so you will want to check into places before you go and find out what their requirements are. Some will let you check in at 18 with a CC. However do not use your debit card for the CC deposit. They do 鈥渇reeze鈥?the amount of money your stay will cost on your card. Which means if they freeze $500 you cannot spend that $500 dollars. When you check out they 鈥渦nfreeze鈥?that money however if it is a weekend you bank can take up to 2 days to 鈥渦nfreeze鈥?the cash. Just something to think about I don鈥檛 want you getting there and then not have cash!

Yes you can fly and yes they do have cabs. However it is not like NYC and there are not cabs on every corner. Most of the time you do have to call for them to pick you up. Exception would be at the airport. Here are the numbers for cab companies in the area:
DIAMOND CAB COMPANY
937-277-1000

YELLOW CAB
937-228-1155

MIAMI LIBERTY CAB
937-222-2822

AERO WIDE CAB
937-233-2201

As for renting a car that is out. Most places you have to be 25 to rent a car, if they do let you rent at 21 they charge you so much extra it is just crazy. I would stick with the cab option, it is cheaper anyway!

If your parents say yes to this I would plan on taking at least $1500 remember hotels cost about $60 a night and you will be driving so you will have gas to pay for. If you do this save some cash and throw a cooler in the car with snacks and drinks, way cheaper than buying them at the gas station. I would also check out the Dayton Visitors site for ideas of things to do when you are there and COUPONS. Hey anything that saves cash helps. I might also look for a few interesting things to do along the way, I mean how often do you get to do a cross country trip. If you end up flying look online for deals and book early! It saves you a ton of money booking early I would budget about $300 for a plane ticket. Here are some sites for tickets, gas prices along the way and the visitors center they will help you plan your trip and make a better budget, remember it is better to OVER budget then under.
http://travel.priceline.com/default.asp?...
http://www.travelocity.com/
http://www.expedia.com/
http://www.cheaptickets.com/?gcid=C16036...
http://www.orbitz.com/?gcid=C11287x075-h...
http://www.daytoncvb.com/
http://www.gaspricewatch.com/new/default...
http://www.gasbuddy.com/

Good Luck I hope you get to go, it would be an awesome trip!