Car for road trip

What is the best car for a road trip?

When planning an overseas road trip, one important thing is which car to choose. 

The question could be this: What things do you value while driving? How about the luggage, how much space is needed and also how many people should fit in the car?

Our rental car for the road trip was Ford Expedition Active 2025 with 400 horsepower 3.5 L EcoBoost V6 engine. It has seating for up to 8 people. They say it's capable for mild off-roading and all-weather driving.

Surely there are other good cars for a long road trip, but this one was quite good and comfortable for our family. I would definitely choose a SUV, because it has a higher ground clearance. On the road we enjoyed watching the view from our windows. 

Since we drove 3640 miles, it was important to have enough space for each one. Even though we drove a lot, it didn't feel uncomfortable.

Considerations:

• We had own seats for everyone (family of four travelling). 
• There was enough space for the luggage (two big bags and two smaller bags) Enough passenger/cargo space.
• The cabin is really spacious and quiet. 
• Panoramic Roof is nice
• Full insurance was good to have, just in case.

 

Our USA road trip route

 

Road trip in 5 days

We made a road trip with the family to USA in October 2025.

Our plane landed in Dallas, Texas. From there we took a flight to Nashville, Tennessee. We picked up our rental car from the airport, spent two nights in Nashville and started our road trip from there.

Here you can see the route we drove, 3640 miles. It's could be even more, but this is roughly how it was. 

Monday: from Nashville, Tennessee to Monett, Missouri

Tuesday: from Missouri to Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Wednesday: Tucumcari to Grand Canyon Village, Arizona

Thursday: from Grand Canyon Village to Hurricane, Utah

Friday: from Hurricane to Salt Lake City, Utah

How was the route?

This was something we couldn't be sure about in advance. Would it be too much driving? 

Luckily the travelling went well. We had a comfortable car with enough space for travelling and having the luggage with us. 

Another thing is that the landscapes were interesting to watch, we also drove on some smaller roads. Especially Monday to Wednesday we had long driving days, so we would have a bit more time to visit Grand Canyon.

Was it worth it?

Oh yes. Ten states in five days. Of course it would have been nice to have more time to visit places. 

We had one whole day in Nashville, and a weekend in Salt Lake City. Also we spent later some time in Tampa, Florida. 

I have a lot of pictures and will write more about the places we visited in my next postings.

Also planning to share some tips for those planning a road trip to the States.

Road trip

 

So exciting, our road trip is starting soon! I will write about our trip afterwards and share some Instagram stories (mistymondays) on the road.

The happiest country

 Hello from Finland, the happiest country in the world.

Why are we so happy, and are we that happy?

Maybe the answer is, that many things are going well here. 

Also we have the world's biggest archipelago and 75% of the surface is covered with forests.

Other nice things are clean air, safety and a long winter. Not to forget strawberry cake.

Strength training at home gym

Now I have trained seven times at home gym. How has it been?

In fact it has been better than I expected. My training has two parts, warm up and strength training. I'm doing the warm up on a treadmill and strength training with Caliber app.

Training with Caliber has been better than expected. The app gives you the training program and collects the data from every time you are training. The excercises can be done with two barbells.

How about motivation? Some days I have not been very motivated. Still I have done the exercises three times a week. And on the treadmill it's possible to watch Netflix. It's on 8 degrees in the room. that feels a bit cold. It will become a bit warmer though when winter is over. And treadmill training helps to get muscles warm. Then the low temperature doesn't bother so much.

To stay motivated I asked ChatGPT about the benefits of strength training.

Strength training 

• increases muscle strength
• improves  physical appearance and boosts metabolism
• improves bone health
• helps to maintain a healthy weigth
• enhances functional strength
• helps strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints
• can boost energy levels
• is associated with a risk of developing chronic diseases
• enables you to maintain vitality, mobility, and independence

Gym training at home

I used to go to CrossFit -classes at a gym for over a year. This year I have started training at home. To be honest, not many times yet, I have done my first training yesterday. 

The main reason to start training at home is that we have a space for it and some equipment. Also the freedom to choose what time to train, and the curiosity to try if this will work (without a coach and other people). 

I have Caliber app on my phone, and each time I choose a workout to do. Also I do at least a warm up. This is the plan.

How about equipment? We have a treadmill, some barbells and two kettlebells. Also a jump-rope, punching bag and a foam roller. We will see how it works out. It’s possible to buy some new equipment if needed.

Now it’s all about self-discipline. My goals are to train 3-4 times a week. To finish one Caliber training each time and to use the treadmill for warm up. Then to add some movements to it, depending on how much time I can use for training.

What are the advantages?

• Convenience and flexibility. There is no need to travel to gym and you can exercise whenever you want.
  
• Cost savings. No costs, unless you want to buy new equipment.
• Access to personalized programs. There are lots of them available, also for free.
• Family involvement. My husband is also training.

Are there downsides?

• Limited equipment and space. At the gym there you can do more varied training.
• Lack of social interaction and motivational challenges. This is one challenge for sure. It requires a lot of self-discipline to train alone and also to stay motivated.
• There is no professional guidance at home gym.

Home gym, a threat or possibility?

Hello new year!

What's new this year? 

I can tell you at least two things.

• I have a life planner
• Done with CrossFit -membership (for now)

From now on my life will be more planned and I will start gym training at home. Or at least I hope so.

Gym training will be interesting, because now I will be setting up my own schedule. It's all about self-discipline. Will it work? I honestly don't know. It's much easier to go to a gym and let the coach tell you what to do.

How about being your own coach? Well, if the training doesn't become a routine, it will not work. I know a variety of movements that can easily be done at home. 

More about this later, when I get started.

This week the weather has been much colder as usual. Yesterday I went with friends and kids ice skating and kicksledging on the lake.

Happy New Year!