Road trips are a rite of passage of America's youth. Every young adult, for at least once in his or her life, will join a road trip, which is usually a day or two of simply traveling leisurely along the highway. The travel involves frequent stopovers. The purpose of the trip is pure leisure, but it also allows people to see things about America that is never shown on TV. If tourists plan on having a road trip, it is best to rent a car and to have someone who has a US-recognized driver's license. A map is also useful but a GPS navigation system can take the place of the map.
The road trip may start from the west and head towards the north. Tourists can start in California, where they can take off from the Figueroa Street Tunnels and cruise along the Arroyo Seco Parkway. Going north, they will reach Seattle, Washington and see interesting sites, such as the Pike Place Market, Seattle Aquarium, and the Snoqualmie Point View Park.
Perhaps the most exciting road trip of all is to see racing cars in action. The USA has several professional road racing organizations and hundreds of amateur racing clubs. There are racetracks all over the country, but the most famous of all is the one in Indiana, called the Indianapolis 500. It was first a pavement of bricks that was constructed in 1909. Carmakers use the pavement to test their newest cars. But in 1911, an automobile race was held. The racecars are supposed to cover 500 miles, but the racetrack is only 2.5 miles. Thus, the racing cars have to make 200 grueling laps. Since then, the place is called the Indy 500.
