The Retro Advice Mother Daughter Road Trip

What advice would you give your teenage self? My girl and I were determined to collect as many answers to this question as we could on our cross country mother daughter road trip — AND have an adventure while gathering them. 

Woman have SO much to teach each other—and so much to learn from each other. Rather than be at odds with each other, it was my goal to share our lessons with each other.

You Wanna Do What???

“You wanna do what???” was the typical reaction I got from the people with whom I shared my idea for a 50 day mother daughter road trip.

YES, I really do want to spend 50 days with my girl in my tiny Mini Cooper and drive all around the U.S. talking to strangers! In fact, the idea consumed me. 

The idea for our life-changing mother daughter road trip was born in a loft apartment where seven special women gathered for a “Gab Fest.” As we sat on a couch, glasses of wine in hand shortly after my physical separation from my 20 year marriage, we began to talk about what we wished our teenage selves had known so many years ago.

As I sat there, it hit me—I wanted to make this BIGGER. My little girl would be turning 13 in the summer and what better way to celebrate her coming of age than to drive around the U.S. together in search of adventure, fun, and advice from women across the country.

What an incredible gift for both my soon-to-be teenage daughter, myself, and every woman I could share it with! 

Retro Advice

So what exactly is “retro advice”?

Retro advice is what we wished we’d known when we were 12, 14, 16, and 19. It’s what we wish we could infuse into the souls of other young girls as they begin their journey into womanhood. It’s an invaluable treasure.

It’s about women helping women and women doing things together and supporting each other. | Diana Burch

The Mother Daughter Road Trip Plan

Together, my daughter and I decided the terms:

  • 50 days
  • 19 U.S. cities
  • No learning*
  • Lots of good music and snacks

(* My fingers were crossed.)

I was in charge of the itinerary and my girl had veto power. After much research (what did we do before Google???), I plotted the following course from our home town of San Diego:

It was an amazing, challenging, fun, and educational experience—and, HANDS DOWN, one of the BEST decisions I have ever made. You can read about some of our stops by clicking on the linked destinations above.

I hope we can inspire you to embark on your own mother daughter road trip journey with your biological, adopted or substitute “mom” or “daughter!”

Now, please do go soak up some retro advice wisdom:

Retro Advice: What Advice Would You Give Your Teenage Self?

P.S. I am ALWAYS seeking more retro advice to add to the treasures we gathered on our mother daughter road trip! PLEASE send it to me through my contact form ASAP. In addition to your sage wisdom, please include your name, age, occupation, and where you live in this world.