re: Any of you ever just packed a bag and left going no where in particular?

I've taken solo trips before with little plans. This year I took one around the southeast(tennessee, north carolina, kentucky) and one to Asia. I took a tent on the southeast road trip but ended up staying in hostels, cheap hotels, and a bunk room at a whitewater rafting center.

If you are driving through decent sized cities, def look for a hostel. The ones in the US are pretty nice and will be 25-30 bucks a night, and there will be other travelers there if you feel like meeting some easy going people.

Having a general idea of where you want to go is a good idea. Do you want to see grand mountains, giant rock structures, drink good craft beer, experience some colder weather and do some outdoorsing? Head west. Do you want to see smaller, more green mountains, small quaint cities with hippies and fricking awesome bbq? Go to the appalachians.

Want to hang out in big cities? Go northeast. You could even do appalachians and the northeast. If there is one place you should avoid, it's the midwest (oklahoma, kansas, nebraska, iowa, dakotas unless you want to see rushmore or the black hills)

I also recommend taking some time to chill. Don't spend all your time on the go when you don't have any place to be. Just go far from home, and enjoy where you are