Exploring the Bitcoin Lifestyle on Our Six-Week Holiday Road Trip

This past Thanksgiving, our family put the Bitcoin-travel economy to the test. We spent three weeks living on bitcoin only, as we explored ten states in our family minivan.
With our two toddlers and small dog, we stood in awe of the Grand Canyon, played in the waves of the Pacific Ocean, and cruised down the flashy Vegas Strip. We took a death-defying drive through the snowy Rockies and enjoyed Thanksgiving with family in my hometown of Kansas City.
This was not our first experience traveling cross-country on cryptocurrency. Last June, our family took a bitcoin road trip from Texas to New Hampshire and back. We tried every bitcoin travel service we could find; some worked flawlessly; others provided us with a great headache.
Many things have changed in the six months between our trips. More restaurants now accept bitcoin, Airbitz launched their new bitcoin-directory and wallet, and our favorite bitcoin-gas card company seems to have gone defunct!
Food
When you travel with the intention of only spending bitcoin, you try new restaurants off the beaten path. We used the Airbitz phone application, which includes an interactive bitcoin directory and map with a built-in bitcoin wallet. The app uses your phone’s GPS to automatically calculate your distance from bitcoin-friendly businesses.
Both my husband John and I agree that we had our favorite meal at City Tacos in San Diego. The authentic tacos were fresh and savory. John says they reminded him of the street tacos he had in Mexico City when he lived there for a summer in 2008.

This post was published at Coin Telegraph on 2015-01-25.