i’ve been going on road trips my whole life, but never one with me driving (got my license last year) or one this long (longest was 9 hours). i need to go get a friend and then drive back to pgh all in one round trip with no long stops (total of about 30 hours). once i get there, my friend can drive back, but i’m hoping that you guys can give me tips about getting there:

1.) Saving Money: what are some ways to make sure to save money on gas and food?

2.) Keeping Occupied: since i’m going to be driving the first 15 hours completely alone, how do i keep myself awake and occupied for the whole trip?

3.) Route Planning: should i try and plan a route myself or just do what the gps tells me? i want to get there in the shortest amount of time possible. if y’all think i should plan a route, what app/program should i use to do that?

any other tips tricks or hints are also super appreciated! like i said, this is my first time doing something like this so anything helps! let me know if there’s other information i can give to make this more clear