I'm trying to plan a week long road trip up and around lake michigan and back home, and the biggest hurdle seems to simply be cost. I know the basic route, roughly which city to shoot for each day, and what roads to take to stay off the interstate and just cruise along enjoying the scenery.

I thought I'd see if anyone has suggestions, sites, apps, etc. for finding cheaper lodging, or suggestions for reducing day to day cost on the road. I could camp of course, and might consider it if I cound find the tent that I swear I purchased a few years ago when I was going to be all about 2-wheel camping. but so far I haven't found it.

I'm figuring:
- an average of $30/day for gas, basically a tank and a half on average covering about 300 miles a day
- an average of $30/day for food (but hoping I can just go into a grocery store and take care of breakfast or lunch on the cheap with some fruit or whatever.
- an average of $125/day for a hotel (this is the spot I'd really like to find a solution for)

Thanks for any ideas! I'd really love to be able to travel on my own for under $100/day, but that's probably impossible.