You might be the person who likes to plan every last detail of their trip – from where you will be getting your morning coffee to what time you need to be in bed to get a full night’s rest. There is nothing wrong with being about the details, but a nice alternative is to open all your doors (and windows) and try traveling by car to somewhere fun (or nowhere in particular!)
Traveling with Freedom
When you travel by car, like a good old-fashioned road trip, you can physically go anywhere you want. You decide when to leave, you decide where you want to stop, it takes the stress out of having to arrive to an airport by a certain time to squash yourself in a small seat with a couple hundred of your stinkiest friends. It gives you all the freedom in the world and can be such a wonderful feeling.
Don’t Worry about the Specifics
If you are making a big trip across country with multiple stops at night along the way, don’t worry about making all of your hotel plans ahead of time. With driving you never know what will come up – traffic, an extra stop at the best cupcake shop in the state, or spending more time than you planned at the Museum of Weird – the last thing you want to do is put pressure on yourself to drive to a certain point by a certain time. Drive until you start to feel tired and then have your navigator look for a hotel about 30-40 minutes away. Hotels along the major roads always have rooms available and then you can stress less about timing.
Oddities Along the Way
Make the most of your road trip by finding fun little stops every couple hours. It breaks up the feeling of endless driving and gives you something to look forward to. Research fun little ice cream shops, musical highways that make noise when your car drives over them, and everything in between. With technology these days, you can look up so much on the go. Plan to find these unique stops that you’ll be talking about for years.
The Next Exit
Not sure if you want to hold out for a different roadside restaurant or worried you’ll run out of gas before you make it to where you’re going? Fret no more with The Next Exit – it comes in a book form or downloadable app. It lists every exit on interstate highways and what is available at each stop. Now you’ll know if you don’t stop for your chicken sandwich at this exit, you won’t see it again until the next state.
Going on a classic road trip can be a fun experience if you keep an open mind and let go of controlling every last minute of your day. You might discover something new about yourself you never knew.