Road trippin'
Now, I know how to plan a road trip – don’t you worry about that. In fact, I’m somewhat of an experienced road tripper. I’ve road tripped from Iowa, to Canada, to Maine, and to Key West, Fla. Yeah, there are some miles on this kid.
I am not a self-taught road tripper either. In fact, I’ve learned from the best: my parents, my grandparents, and my friends. I’m surrounded by people who would have gotten an “A” in Road Tripping 101.
My first memories of road trips are with my parents and sister. We would take off in the summers on excursions with our camper or to Myrtle Beach. We’d pack up everything we needed – and then some. For us, road trips were about having fun as a family and enjoying our time together. We’d pop in Psalty the singing songbook tapes; grab a bag of Twizzlers and head down the road.
While I was attending college at Cedarville University, I spent two Spring Breaks in Florida. One road trip was with five guys smashed in a Mercury Sable escaping the winter wonderland to camp on the beach. The other was a group of us headed to Florida to relax on the beach and hang out with our friend’s parents. I have such good memories of driving Holly Luiken’s gold Lexus down to Florida. We had the sun on our back and good music to carry us south.
Also while I was in Cedarville, I spent two summers traveling the country with five of my friends working at churches and summer camps. The school employed us to travel around, do children and teen programs, and promote our college. I have such good memories as the six of us in our big white van and trailer headed across the country all the way across the Midwest for 10 weeks each summer. Crazy that some of my best college memories were made in our mobile community.
So, what does it take to have an awesome road trip? Well, I think there are a few non-negotiables that go into making a trip. So, hopefully before you embark on your next road trip you can use this as a checklist to make sure your experience is as awesome as possible!
1. Good Music. Every successful road trip I’ve been a part of has always included good music. Now, I’ll let you pick your poison on this one. Personal preferences aside, there is one song you should probably have on your road trip compilation CD - Sweet Home Alabama.
2. A GPS. While I was in college, the GPS saved my life. Literally. I mean, the girls on my team sometimes had a need for coffee from Starbucks and luckily, the GPS could always locate the nearest one without fail. My life was saved more than once by this way-finding device. Plus, it spoke in a British accent – double cool.
3. Hot Spots. To have a successful road trip, you have to know where the hot spots are. For example, the LL Bean outlet in Maine? Super cool – no matter if you’re a hard-core camper or you just dabble. How about the Prehistoric Forest in Port Clinton, Ohio? Way cool. Or how about any major city you may come across? NYC, D.C., Boston. Very cool. Be prepared to go to Times Square, the Smithsonian, or the Freedom Trail. A little preplanning along the way will go very far with your fellow road trippers.
4. Food. There are a few staples that you need on your road trip this summer. If you’re a part of my family, you know that Twizzlers and Pringles were a given. But, either way, make sure your car is loaded with your favorite snacks. And be on the look out for those hole-in-the-wall restaurants along your trip – they are gems.
5. Family/Friends. A road trip is not complete without the good mix of friends and family. I mean, who would you be able to share all the memories with when you come home? Who else will ever remember the time you accidentally drove a Cedarville van into a sinkhole? Who else is going to be there to laugh at the time you accidentally drive across the steps of the infamous Philadelphia Art Museum steps? And who else is going to laugh at the dumb stuff you did – like hanging out of a sunroof?
This summer you’ll most likely take some sort of road trip, so check the list and make sure the essentials are there to make the best memories possible!