#Bloganuary – Day 2 – Road trip!

Road trip

Today is day 2 of #Bloganuary.

What is a road trip you would love to take?

January 2nd prompt

The amount of driving I did in the past two weeks has me wanting to sell my car. No, not really – I need it for daily living – but the driving has definitely exhausted me a bit.

A road trip is different for those that do the driving and for those that are just there – kicking it in the passenger seat or sprawled in the back. While I can definitely be a dedicated driver, it is not my favorite seat in the car for anything other than work/grocery runs. My knuckles turn white as I grip the wheel to make sure I have maximum control. My eyes dry out since they refuse to blink – who knows what the idiots in front of me will do – every second counts! I swear I breathe a lot less, too. All because of the immense responsibility I feel to not kill my fellow passengers. It all stems from my distrust towards other users of the road.

Being a passenger is not all sunshine and rainbows, either – you just get tired of sitting in the same position for so long. You can only adjust so many times before both your legs become stiff and your buttocks tender.

As you can probably tell by now – I have not done too many road trips. I prefer to fly to my destination and save my valuable time rather than waste it on cursing in traffic. However, I definitely see the benefits of traveling by car – enjoying the sights along the way.

While the sights are very important, I think that ultimately, it is your company that will make or break the trip. If I am focusing on the road and the rest is sleeping/scrolling through various social media, my mood definitely deteriorates. It is then that I feel like I am at work and not getting paid while others get to rest and do what their heart desires. But, when we all interact, road trips can be very much fun. Since I like to explore, I am always open to making unplanned stops and seeing things that caught our eye up close.

Many years back, a friend of mine went on a road trip through all of the mainland states of the USA and I definitely think that it is a noteworthy goal for anyone. However, I cannot begin to imagine the amount of time (and gas) wasted on driving through nothingness/boring stuff between your destination points.

Someone I know loves to drive to different states and often tries to have me join them. No, thank you. Mostly, I fail to see the appeal (other than less of a pandemic hassle associated with airports and planes).

Do you like road trips? Why? Why not?

What is the best road trip you have ever gone on?

Do you dream of a specific road trip?

Stay golden,

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81 thoughts on “#Bloganuary – Day 2 – Road trip!”

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  1. I’m a control freak, so I like to drive. I’m an atrocious passenger. Road trips are less fun for me now that the arthritis in my hips has become aggressive, but there’s still something about getting in the car, cranking the tunes, and driving too fast.

    I’d like to take a road trip and see more of Canada, though I hate most of my friends, so that could prove difficult lol. The best road trip I ever took was when I was sixteen. We went on a family camping trip, six weeks through the western US states: Washington, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington and home (BC). It was very interesting and a great deal of fun.

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    1. Due to the control thing, I also like to drive. But, I seem to have an issue with others not “pitching in.” Why do I have to put in all that work and they get to sleep?

      I absolutely love road trips by myself. Then, I don’t feel the pressure of trying not to kill others and I just relax.

      That does sound like fun! My family wasn’t into driving.

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  2. Sam, it all depends on the trip. Generally my OH drives and I enjoy the scenery. I do however ensure that he doesn’t have to drive more than 4-5 hours max. We would have missed so much if we’d flown rather than driven in Australia. In the current environment, I prefer to drive rather than fly around Europe.

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    1. Sounds like you and your OH have a great partnership!

      I understand your current sentiment regarding air travel.

      As far as Australia is concerned – again – I get it and probably agree. I traveled there by foot and by train – both great options. Not enough time for more explorations. One day!

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  4. Safe travels my friend. I am one of those who actually loves road trips. You see so much more than you ever would on a plane. Even when we fly someplace, we always rent a car and drive everywhere to explore and see as much as we can. We drove over 1500 miles in Spain, and boy did we see a lot of Spain.

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      1. 🙂 🙂 🙂 We actually do that quite a bit. We did the same thing when we flew in to Charlotte, NC, then drove all through NC, all through VA, and into W, VA for our nephew’s wedding. You really get to see a lot this way. 🙂

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  5. Travels with Charlie type road trips are a treat. But how often do we get to do those?
    More often we get in the car and driiiiiiive to get there. Let this trip be over already.
    I did solo motorcycle trips in my 20’s. And college binge trips 1500 miles one way in 36 hours kind of things.
    I’d love to get in a campervan and drive/park/work-remote/hike/explore/wake up and do it again.

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  6. I enjoy road trips, and much prefer to be the driver as opposed to the passenger. I also like getting off the highways and using the back roads. I’d love to do a cross country trip at some point; perhaps when we retire…

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        1. Not too much. My husband is always criticizing my driving, so I don’t even like to drive with him in the car. It’s just easier to let him do the driving. But I do like to drive on my own. Before I got married, I used to take to drive on road trips all the time,

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  8. Driving across the country is actually super cool. Seeing how the landscape shifts and changes as you travel through it is really cool, and driving is really the only way to do it. You’ve just gotta have a certain level of patience.

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  9. My husband did not like to fly, so we went on a lot of roadtrips and shared the driving. I loved our drive to Phoenix Arizona because we made a lot of stops along the way. It took us a week to get there because we wanted to enjoy the ride. I don’t mind driving and as you know, I just drove to Weston Florida about 21 hours split over three days. It’s not for everyone though.

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    1. You definitely hit the nail on the head. If are OK with making stops and just going into it with a relaxed mindset, things go well. But, when you and your companions are not the most patient and a bit restless at times, things go differently. 21 hours is A LOT, but I’m glad you were able to make the trip work for you. It definitely takes a particular approach to do this right.

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  10. As you may know from my blog posts, I love to fly out to Arizona and hop in my sister’s motor home with her for our annual “sisterly adventure.” We’ve explored a lot of the West together, from the Redwood Forest to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains to hot springs in the middle of the desert, and many other places. She drives, and I get to play my guitar, and of course, we talk non-stop, so it never gets boring. We’ve met a lot of fascinating people along the way, dodged rattlesnakes, gotten stranded along the highway, and hiked all over.
    I have a mug I bought at Bryce Canyon that always makes me smile. It says, “Let the Adventure Begin!”

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  11. I’ve done lots of road trips. During the eighth trip from Alaska to the lower 48, I decided I’d had enough (lol). I pretty much always enjoy the trips, but I think once or twice on a particular road is enough for me.

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    1. I hear ya. If a road is particularly scenic, I might go a second time, but not a third (if by choice). I think roads and destinations are like books – there are so many good ones out there that I don’t want to miss out on them by seeing the same ones over and over again.

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  13. Best road trip: from London to Oban, Scotland, and back. My husband drove, and stayed in the correct lanes, an accomplishment for drivers from the U.S. I want to go back, but I don’t think he wants to drive again.

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    1. A great accomplishment indeed. It sounds like an extreme sport almost – to have drivers on the right start driving on the left all of a sudden. I want to make my way to Scotlant one day, too.

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  14. I love road trips and the sense of freedom they offer, especially outside of urban traffic. I dream about Italian road trips, but some American states would be gorgeous too. I’ve often imagined driving hwy 1 (I think it’s called) along the California coast. The immersive essence that road trips offer is hard to beat.

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      1. Isn’t that a fact. At all times. It’s pretty crazy. I used to seldom do shopping on weekends on purpose. Now it barely matters which day I shop, it’s always crowded. Except post holidays, people aren’t going out much. Many are sick or don’t want to be.

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  15. Well, we share a similar opinion of driving—it regularly includes unhealthy doses of road rage and anxiety. No thanks.

    That said, I used to drive my kids around in rush-hour traffic when I was sharing custody of them, which consisted of a lot of dead time in the car. This time spent together became some of their favorite memories, because we would play word and story games, and generally get to know each other by asking questions, telling stories, catching up, and singing songs. Well it wouldn’t be my first choice for a place to bond with people, it definitely can be done.

    My husband and I moved him cross country from Philadelphia to Portland Oregon in 2006, and we drove the entire way in three days. During that time we listen to music, I read an entire book aloud, and we talked a whole lot, getting to know each other even better. He drove (he likes it), and it is still a favorite trip of ours together. We also have gone on several long distance motorcycle trips together. Those can be a lot of fun.

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    1. That’s so nice to hear that your kids remember the time in the car fondly. Most are on electronic devices these days, I think.

      Reading a book out loud does sound like something fun I would enjoy. (I forget you are a motorcycle person! *Gasps*)

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      1. I think I’ll be the same as a grandma—electronics are fun, but interaction is required.

        I read a humorous one—we both loved it!

        I just ride on the back of a motorcycle, but yes, I have moto gear! 🤣

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  16. No interest in learning how to ride a motorcycle, or being in charge of it—cars don’t see you and you have to drive even more defensively than in a car…it would stress me out, not thrill me or calm me down. Plus, I love checking out the scenery.

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