I love road trips! Just knowing I am about to hit the road creates an amazing adrenaline rush in me. I get emotional: anxiety that I will forget something, and I always do. Ironically, it's my toothbrush. Every darn time. For those who do not know me, I am also a registered dental hygienist, and that is the irony. Anticipation floods my brain: What will we do? What will we see? Who will we meet? What will we eat? The questions keep me up at night, but it's the kind of insomnia I crave. And finally, excitement that I am seeing something new (most likely). My five senses will be in overdrive the whole trip...and I love it!
As a child, road trips were fun because we got to sit in the back of the car on the rear window dash (does it have an actual name?), or in the back of the truck. That pastime is now illegal and completely frowned upon for obvious reasons, but as kids, it was heaven, until the parents pulled over to line us up on the side of the road and give us spanking with the belt. I don't have kids, but I've read that can get parents in trouble these days too.
So how do you make your road trip fun, memorable and less stressful? As my husband and I were driving to Utah yesterday, for our second UT trip this month (this time the northern part), we realize that we have so much fun in the car. We even drove all the way from Ga to AZ over the course of 4 days, in a huge Ryder moving truck, that we lovingly named "Nightmare", WITHOUT a radio or any music whatsoever (everything was broken or packed and we didn't realize it until it was time to head west), and 2 elderly cats that could not tell us when they needed to pee, and I promise, we did not have one argument. How is that possible? We have fun!
I came up with a list of 5 things we do. These can be done with people you barely know in the car, people you know well, and even people you wish you didn't know well.
Rusty the dinosaur
1. Enjoy the journey. Stop and take pictures. It may seem insignificant at the time, but what if you never get a chance to get to that place again? You will wish you had pictures. For example, we love dinosaurs. We stopped twice when we saw dinosaurs, just to take photos! We plan on buying one of these and we already think we have a name (to be shared when we get him...we have to get to know him after all).
Green Giant the dinosaur
2. Never eat at chain restaurants. Try the food from the local areas. Support a small business, or better yet, bring your own snacks and save money. We always bring a cooler full of food that can easily be eaten without making a mess.
3. Put your phone down and play games. I have learned that UT does not have good cell reception. Playing games is fun and we get to know each other better. We played one game where we had to go through the alphabet and identify an object that started with that letter. I kid you not, we got all the way to "Z" and about 20 minutes later we passed through a teeny-tiny town that had a zebra statue in someone's yard. We laughed and laughed at that because what are the odds of that happening? Apparently, pretty good! What are your favorite road games?
4. Once you arrive at your destination, I highly recommend you ride bikes. We bring ours with us on most trips. We have taken them to Florida several times, South Carolina, Savannah, GA, and now Utah. What a fantastic way to see the town and neighborhoods you would otherwise probably not see. And don't forget your fanny pack!
5. Finally, find a way to learn about the town history. Go to the Chamber of Commerce and see if they have any tours available. I have learned so much about places, that I had no idea ever happened there. I hated history as a teenager, but I love it now.
Park City, Utah
The USA is beautiful. I actually have not explored that much of it, but I love it all and appreciate how huge it is. I've mostly been to many places in the southeast and southwest, with a few random cities in between (Chicago and Boston being my favorite), but it is my goal to see every state. How many have you been to?
Summer is not over yet, so pack your bags, load up that car with a group full of friends and family, and hit the road. Make good memories, share them with me on social media, and have fun! I hope my tips for a good road trip help you when you travel and if you live somewhere I have not been to, don't be surprised if I show up and ask you to explore with me. Let's go!
#travel #explore #storymakerstravel #letsgo #utah #roadtrip #travelagentlife
