May 13, 2013

Notes on a Road Trip



I hit the open road this last weekend and travelled to Western Pennsylvania for Mother's Day.  It had been a long time since I had taken a road trip all by my lonesome, so I was a bit nervous.  As a New Yorker, I don't drive very often.  I used to joke that I only drove twice a year and that it was usually just taking my Grandma's Buick to the grocery store!  I used to drive a lot.  I had a sporty little two seat Honda and I used to love to go out exploring the Iowa backroads in college.  I tried to remember my relative lack of country drives on Friday when I found myself lost for an hour or two in Amish Country and literally stuck behind a buggy.  I was really lost, but it was really beautiful.



Two eight hour days of driving behind me, I can say that what everybody says about road trips is true.  I had a great time.  I played the same song on repeat yesterday for a full hour, belting out every word every time, and no one complained!


PS- I recently got the world's nicest letter from a reader who said she loved all my travel advise.  I never really considered myself a travel blogger, but with her in mind, I'll tell you this. For this road trip, I packed; music that I could sing along to, twizzlers, carrots, kale chips,  kombucha, chocolate, beef jerky and gum.  I chewed through two packs of Bubblemint Orbitz like a chain smoker smoking cigarettes.  I love it, and there's no better place for totally unabashedly obnoxious gum chewing than a road trip by yourself!

PSS- the car I rented was a Kia Optima Hybrid, and I drove not less than 16 hours in the mountains on just one tank of gas, returning it to New Jersey on fumes.  I'm definitely not in the market for a car, and I'm certainly not getting paid by Kia to say this, but that was one sweet ride!

5 comments:

  1. I get lost in my backyard....so totally relate to the wanderings your trip took....if you had twizzlers in the car, you could have lured my husband to be a navigator!!!!

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  2. mostly, i love the things/places you find on your trips. scrap, squam, ric rac, streetside stamps, thrift stores, fruit stand... always makes me think, "hey, *i* could go there!" or "i should stop next time i see a sign for..." i like seeing places through other people's eyes. your version adds layers of texture and color that i might miss otherwise.

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  3. YAY for road trips! looks like you had a lovely time, and makes me excited for my drive to NH in a few weeks...

    i love your mix of healthy and junk-foody travel snacks ;n)

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  4. Haha, I grew up around that area, so I can totally relate to getting stuck behind a buggy. I'm glad you enjoyed the drive. Now that I have some distance from where I grew up, I can appreciate that it really is a beautiful part of the country.

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  5. O good for you rebecca!!! rode trips can be a real tonic
    i love your poetic writing. thank you.

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