Taking a trip cross country is an item listed on most college students’ bucket lists. There is no better way to experience the joy of travel and adventure with friends and family than on a road trip. Here are five reasons why road tripping is the way to go.
1. Becoming closer with the people in your car.
Traveling 10 hours a day in the car with limited leg room and personal space may seem like the description of a hell hole, but it’s actual the perfect environment to get closer to your fellow travelers. Long car rides provide the opportunity for conversations on all topics, sharing excitements and reservations about your travels, and overall just providing great company for one another. Driving through the night exposes the true MVPs of the trip and builds camaraderie among the travelers. Everyone has their assigned roles: driver, DJ, navigator, sleeping passenger. Road trips lead to old high school stories, embarrassing secrets never told, and philosophical conversations. You’re all in the same boat ready to put in the miles and reach your destination, but also appreciative of the fact that you’re together through it all.
2. Plenty of time to jam.
Road trips allow for endless hours of experimental albums, new artists and classic throwbacks. The front seat console should be equipped with an aux cord, a dozen burned mix tapes and a scan function on the radio. Elevation changes are relentless on radio frequencies. Road trips include rolled down windows and a song that everyone can sing along to blaring from the car’s speakers. Someone’s choice in music says a lot about them. Shouting song suggestions and free-styling rap on a drive through a mountain range or endless miles of farmland is what makes a road trip a road trip.
3. Experiencing the country.
Road trips are a little more extensive compared to the average flight. There’s a vast amount of miles covered, state line crossed and views otherwise unseen from a plane’s 36,00ft cruising altitude. You see how other people in other parts of the country live; the lavish casino billboards that scream tourism and money, the roadside stands that sell homemade jewelry, the high-rise city condos and the dilapidated rural farms. You meet all kinds of people at roadside stops and local shops. You see you’re first long-horned cattle, count the windmills and repetitively swallow to pop your ears through mountain ranges. There is so much more to road trips than the open road.
4. Unexpected stops.
Road trips provide travelers with the freedom to explore. Not everything needs to be planned and finalized. Getting lost is exciting and can lead to a new favorite spot. Road trips never go as expected, either. The spontaneity of the trip’s journey makes the trip unique and keeps travelers on their toes. Detours pop up, storms roll in and hotels have a limited vacancy. Making the most of the unexpected is far more fun than working through a planned minute by minute itinerary.
5. Getting out of your comfort zone.
Road trip adventures can inch you out of your comfort zone. You try new foods, sleep in sketchy motels, mingle with strangers, practice map reading skills and go places you never thought you would go. You and the rest of the travelers push each other to embrace every opportunity and adventure whether that's conquering a fear of heights, pulling up to an empty campsite at night, or retrying a food you've never liked. Road trips can challenge us at times, but it's always for the best.
Nothing beats hitting the road with a carload of friends, money for gas and the urge to see it all. Road trips are an excellent way to explore the country and ultimately yourself.
