As my sister-in-law’s mother said when we arrived in Nebraska, “So, girls, how has your harebrained trip been going?” You may be thinking, Nebraska? How did you get to Nebraska? Did you fly? Oh, no, we are far too poor for that. Let me tell you a story about how four college girls drove across the country and back in five days, with little to no preparation, plans or sanity.
Two weeks ago I was talking to my best friend, Emily, about how she wanted to go to Colorado and how I would only go if we flew (who wants to drive to Colorado from Georgia?). Bringing into consideration how short I am on cash, Emily and I began brainstorming and trying to figure out how this out of the world idea could actually be brought to life. After a few short texts to my sister and sister-in-law, we created a plan with just days to spare before we left. That is how we randomly decided to drive to Nebraska, Colorado, back to Nebraska and then home sweet home to Georgia.
Here is a short list for other poor college students who want to be spontaneous and some reasons why they should make a trip like this before they graduate and become boring adults.
Peeps, homies, compadres.
The first thing you need to do is find a group of maybe four to six people who are willing to be in the car for at least 15 hours at any given time. You need adventurous people who get along, are desperate to go on a vacation and have connections to people in other states so you have friendly faces to come home to.
Super sexy minivan.
(Thats right, we got to drive this swagger wagon.)
Driving across the country in a small sedan or two door car sounds dreadful. This is why Bethany and I asked our mom if we could borrow her very nice minivan. When she said yes -- because she’s the best mom ever -- we folded down the middle seats so that the people in the back could stretch out and sleep. Since I am a sucker for comfy seats and blankets, I grabbed a bunch of comforters and pillows so we could sleep like queens.
Timing.
Timing is everything, my friend. After you have created a perfect list of people to adventure with (I had Emily, my sister-in-law Hannah, my sister Bethany and one of Hannah’s sisters whom we picked up in Nebraska), you need to pick a time frame in which the van you found is available. The best time to leave is a Friday night after it's dark. Sadly, we couldn’t leave until Saturday, but leaving when it’s dark is the best way to go. We picked the perfect time between work and moving back to school and left at 11:30 p.m. Also, find a time when gas is cheap. We didn’t pay more than $2 per gallon the whole entire trip, which is great for college students.
Guys, I'm poor and starving!
Yes, this is actually how most of the car rides begin when I am involved. Thankfully, Emily and Hannah packed snacks like pretzels, protein bars and supplies for PB&J’s. Bethany and I brought natural energy drinks. With the energy drinks and protein, we were set to go.
Really freakin' early.
Leave after dinner when it's dark! Why? There are many reasons. If you leave after dinner, you have two people sleep-in that day or take naps before you leave. This way, they can keep each other awake on the drive. After one driver is worn out, they switch. After the second driver is done, you wake up the two people from the back who have been sleeping since when the drive started and then the two graveyard-shift drivers get some shut-eye.
This worked out perfectly for us because Emily and I slept from 11:30 p.m. to 8 a.m., when I took over. I then drove until noon, and that is when Emily took over. We were all rested for the most part, and being asleep in the car is great because the trip flies by.
Before you graduate and go on to do great things, take a few days and adventure. Find yourself and grow your relationships. You might go crazy in the process, possibly punch a few friends faces, but you'll appreciate it in the end.
