Imagine the typical family of five in a cozy RV traveling the country and sharing wholesome moments with one another. Making memories, seeing amazing sights, and sharing glorious laughs. Visualize that family bonding. What a relaxing vacation that would be, right? Wrong. Now let's flash to my family in an RV.

My dad was pushing 60 and trying to dodge potholes on the Memphis freeway. Our fridge was being bounced out of its frame. My brother was clutching onto the countertops to keep himself on his feet because he thought it was the perfect time to pop some mini pizzas in the convection oven. My mother was in the back, fretting over my little sister who was refused to sit still. I sat rigid in the passenger seat, trying to brace myself for whatever moves the RV would make.

Our cross-country adventure could be best described as one big Memphis road. Both had more bumps than a baby with hives, but I didn't regret a second of it. The number of things I got to experience, both good and bad, over the course of two and a half weeks was unbelievable and I'll never forget them. I really got to see how beautiful our amazing country is.

To kick off our trip, we headed to Nashville, Tennessee, the nation's country music capital. I'm going to be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of country music, but Nashville was one of the coolest places I've ever been to. Just the overall feel surrounding downtown was so nice. I can't describe it. It just felt so welcoming. Granted, I didn't get the chaotic driving experience. That was my dad's job. I stressed about him getting a parking ticket because he couldn't read the signs that literally screamed 'no parking'. Anyways, we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, as you do in Nashville, and then we went on a very interesting excursion to one of the studios Elvis was known to use. That was pretty cool. I'm a low-key Elvis fan. I only know a few of his songs, but I'm a huge fan of his voice. The next day, we laid around for the majority of the day and explored the RV park before hitting up the massive mall across from the Grand Ole Opry. We ate at this really cool place with an aquarium inside of it. They did serve seafood but it wasn't their main thing. I may have joked around saying that you could watch what you were about to eat swim around in the tank. My mom slapped my arm for that.

Inside the lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, TennesseePhoto by Hanna McDaniel

Right after we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas it started getting flat. It blew my mind. Then we got to Oklahoma where it was even flatter. It blew my mind even more. I bet you can't guess what really threw me for a loop. The massive wind mills. Those made my little engineering mind turn to mush. I don't think you understand just how massive these things are. They are huge. Like, you have to actually see one. What am I saying? I'm freaking out about windmills like they're something special. Still, I don't know how you Oklahoma natives contain yourselves everyday driving by them. They're so huge and there are so many. You drive down the highway and all you can see are windmills. Windmills for miles. Gotta get that air power, you know. We stopped and slept in Oklahoma and then continued on to Amarillo the next morning.

Windmills along I-40, OklahomaPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

Oh Amarillo. How I miss you. You were so nice with the beautiful sunsets. We got to see the mesmerizing Palo Duro Canyon, that I thought was huge until I laid eyes on the Grand Canyon a few days later. We went to the Cadillac Ranch. It was just a bunch of spray painted cars stuck in the ground in the middle of a field in Texas. The usual. My mom was complaining about the spray paint fumes and I was complaining about the heat so we didn't stay out there long, but it was still pretty cool. We stayed an extra day in Amarillo because we wanted a break from the road and totally not because my sister pitched a fit after the first day because she liked the pool there so much. It was nice though and we enjoyed staying a little bit more. Then it was on to our final destination.

Overlook of Palo Duro Canyon, TexasPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

The Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TexasPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

Williams, Arizona is the coolest little town you've never heard of. It was the final stop on the old Route 66 and the last town to be by-passed by the new highway. Williams is straight out of the movie Cars. I really thought Lightning McQueen himself would pull up in front of me at least once during our three day stay in the neon-lit town. There were cozy corner restaurants where live music was played every night, tons of souvenir shops selling weird items and salt water taffy, and even a few old-timey saloons. The whole town was teaming with history and, as a massive history nerd, I loved it. We weren't in Williams for just the town though. We were there for the Grand Canyon which was only a fifteen minute drive from Williams.

Picture of a restaurant in Williams, ArizonaPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

The Grand Canyon National Park was way more chaotic than I thought it would be. You had tourists stopping in the middle of the road and getting out of their cars to take pictures of a massive moose that was minding its own business on the edge of the woods. I had never seen a moose before. Now I'm glad they're not native to North Carolina because they're so big that they are borderline terrifying. It was also rumored that mountain lions could be found in the park and I was hoping to see one so bad, but I never did. What a shame. Maybe next time we'll camp in the park and see one.

Let me tell you, the Grand Canyon doesn't even look real. It's so gigantic that your brain can't process the whole thing and it looks like a hologram placed in front of you. I thought it was spectacular, but we had to leave way too soon. The heat and the crowds were making it hard for my family to get along. I kept picking on my mom for taking so many pictures because they "all looked the same after a while". She got mad at me and continued taking pictures with a scowl. My brother migrated to patches of shade while glued to his phone and when asked why he didn't want to look around at the Grand Canyon, he said, and I quote, "It's just a big hole in the ground." My sister was whining the entire time because she saw a kid with ice cream and wanted some too. Meanwhile, the railings that were supposed to keep you from falling hundreds of feet to your death were extremely sketchy and almost non-existent in places and that stressed everybody out. Also, there were squirrels everywhere. Much like squirrels on college campuses, they had no fear and would probably crawl up your leg if you didn't move out of the way quick enough. In short, go to the Grand Canyon because it's beautiful, but be prepared for the amount of chaos associated with a very popular national landmark.

The Grand Canyon wasn't the only place we went near Williams. We were there for three days and our Grand Canyon adventure took a few mere hours. The second day we hit up old Route 66 and went by a place called Delgadillo's Snow Cap, the owners of which had a habit for pranking their customers. They make some mean milkshakes though. Then we ate lunch at the Roadkill Cafe where every item on their menu had a funny roadkill name. On our way back to Williams that evening we found a zoo-like attraction called Bearizona and got to drive through enclosures with wolves, bears, and all sorts of other dangerous critters. Mom thought the bears were going to attack us, but she was overreacting. They were just chilling in the shade as we drove by and I don't blame them. It was pretty hot out.

The sights of Route 66, ArizonaPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

The small, family run Route 66 attraction, ArizonaPhoto by Hanna McDaniel

After our adventures in Williams we had to head back across the country to our home. Dad had to get back to work. My brother was suffering from video game withdrawal. I, on the other hand, wish we could have stayed out longer and traveled to even more unique places.

The moral of the story: Go travel. Even if it's just to the next state over or the next city over, get out there. You never know what you might find. Traveling doesn't have to be an extravagant journey to a whole other country. America is beautiful too. Go explore this country with your friends or, shall I dare say, with your family too. You'll be glad for the experience.