Growing up you watch all these great movies like Are We There Yet? with Ice Cube or even Getting There starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Movies like these only inspire kids to plan out the perfect road trip cross country with your besties, even though you have at least several years before you can even get your license, not even taking into effect the fact that your parents will most likely not even let you leave your town with a car.

Anyways, through all the drama of high school and by the time you graduate, you’ve almost forgotten about your super amazing trip that you planned when you were 10 years old. But now you have just received your freedom and, as you enter college, this is prime time for an amazing road trip with your best friend.

Being in college is the perfect setting for a road trip for numerous reasons. First off, you’re most likely broke like I am and road trips are cheaper than flying somewhere. Also, road trips are a great way to break in your new independence of becoming an adult. Going somewhere new and being responsible for yourself definitely makes you feel grown up. Lastly, road trips are seriously so much fun, and that’s what college is all about, having fun, after working hard of course.

My freshmen year of college I decided to forgo the typical beachfront party in Florida and take a trip out west with my best friend from high school instead. We had both always wanted to take a road trip, but it was something we had talked about doing but never really put it into a plan.

One important thing I learned while being on this road trip, is that not having a plan is way more fun and exciting than deciding every destination.

My apologies in advance for anyone that needs set in stone confirmation or hates surprises, because this road trip ended up being one big surprise, but the thing is we were okay with that. I had met my best friend during elementary school and living just four blocks away we quickly learned that we enjoyed many of the same activities and sense of humor. Eleven years later, here we are in a car with a week full of stuff Googling cool places to see in Colorado.

We weren’t completely unprepared though, we had Facetimed a few days prior and decided that we at least wanted to see Salt Lake City, after becoming obsessed with The Book Of Mormon The Musical.

Besides wanting to see state capitols and mountains, there wasn’t much else on the agenda. When we hit a bigger city like Denver or Lincoln we would just decide there what to do. Much of this trip just consisted of exiting the interstate when we saw a cool attraction sign or endlessly walking around a city sightseeing.

Highlights did include though; going mythical hunting for Big Foot in Colorado and alien hunting in Nevada, getting lost in a lincoln log maze in Lincoln, discovering a haunted old west town, playing with baby goats, hiking to the top of a mountain in Salt Lake City and in returning, admiring an amazing view and numerous chocolate-covered apples.

As I look back on the trip though, it was not a snooze fest with nothing to do or regrets for places we didn’t go. Every state from Iowa to California (yes, somehow we ended up in Cali) had amazing scenery, people and experiences to offer, but the trip wouldn’t have been the same without my best friend with me. Having a friend to laugh with, have deep talks about life with and even hike in a rattlesnake infested canyon with is the true gift here.

I can’t believe it took me 2,000 miles to realize that yes, friends do come and go, and yes best friends even come and go as well. But being able to experience life and the world while living out a childhood dream of a road trip also means bringing your childhood best friend along. Although we may be in different places now, we will always be best friends and now we can finally grow up.

So, I guess in a way the unpredictability of our trip almost replicates the uncertainty of our future. But like we have grown up together, we know we always have each other’s backs and just like our road trip, life will be one hell of a ride.