As spring break approaches, one thing is inevitable: road trips. I personally grew up on road trips, since a lot of my family lives out of state (That, and we were too poor to fly everywhere). If you've been on as many as I have, you know most of these things are inevitable.
Finding ways to entertain yourself
If you're lucky enough to have a laptop and DVDs, that's sure to keep you busy for a little while. However, that only lasts for a few hours (especially if you've seen said movies a million times), and there are those without computers... Maybe play a travel game, but eventually you get bored, or no one wants to play anymore. Then you stare out the window. When you get bored of that, you press your face against the window. Eventually, you start making faces at other drivers. Anything to stop the "ARE WE THERE YEEEETTTT?"'s.
"I HAVE TO PEE!"
You have quite a trip ahead, and you want to get there before nightfall, but then someone says this. If you happen to be on a route that has a rest stop every other exit, you're okay, at least as long as nobody shops. Then there are the scenic routes... Throughout my life, my family's traveled to Buffalo. Do you know how long it is from Annapolis to Buffalo? Eight hours on a good day. You know what the route's like? Once you get to the Appalachian mountains, you're lucky if the next town is an hour away. Rest stops are an endangered species. On these kinds of routes, you learn to keep quiet and wait until you see "whatever-ville, or whatsit-ton, 2 miles or less".
War of the Armrest
Admit it, you've traveled with a sibling or friend at least once. It can either be the best thing or the worst thing on Earth. On the one hand, they can entertain you whether they know it or not. On the other, they can become your sworn enemy, especially when it comes to the armrest. When you're in a car for a few hours, you want to be comfortable, you just want to put your arm down when- boom, they steal the armrest (Little anecdote for this section: My brother liked to use it as a PILLOW). It's all out war: Laying your arm on top, elbowing, slapping the arms away, even full out yelling. Hopefully you'll call an armistice before you get the "I will turn this car around!"
Road Trip Songs
These, again, can either be the best or worst thing ever. It all depends on who you're with. If you're with your parents, you dread when a popular song comes on. This is especially bad if it happens to be from the 70s or 80s. Then they start singing. Being in a moving car, you can't escape. Until it's over, you resort to ostrich or turtle mode.
However, if you're with friends, it's an opportunity to sing without being embarrassed, plus it's a great source of entertainment as well. There may be that one friend who's cringing the whole way, but the majority of you will be belting out Don't Stop Believing, A Thousand Miles, or any other obligatory road trip songs.
Food in the car
One of the best things about road trips: You can have all the fast food you want, and no one will judge you. If you want to be efficient, the "no eating in the car" rule goes out the window. Fun, right? Well, it is until your fries get on the floor, or you spill drink all over yourself. Gravity is the enemy. Eating in the car is an art that takes a long time to master. Tilt the cup in the direction of the sharp turn. Hold on tight when hitting a bump. If all else fails, make sure your reflexes are lightning fast.
