When it comes to vacations, it’s hard to find a person who prefers driving to their destination rather than flying. After all, flying is faster. It’s safer. And, if you ignore the fees for checked bags, in-flight meal service (remember when it used to be free?) and the ability to recline your seat, it’s cheaper. When faced with the prospect of traveling to your vacation locale in the air, complete with noise-canceling headphones and in-flight movies, or getting there by cramped automobile, it seems like an easy choice. But I’m going to tell you why it is that on the next trip you take within the continental United States, you should drive to your destination instead of flying.
First of all, a vacation is supposed to be a shared experience, and airplane flights are designed for isolation. Just think about it. When you take your seat on a plane, what’s the first thing you do? If you’re like me, you shoot dirty looks at the other people in your row, establish the general space around you as yours, and check out, whether by sticking your nose in a book or popping in your headphones or closing your eyes and reclining your seat. Flying on a plane is not about the journey to a shared destination. It’s about getting there as fast as possible and minimizing your interactions with other people along the way. While I have my misanthropic moments – and I’m sure all of you do, too – that’s no way to live your life. Especially not if you’re on vacation. In a car, rather than isolating yourself, you interact with your fellow travelers. Believe me, the memories you make while on the road together will be worth the longer trip. Or would you rather spend a shorter time listening to the screaming baby a few rows ahead of you in a plane?
Secondly, while flying gets you where you’re going fast, it doesn’t get you there in style. Unless you’re willing to shell out big money for a first-class seat, you’ll end up stuck in coach, with little space for your feet and even less for your elbows. In a car, you have the option of changing your seat, of getting out and stretching your legs, of paying a reasonable price for your snacks instead of paying through your nose. Road-tripping to your destination may take longer, but it offers you something an airplane flight doesn’t – freedom.
Finally, driving to your vacation spot teaches you more about both the place you live and the place you’re going than flying ever will. The nature of the volunteer work I do requires that I go to California a few times a year, and I almost always drive. From my hometown to the town in California is a 12-hour trip if you don't speed, and on the way, you can see the impact of the changing seasons and climates on the landscape. I’ve seen the mountains on my usual route fade from brilliant green to rusty, dehydrated red. I’ve seen the water levels in Lake Shasta sink so far past normal that the coppery lakebed is exposed. And worse, I’ve seen the fire scars left on the landscape. From 35,000 feet up in the air, the changes in a landscape are invisible. To really know what your world looks like, you need to drive on its surface, not fly above it.
So, take the longer route. Avoid those sky-high flying fees. Hit the road with your friends or family – or just on your own. I guarantee it’ll show you things you’ve never seen before.
