Road Trip!

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Just taking a breather on a trip from my home in Saskatchewan to where I'm living in Vancouver.

An excuse for a thread thus found, I popped on here to make it.

What are your road trip memories? Good? Bad?

What's the best/worst parts of long distance driving for you?

Thread made, time to hit the road.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Most my road trip memories happened before I was sic, so I don't remember much of them. The only thing I remember is driving through the rookies is in Colorado from Wyoming on the way to visit my grandparents in Arizona. That's it. :/

The longest trip I've ever made was driving to Yuma from Chandler, and that wasn't so bad. On the way back kinda sucked since I was super tired and I had to have music played loud in order to keep awake. I've gone to Vegas by car with both parents and friends and both times were boring since after a while you either run out of things to say and do, and it's a boring drive. So, meh, I guess...?

I don't do very many road trips. >.>

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I went on a road trip from Biloxi, Mississippi to Olympia, Washington last month as a permanent move. About 2700 miles and the trip was made in three and a half-ish days. I'm not sure if I have a whole lot of memories of it, considering most of what we drove through was pretty bland parts of what I feel to be some of the blandest states as far as scenery goes (crossing over into Utah for a short time was pretty cool and beautiful, though). It was certainly a good opportunity to listen to a lot of music. In that sense, road trips are never really that bad to me. Always good opportunities to digest a music album several times over.

Prior to that, most of my road trips had been 6 or 7 hour drives to Houston, Texas for medical purposes which were semi-frequent.

 

[FalloutJack]

Good times, really.

I would say the best part is making people crack up in-conversation while on the road.

The worst? Either road constructions or that deer we hit once.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Got a new bad one for the list. Stopped outside of Edson because it was storming too hard to see and I was very tired. Woke up to a dead battery. Greaaaat.

So my entire morning has been spent in the rain flagging down traffic in order to then get a ride to a payphone in order to pay a tow truck waaaaaay too much money to boost my car into starting.

Weeeeeee. Now I'll ALWAYS have jumper cables in my car.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

The longest "road trips" I've ever been on were my trips back-and-forth between New Hampshire and North Carolina at the beginning and end of each school year when I was going to college. I'd typically leave at night so that there wouldn't be a whole lot of traffic in the New York/New Jersey portion of the drive, and just drive the entire distance in a single shot only stopping for gas.

I learned to never stop in Joppatowne, Maryland.

I stopped there on my very first trip to get gas and something to eat. While filling my tank I noticed there was a man walking from customer to customer. He was dressed relatively nicely (polo shirt, khakis, and expensive pair of sunglasses), and when he came up to me he gave me this big long speech about how he was taking his family on vacation, but there was some kind of screw up at his bank that was preventing him from using his debit card at the pump, and that he had no cash, and he really could use some help paying for a tank of gas. I pretty much immediately got some strong grifter vibes from the guy, so I lied and told him that I was pretty tight on cash myself and I couldn't afford to help him out.

After getting gas I stopped at a nearby Friendly's restaurant (it was the only thing right off the highway) to grab a quick bite to eat before continuing on my journey. As I was paying the bill for my meal, a woman approached me with another long speech about how she took her son to the restaurant for his birthday, and didn't have enough money to pay for the food, and how she really needed some help or else she'd be stuck washing dishes, and blah blah blah. Because of the odd time of day between meals, I was pretty much the only other person in the restaurant at the time other than a few elderly couples. There were no kids, there was no party. I lied to her too, same lie, then got right the fuck out of Joppatowne.

At the end of the year, this time driving home, I again needed gas and I just happened to be near Joppatowne again. AGAIN at the pump I was approached by another person looking for money for an equally shady-sounding reason. Got right the hell out ASAP.

At the start of my Sophomore year I was joking with my sister about the whole thing, and she noted that it'd be pretty funny if it happened a third time. So on my way back to North Carolina, I made it a point to stop in Joppatowne. This time I went to a completely different gas station. Sure enough though, while I was pumping a man approached me and gave another long-winded excuse for why he needed money for a tank of gas. I looked around and saw that my car was the only one at a pump, so I decided to test the guy. I agreed to help the guy out and asked him how much he needed. He gave me this huge shit-eating grin and told me that $20 should be enough gas to get him to his destination. I smiled back and asked him which pump his car was at. "What?" I repeated my question, and added that I didn't have cash on me and would need to pay for the gas by card. "Oh. Uh... nevermind, thanks anyway..."

So yeah... Joppatowne, Maryland. Grifter central, apparently.

 

[Guffe]

Been on one proper roadtrip in my life, I was 10, we went from Finland to Sweden, then to Denmark, through Denmark (visited Legoland and other places in throughout the country) and then back through Sweden to Finland (were I live).
My memories are very good and I'd like to visit Legoland again since my memories from there are of pure awesome, which some friends, who've been there recently, tell me the place still is.

 

[Frission]

The longest road trip I've ever been on was taking a car until Nantes. The city itself was great and we saw the Jules Verne museum there, as well as the gigantic mechanical elephant there, but the trip itself was pretty unremarkable.
I had to wake up early and pack everything up, then take the car at 10 and drove until we reached the city. We stopped at a nice restaurant at 13 and managed to arrive by 15 (minus a few detours due to getting lost). The transition between the areas wasn't that big, although we went from driving past green hills to driving past yellow fields. I was sort of nice, although driving itself wasn't that fun. Traveling is very exhausting for me, and I avoid cars in particular because I get carsick very easily.

I prefer trains and planes, because then at least I can sleep. My favorite trip was actually a boat trip where we visited Île-aux-Moines. I never get sick on boat, don't know why really.

EDIT: Actually I visited the Everglades in Florida, Northern Spain as well as the South of the UK, and that was fun too, although we mainly took group buses or other types of mass transit.

 

[Frezzato]

The longest road trip I've ever been on was taking a car until Nantes. The city itself was great and we saw the Jules Verne museum there, as well as the gigantic mechanical elephant there, but the trip itself was pretty unremarkable.
I had to wake up early and pack everything up, then take the car at 10 and drove until we reached the city. We stopped at a nice restaurant at 13 and managed to arrive by 15 (minus a few detours due to getting lost). The transition between the areas wasn't that big, although we went from driving past green hills to driving past yellow fields. I was sort of nice, although driving itself wasn't that fun. Traveling is very exhausting for me, and I avoid cars in particular because I get carsick very easily.

I prefer trains and planes, because then at least I can sleep. My favorite trip was actually a boat trip where we visited Île-aux-Moines. I never get sick on boat, don't know why really.

EDIT: Actually I visited the Everglades in Florida as well as the South of the UK, and that was fun too, although we mainly took group buses.

Oh man, the elephant [http://www.theepochtimes.com/news_images/highres/2006-5-9-natparade1.jpg]. Was that mind blowing? Does the elephant have a name? Incredible.

 

[Frission]

Oh man, the elephant [http://www.theepochtimes.com/news_images/highres/2006-5-9-natparade1.jpg]. Was that mind blowing? Does the elephant have a name? Incredible.

It's just known as the "Great Elephant" and you also have caterpillars, butterflies other organisms. There was also the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany and strangely enough, we also had an expo on the Samurai in the Castle!

It was a good trip. Did you visit?

 

[Frezzato]

Oh man, the elephant [http://www.theepochtimes.com/news_images/highres/2006-5-9-natparade1.jpg]. Was that mind blowing? Does the elephant have a name? Incredible.

It's just known as the "Great Elephant" and you also have caterpillars, butterflies other organisms. There was also the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany and strangely enough, we also had an expo on the Samurai in the Castle!

It was a good trip. Did you visit?

Sadly, no. I only saw images online from many years ago. As I recall, there was also a giant girl there somewhere.

I've only been to Europe once, decades back, and the one place I really wanted to visit was Legoland, which of course, I did not do.

 

[Frission]

Oh man, the elephant [http://www.theepochtimes.com/news_images/highres/2006-5-9-natparade1.jpg]. Was that mind blowing? Does the elephant have a name? Incredible.

It's just known as the "Great Elephant" and you also have caterpillars, butterflies other organisms. There was also the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany and strangely enough, we also had an expo on the Samurai in the Castle!

It was a good trip. Did you visit?

Sadly, no. I only saw images online from many years ago. As I recall, there was also a giant girl there somewhere.

I've only been to Europe once, decades back, and the one place I really wanted to visit was Legoland, which of course, I did not do.

Oh well, but It's still open and they're building new machines and exhibits all the time, I didn't see a giant girl at the time, although there was a nice merry-go-round.

I didn't ever visit Legoland either, so I guess we can both put that on the list of places to visit (if ever). Did you go anywhere nice on your trip decades ago?

 

[Fractral]

The only one I do frequently nowadays is the six hour drive from home to my University at the start and end of each term. It's my own fault for picking the furthest possible Uni from my house without being in Scotland, though, and the car journey sure beats taking the train. Trying to drag a 20 kilo suitcase through the london underground is hell.

Being a Brit, the longest car rides I've ever done are the requsite holidays to the south of france every summer so that we get to see the sun at least once in the year. It's about 12 hours on the french motorways, which are at least usually empty thanks to the tolls- a relief given that the french are the most appalling drivers in Europe.

 

[Frezzato]

[...]Did you go anywhere nice on your trip decades ago?

Heh, mostly it was churches and castles. Parents certainly have the strangest idea of what they think their kids will like. I was older though, not a kid. My dad is a fan of Sherlock Holmes, so of course we went to Reichenbach Falls. And Interlaken. Honestly, it was a very boring trip.

There was one high point though. Something that nobody else in my family noticed.

We were driving through Switzerland, lost, when I noticed an airport sign on the road. Nobody was listening to me. Just a few hundred feet later, we crossed a very well-paved road. I looked to the left and saw delta-wing fighter jets taxiing and turning in order to take off from the road we just crossed. My dad decided to turn the car around because we were at a dead end. I saw what it was, a chain link fence blocking these gigantic, 50-foot doors built into the side of a mountain and covered in camouflage netting. As we drove back to the main road I saw a guard wearing a trenchcoat running up to us but we just casually outran him.

I never mentioned this to anyone in my family. I knew they would never believe me.

 

[Frission]

[...]Did you go anywhere nice on your trip decades ago?

Heh, mostly it was churches and castles. Parents certainly have the strangest idea of what they think their kids will like. I was older though, not a kid. My dad is a fan of Sherlock Holmes, so of course we went to Reichenbach Falls. And Interlaken. Honestly, it was a very boring trip.

There was one high point though. Something that nobody else in my family noticed.

We were driving through Switzerland, lost, when I noticed an airport sign on the road. Nobody was listening to me. Just a few hundred feet later, we crossed a very well-paved road. I looked to the left and saw delta-wing fighter jets taxiing and turning in order to take off from the road we just crossed. My dad decided to turn the car around because we were at a dead end. I saw what it was, a chain link fence blocking these gigantic, 50-foot doors built into the side of a mountain and covered in camouflage netting. As we drove back to the main road I saw a guard wearing a trenchcoat running up to us but we just casually outran him.

I never mentioned this to anyone in my family. I knew they would never believe me.

Yeah, the Swiss are pretty highly militarized. There's a saying that the Swiss are to the Germans what the Germans are to everyone else! Thanks for the story, it was pretty interesting.

 

[FPLOON]

I went to a funeral up in Northern California... That's all I can remember from that road trip, I guess...
I went to Las Vegas... I was too young to have a general experience that could come from Las Vegas, though...

Basically, I've barely went anywhere outside of Southern California... Plus, any trip I do take ends up with karaoke in the vehicle...

 

[MysticSlayer]

For a long time, my family constantly would drive between Rhode Island and Ohio/Pennsylvania. This trip often took us through New Jersey, which is by far the worst state to have to drive through. There are very few convenient places to pull off to, and even then the road ways are completely screwed up once you get off the interstate. My family basically made it a habit to eat, get drinks, and go the bathroom shortly before reaching New Jersey and then just drive through without stopping.

I also one time took a trip from Rhode Island to Kansas. Driving through the Appalachians was a ton of fun. No one in the section we drove through followed the speed limit, so I'd be passing signs that said 55 while easily doing 80-85, and on a bunch of windy mountain roads, those speeds are quite exciting. However, this was also one of the creepiest, since on the way we ran into incredibly heavy fog late at night and were having trouble finding the hotel that served as the midway point between RI and Kansas. It pretty much felt like being in a horror movie. And then the next day, we accidentally drove into the worst neighborhoods of Kansas City, which to sum it up is a place my grandpa described as, "Being a place at least one person gets shot in every day." So yeah, quite an adrenaline-pumping trip.

Then there was the trip I took between Virginia and southern Florida. During that trip I became convinced that North Carolina has some of the worst drivers in the nation. Can't maintain a constant speed? Check. Loves being in your blind spot? Check. No use of the turn signal as they prepare to cut you off? Check. On the flip side, Atlanta has to have some of the best. Yeah, it may not feel like that at times, but I felt much safer there than I did almost anywhere on the trip. That was also the trip where I found out that the University of North Florida, which I had been considering prior to the trip, wasn't exactly bursting with hospitality.

Probably my most eventful one, though, was the summer my family decided we wanted to visit both Cedar Point and Niagra Falls in one trip. That was the trip where I injured my ankle in a way that basically will haunt me the rest of my life (courtesy of Cedar Point, which was great otherwise), and we also found a wonderful indoor water park in Pennsylvania during the transition from Ohio to Canada. It was also the one time I went out-of-country, but given how similar Canada is to Michigan (or at least that part of Canada), it definitely didn't feel like I had gone out-of-country.

And I'll just stop there. I've got way too many road trips to list here. Basically, it has gotten to the point where I now find it odd to have not taken a long road trip at least once a year with a few other good-lengthed ones thrown in for good measure.

 

[DementedSheep]

Ah road trips, I used to go on long drives quite a lot because my family like camping. Unfortunately winding roads and me didn't go together well and I would always end up puking although usually not in the car. My parents use to intentionality stack everything between my brother and me so we could fight the whole time.