10 Things You Learn on your First Road Trip
This summer, a few of my friends and I went on a Roadtrip to Nashville, Tennessee. It was the first time any of us had been on a proper road trip (apart from a couple of infuriatingly long car rides to get to Florida with the family.) It was a twelve hour drive, without stops, and we were planning on stopping quite a bit. We gave ourselves two days to get down, three days in the city, and two days back up. We did a lot in that week, and realized a lot too.
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1. Don't underestimate the power of a good playlist.
This one's easy if most of the group has Spotify. We made a collaborative playlist so that we could all add our own songs, and it worked out great. Just make sure to set some ground rules (ours were no Showtunes and no Country, because they have the tendency to drive people crazy) to make sure that everyone is on the same page, and go wild.
Also. play the playlist in order, so you know where you left off. We made the mistake of shuffling, and had to make sure we never closed the playlist when we got out of the car. We didn't want to hear repeats until it was necessary!
It was awesome always having fun songs on in the background, and of course, it led to some hilarious singalongs.
2. You're either a planner, or a pantser.
These are terms usually used for writing. A "planner" is someone who plots and organizes all aspects of a story before writing, while a "pantser," as the name implies, flies by the seat of their pants.
The same thing happens when you travel.
A good road trip could probably use a healthy dose of both. The problem comes when both types are too dedicated to their own ideas. Its not fun for the pantsers if the planners are keeping them on too tight a leash, and its stressful for the "planners" if the pantsers insist on veering too far off schedule.
So, its important to focus on keeping a balance between planning and improvising. Planning keeps time constraints, goals, and budget on course, and ensures you aren't missing anything important. Pantsing keeps the trip exciting, creates a feeling of adventure, and can lead to seeing some cool stuff off the beaten path. Simple and straightforward communication is the key to making sure everyone is happy with the balance.
3. Don't feel weird about taking photos.
You are going to look like insta-tourists, and that's fine. It's what you are, after all.
On our way to Nashville, we loved posting photos of ourselves from each stop. But there was one thing about our road trip social media coverage that baffled our friends and family.
"Who the heck is taking all of these pictures?"
It was a fair question, since no one was ever left out of a group shot. We adopted a story: we picked up a hitchhiker, who was cool about taking all of our photos for us. Our hitchhiker was really an iphone tripod.
Yep. We set up a tripod in front of every tourist spot. Sure, we felt "basic." We were embarrassed about it at first, but eventually we got over it, and we got some amazing shots that are definitely going to help us remember our trip forever.
4. Talk to everyone you see.
Our little group of road trippers was collectively introverted. In that way that no one is going to volunteer to ask where the bathrooms are and no one wants to call to book the excursion. It was a pretty good exercise, for all of us, to take turns and try to overcome these reservations. And as we did, something else happened.
We started talking to people.
Chatting with our awesome tour guide at Luray Caverns, having drunken conversations with some random boys on the patio outside of our hotel, asking about our parking-lot golf-cart driver's daily life.
I wish we had started doing it earlier.
Any place is incomplete without the people who live there.
5. Games aren't just for kids.
Despite all of our stops along the way, there were a few long stretches of just travel . Its tempting, because you're older now than you were on all those family trips, to convince yourself that you'll be entertained with just your phone and your earbuds.
Well, for us, that didn't cut it.
Here's what we did instead:
We also brought string to make bracelets, and ended up making one for each of us, plus the friends we were going to see when we arrived.
Not only did this stuff keep us entertained, but it made the car rides a part of our adventure, instead of just a necessary evil. .
6. You can't over-do it with comfy travel clothes.
My road trip rucksack was filled with half cute clothes, and half chill clothes. This was my first mistake.
What I failed to realize when I packed was that most of our time would either be spent driving, or jumping in and out of the van for various activities. Of course I imagined wearing a cute romper while taking photos at the Pink Cadillac Diner, and sporting my new bathing suit to swim in the waterfalls after our hike, but what I didn't realize was that our stops were all sandwiched between an hour of two of driving, and comfort would be a necessity in a cramped car.
There were so many comfy outfit options I wished I had brought once we got on the road. What ended up happening was I had to wear the same few comfy tees for the whole trip.
Next time, instead of 50/50, I'll probably make most of my outfits comfy and versatile, and leave only a little bit of room in my suitcase for fancy outfits.
7. If you have lots of hair, plan at least 3 easy styles.
If you are anything like me, the state of your hair is directly correlated to the state of your mood. I like to make sure my hair is looking cute and under control at all times. A road trip creates a problem here as there's usually not much time to blow dry or throw in a few curls.
Instead, you've got to find natural, easy ways to style your hair, to ensure you feel confident and cute while keeping your hair out of the way. You are going to want a few options under your belt.
My favorites were natural waves with a bandanna tied like a headband (shown at top), a loose side-braid or ponytail with a baseball cap (above), or two french-braid pigtails!
8. Lay down car ground rules.
How often will you switch off driving? Who is going to control the playlist? Will choices about food stops be democratic? It's all stuff to be considered and discussed before the problems come up mid-trip. This can actually make things kind of fun. For us, the rules made it so everyone had a job, of sorts.
The driver's job was, obviously, to not kill us, and get us where we were going. The shotgunner was the navigator, and was responsible for keeping the driver awake and engaged. You were not allowed to sleep in the passenger side. The backseaters were in control of the snacks and games.
The rules made everything run smoothly and kept everyone happy. If there's a time and place for anarchy, it's definitely not in a cramped van.
9. Don't be afraid to make impromptu stops.
We were off the highway and winding through back roads of Tennessee when we passed by what looked like a graveyard of old abandoned buses.
Obviously, we had to stop.
This was one of those times when it really felt like we were adventuring. We were finding cool things by accident. Still, this was one of the only times it happened. We were on a tight schedule, after all.
I think we would have been able to find even more interesting, offbeat sights had we driven around the areas where we stopped, instead of leaving right after we were done with out initial destination.
Don't be afraid to wander. You might find something weird, surprising, or cool.
10. Sometimes, its worth it to break the rules.
That leads me to my last tip for first time road-trippers.
At the bus graveyard, we saw tons of signs warning us to keep off, beware the dog, etc. This, obviously, only added to the creepiness of the place. We thought about not getting out of the car, but we were too intrigued. We didn't regret wandering around and peering into the bug windows, even if we did eventually get so spooked we ran back to the car.
A similar thing happened at the waterfalls. There was supposed to be a trail that let us down to the bottom of the falls, where we could swim. We were pretty pumped about it, but when we got there, we found out that the trail was closed. We were still able to see some ridiculous views and sit at the top of the falls, but it was hot out, and we really wanted a swim.
So, we decided it couldn't hurt to ignore the signage and take a quick dip in the shallow, rocky falls toward the top of the hike. It became one of my favorite memories from the trip, jumping from rock to rock, feeling the cool water rushing past, embracing my new identity as a river mermaid.
Rules are probably there for a reason, but sometimes, breaking them, safely, of course, is totally worth it.
So there you have it. Ten lessons I learned on my first road trip. I hope this is a good guide for helping other newbies avoid out mistakes!