Originally published March 7, 2012
This is the longest road trip Earl and I have ever taken. It’s a warm-up for the one we’re planning mid-August where we’re driving to Yellowstone National Park and back. It will take about four weeks, whereas this one took a little under three.
Here is what we’ve learned: We need to take a larger cooler on the road, so that we can keep water, as well as our other provisions, cold. On this trip, we had to keep the water out of the cooler because it was too small. We need to have trash bags of some sort and Handi-Wipe®s too. You’d be amazed how much trash collects on a road trip and how often your hands get sticky. A large atlas is a must, as are Tums® for a bad meal. A pillow and a blanket make snoozing more enjoyable; sunglasses make staying awake easier.
In scoping a hotel, there are criteria: king sized bed, no smoking, Internet access, working television, breakfast in the morning, and a local restaurant for dinner instead of a chain.
Once we’ve checked in, we need to be wary of what hotel clerks tell us. When one says, “It’s just a couple blocks,” it’s probably a mile or so. When another clerk says, “It’s the next exit on the Interstate,” we need to ask how far up the road that really is. Last night the next exit was ten miles, and we went there only because the clerk said there was a nice restaurant waiting for us. After we exited, we ended up at Sparky’s Bar which really didn’t meet our definition of “nice” because cigarette smoke was the main concession to ambiance.
What we really don’t need is about half the clothes we dragged along because, when we get on the road, we tend to wear the same outfit more than one day. We also don’t need a GPS repeating how many yards to the next turn (as long as you have an updated map system), Starbucks® (although it’s nice to see one every once in a while), and that hair dryer which takes up a ton of room. (Most motels have one, although it may not be the same as the one at home.) And I definitely don’t need the jewelry I brought, unless I am afraid to leave it behind. All in all, I’d say our practice excursion to extended road travel has provided some excellent information.
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