Wednesday Medey

Terri's questions this week:

NATIONAL ROAD TRIP DAY

The Friday before Memorial Day is declared National Road Trip Day and serves as the official kickoff of the summer road trip season. With two-thirds of leisure travelers (64 percent)* planning to take vacations this summer, it’s clear that the open road calls when long weekends and Fridays roll around. We pack up, fuel up, stock up and then crank up the tunes. In fact, 63 percent** of road trippers say that having good music, audiobooks and/or podcasts to listen to are the most important parts of a successful road trip. Additionally, three in five road trippers (59 percent) say that having good snacks and drinks for the road, finding great places to eat on the way and finding clean bathrooms to use while traveling are their most important parts of a successful road trip.

Whether we’re seeking adventure, visiting family and friends or making a business connection, road trips are often a rite of passage. Sometimes we endure them, often hearing, “Are we there yet?” And other times we never want them to end; sometimes getting lost can be even more fun than the original plan.

Getting ThereRoad trips that begin and end with happy passengers are always the best. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

•  Plan ahead. Even a spur of the moment trip requires a little planning.
  • Two in five (42 percent) road trippers find travel apps very helpful when planning their trip, and mapping out your stops ahead of time can be a great way to save both time and money.
  • One way to do so is with the Pilot Flying J app’s enhanced trip planner feature. The trip planner helps users create their route and find Pilot and Flying J locations along the way, showcasing specific amenities, fuel prices and more.
• Vehicle maintenance is vital to any successful road trip. Beyond the routine maintenance like oil changes and sound tires, other simple checks will keep you on the road.
  • check your wipers and wiper fluid
  • make sure your spare tire and jack are in place
  • all lights and signals are working
  • condition of your brake pads
  • registration is current or not about to expire
• Plot your course. Consider construction, fuel and snack stops, shopping and the interests of the other travelers.
  • Road trippers prioritize convenience and efficiency, primarily (58 percent) wanting to stop at all-in-one rest stops (offers gas, food, drinks, coffee, bathrooms, and more.).
  • Specifically, the top “road trip essential” snacks are chips and salty foods (52 percent), freshly made, grab-and-go foods (50 percent) and fast food options (49 percent).

How do you travel? There are two kinds of people who take road trips. If you’re going together, you might want to discuss a compromise before hitting the road! The tourist takes their time getting there and doesn’t mind taking backroads to see long-forgotten ghost towns. On the other hand, the pilot enjoys seeing the country from the car, sets a course and frowns upon unscheduled stops or side trips.

No matter the destination, road trips include an element of expectation, and they rarely disappoint. The best road trips bring us closer to people over a stick of beef jerky and car karaoke. They connect us to places through memories, a postcard, and the kindness of strangers.

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Everything above this line is from the Natonal Day Calendar website.

I decided to skip ahead to Friday for today's Medley.  It IS a holiday weekend for us in the USA and lots of folks do take road trips on long weekends.  Let's see where we can go with this one!!

1.  Have you ever done a spur-of-the-moment road trip?  Where did it take you?

Yes, Drew and I did a spontaneous road trip once...actually more of a day trip....it was before the kids were born...at the time, we were living in NYC, and one Saturday we drove up to Massachusetts to visit Old Sturbridge Village  (we are both history geeks), and then we headed to Boston for a lobster dinner.  We got home in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  It was so worth it

2.  If time and money wasn't an issue, what roads would you choose to travel and how long would you be gone?

OK, so now I get to brag on one of my favorite books:  

Travels With Charley In Search of America. by John Steinbeck.  I read it as a teen, and again when I was in my 20's.  This is a travelogue of Steinbeck's 1960 road trip from his home on Long island up to New England, across the country to the Pacific Northwest, down to his birthplace in Salinas, California, then through Texas and the Deep south before returning home. Steinbeck claimed to have made the trip with only his dog Charley, in a pickup truck outfitted with a cabin so that he could camp out.  

I later found out that most of it was fiction, that the novelist had been accompanied by his wife for most of the trip, and had stayed in hotels and motels many of the nights when he claimed to have been camping out. 

If  I had the time, and the money, I'd love to do a cross country trip.  I've never been one for camping, so perhaps my trip would look more like the one Steinbeck actually did instead of the one he wrote about, but still, I think it would be fun.

3.  When you go on a long road trip, what snacks and beverages do you take?  Do you pack a picnic? Does the back seat turn into a nest? 

Our road trips these days are usually day trips.  We always put water and soda in the cooler, but generally we buy food at the event or attraction.

A few years ago, though....

Drew's father had been living in southwest Florida.  When his father moved into a nursing home, Drew put his father's possessions into storage.  Later, he brought his father back up to Long Island.  And then Drew and I flew down to Florida, rented a small truck, and brought his father's things back to Long Island. We stayed at inexpensive motels and ate at chain restaurants -- mostly chains that we do not have in New York.  We couldn't bring a lot of stuff with us because the truck did not have a back seat, but I do remember potato chips....

4.  Please tell us about something interesting or strange you have seen on the side of the road.

Many years ago, Drew and I and another couple decided to drive out to Montauk Point -- the easternmost portion of Long Island -- to watch the sun rise. We'd been telling ghost stories all night.  My three companions all claim to have seen something that I didn't see.  They said there was a man, dressed all in white, walking a white dog.  I didn't see it.  But to this day Drew swears the man and dog were there.  Or maybe it was a ghost...

5.  Who does the driving when you head out in the car?  Do you stop in the rest areas along our Interstate highways when you have to use the facilities, or do you choose a fast-food restaurant or gas station instead?  Not TMI... inquiring minds want to know!

Drew drives a 7 passenger minivan.  I drive a compact hybrid.  My car gets incredible gas mileage, but Drew prefers his behemoth, so he usually does the driving.  And I think we know the location of every rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike...

6.  Please share something with us about your week so far.

One thing I like about Facebook ...the "memories" feature.  You  know, "here's something you posted on Facebook last year, two years ago, etc."  In the past two days I've seen photos of my older daughter's college graduation 7 years ago and younger daughter's graduation 5 years ago.

I feel old....