The main reason I wanted my license in high school was to go on an epic road trip. I envisioned my friends and I driving cross-country to California, jamming out while our long locks whipped in the wind. We would pig out, camp out, and share meaningful “coming of age” moments. We’d would drive a tacky pink Jeep. When my gap year friends suggested a road trip, I was in! It’s didn’t matter where we were going; it’s about the journey, not the destination.
And we planned the journey out perfectly… or so we thought. This brings me to Lesson #1 of Road Trips: Rarely anything goes as planned.
Our original plan was to head south on the East Coast: from Potomac, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, to the Badin Lakes in North Carolina, to Tennessee, and then all the way back up. We booked a camping site for each night we planned on staying in in every state. We bought a questionable amount of marshmallows, tons of BBQ meat, and our very own grill to go along with it. We packed the back of our car with tents, sleeping bags, lawn chairs, a cooler, and books that no one touched. Everything was set. We were ready to go!
We left Maryland on Day 1 in our boss minivan, riding in style. It was no pink Jeep, but it was sufficient. We hoped to get to our first destination, Virginia Beach, in a timely fashion.
Lesson #2 of Road Trips: Detours are inevitable, but they should be limited so the party can get where they need to go.
On the way, there were too many detours. We stopped in Richmond, Virginia, pretending it was to check out the state capital when we were there for Krispy Kreme donuts. Other detours included the historical town of Yorkville, a significant Civil War town, replete with a museum, a Ben & Jerry’s, a used bookshop, and tourist shops selling “Southern Pride” posters.
We finally made it to our campsite in Virginia Beach, just in time to set up camp and catch the incredible sunset on the beach at Chesapeake Bay. After our swim in the bay, it was dinnertime!
During this time, I discovered Lesson #3 of Road Trips: If camping skills are not your expertise, bring friends who know their stuff. But don’t let those friends take over if it gets in the way of eating. We finally got to dig into grilled chicken and S’mores at the late hour of 11:30 PM!!
Because of our late curfew, we woke up later than planned for Day 2. After getting everything packed in the car, we were presented with a problem. The car dashboard had a message for us: something was wrong with our trusty steed’s tires. We attempted, logically, to fill them up with air at a gas station. When the warning still appeared on the dashboard, we took it to a mechanic. The verdict was that there was something wrong with the programming of the car rather than the actual tires, so we could continue.
Lesson #4 of Road Trips: The participants may be faced with technical difficulties, but they will move past them.
Our original destination for the day was the Badin Lakes in North Carolina, but at this point in the day it was already too late. It was time for an adjustment in our road trip, camping out in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. While driving, we jammed out to music, searched for the cheapest gas prices, played road trip games inspired by Buzzfeed, and made constant pit stops to buy more cooler ice and Slurpees.
When we finally hit the Outer Banks, we needed to look for a campsite. The campground was on the beach, leading to yet another technical difficulty; the driver got our car stuck in the sand. After failing to shove it out of the sand ourselves, we enlisted a group of guys nearby to help us out. They pushed the car while I went in reverse. It was a road trip miracle. While we enjoyed our dinner, we set up lawn chairs and just admired the endless amount of stars above us. Lesson #5 of Road Trips: No road trip is complete without a starry night.
We decided to start Day 3 with a dip in the ocean. Unfortunately, we were unprepared for the amount of seaweed in the water. We decided to have some fun with it and engage in seaweed fights. So much seaweed got tangled in my hair that I came out looking like Arielle the Mermaid, and not in a good way.
At this point in our trip, we realized we were way too far to ever get to Tennessee, so we started our way back to West Virginia. We decided to take a more scenic route of the country instead of highways. We passed by views of never-ending fields, haystacks, cows, sheep, and churches. It was definitely a good idea to take the road less traveled.
After getting a feel for country life, we finally arrived at our abode for the night–John H. Kerr Reservoir Campgrounds. We went through our usual camping routine–set up, shower, eat, sleep. We were all exhausted by Day 3, as we were running out of S’mores to keep us going.
Lesson #6 of Road Trips: There’s no such thing as too many S’mores, so pack accordingly.
On Day 4, our road trip crew made some new friends. An elderly couple approached us at breakfast and asked if we found everything alright. They proceeded to tell us their life story, and we were all ears. They were high school sweethearts originally from Texas. After retiring in 1992, they bought an RV and have been traveling around the country ever since. We were invited inside their RV after breakfast for a full tour, and they showed us a map they’ve had since 1993 and pictures of every RV they’ve gone through since ’93. And of course, they showed us pictures of their grandchildren. We hung out with them for about two and a half hours before taking a group selfie to solidify our new-found friendship. Meeting them was the highlight of our trip.
Lesson #7 of Roadtrips: Befriend your neighbors. There are some extremely interesting people out there.
When we parted ways with the couple, it was afternoon. Half our group headed to the lake, while the others, myself included, went hiking. It was a nice, relaxing trail to ourselves. We pushed through spider webs and made bird calls before we had to head back to meet up with the rest of the group. We decided it was best to go back to Maryland because those of us from New York didn’t miss our bus back home the next day.. Each of us drove that day to soak in our last moments of roading. When we got back to the Square 1 House in Maryland, it was really late. We scarfed down leftovers from the trip, and hit the bed.
The next morning, we had S’mores for breakfast because we just couldn’t leave camping behind. Us New Yorkers were driven to the bus stop around noon and after five-and-a-half hours, we were back in the City That Never Sleeps.
Lesson #8 of Road Trips: Go on another road trip. My first road trip was totally dysfunctional, but surpassed the expectations of my fantasy. With the right friends and spontaneity, anything is possible.