The Roving Reporter

It's a plane, it's a car, it's a ... long trip

Posted by: Amy Reiter

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 4:38 PM

Recently I went to my parents' house near New York City for my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving.

It's a 13-14 hour drive, so generally flying is much easier, especially for a short trip.

But my last few plane travel experiences have been a hassle: long waits, curt "customer service" from stressed-looking employees, squashed-in seats, pissed off people all in a tiny little space without even some stale pretzels.

I can remember the glamour of my first few plane trips when I was younger -- I felt so special to be flying! And so excited about watching city lights get smaller and clouds get nearer! But in the last few years, flying has lost much of its joy. Everyone around just seems tired, unhappy and wishing they were already at their destination (though the clouds still look pretty cool from the air).

So between that and all the dire warnings and higher prices of flying over the holidays, I thought hitting the open road would end up being only marginally slower, and decided to go for it.

I've been on every mile of I-80 at some point, but there's things you forget when you aren't driving long distances frequently. So here's a reminder, in case you plan on hitting the road this holiday season as well.

1) Bring entertainment. I'm a big books-on-CD person. Champaign and Urbana libraries have great rental collections. I particularly like the Harry Potter books, read by Jim Dale, who seems to project a one-man theater troupe with his voice. I look for books with pretty straightforward plots that I can follow without losing any focus on the road. Cracker Barrel also rents books-on-CDs.

2) Bring a good map. We got stuck in two stopped-traffic situations. The first time, we sat in traffic for an hour. The second, we look a close look at our Pennsylvania roadmap and took a chance on a two-lane road. Ten minutes later, we bypassed the traffic (I'm guessing an accident) and were back on I-80 on open roads.

3) Follow speed limits. Seriously. There were cops everywhere and constantly stopping people. I got my first speeding ticket of the 21st century after going down a hill in Pennsylvania. There was no discussion of why I was going above the speed limit, no get-off-with-a-warning. While stopped, another car got stopped less than a quarter-mile in front of me. I am still ticked off about it -- and $160ish poorer.

4) Junk food on the road can be good -- and evil. Sure, all the fried stuff was fun for a meal or two. But then it's kind of gross. On the way back, we packed bagels and spreads and were much happier.

5) Negotiate any outlet mall sightings. We passed two outlet malls, both packed with cars. I wanted to stop. My fiance didn't. OK, so we were somewhat pressed for time. OK, so we had a long drive to go. OK, so outlet shopping may not be fun for everyone. But I do wish I'd thought ahead enough to leave time for this. And bring a book for him.

6) Know your driving limits. I'm not talking speed, I'm talking how much you can stay in a car driving, and how much you need to get out and shake out your limbs. I like getting out every two hours or so for 5-10 minutes.

7) Sometimes not driving may be the right answer. Though driving was enjoyable in parts, we missed a lot of time with my family and friends during the 28ish hours. And then we saw pictures of the Rockettes at O'Hare on the day before Christmas. That seemed way cooler than traffic in Columbus.

Amy

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