The story goes that in the 1930′s, during the dust bowl, this young couple bought the drug store in Wall, SD. To encourage people to stop as they drove by on the nearby US highway (back in those days they were routes, marked by signs. The idea was you could get anywhere by following the signs if you knew the route numbers.). They hit on the idea of being cute–they put up signs along the highway advertising free water. It worked, and today the Wall drug store is the grandaddy of all tourist traps. You can pose next to a lifelike statue of a mean-looking cowboy or on a bucking bronco (also a statue). Gifts and souvenirs galore. A decent restaurant. Clothing and crafts. You won’t miss it—the interstate has a string of signs that goes for miles. And you can still get free water.

The locals still use it as their drug store, too

Brookfield Zoo is not a traditional zoo. No cages with tigers pacing back and forth all day long. The zoo is a collection of large buildings with large, natural-feeling environments for the animals. Frequently several species share an area. It’s the humans who are confined, to paths with barriers. You can find plenty of signs describing the animals, and a fair number of interactive displays for children. Our favorite joke was the danger of having the kids get mixed in with the monkeys.

One of the interactive exhibits. Louisiana bayou environment.

We did some shopping, but you probably don’t need a description of how to do that. But here’s a picture anyway. The Lego store was the busiest one we visited.

The guy on the left is made from Lego.

Get a GPS! Carry an atlas for backup. Our GPS served us well; we drove straight to the goal without a hiccup. Yes, the weather was miserable, yes we ate mainly junk while we were on the road. Yes the trip consumed three tanks of gas.

But yes, we were relaxed: We had plenty of time for the trip (we didn’t tell them when we would arrive), and we swapped driving chores agreeably. She likes to have me read to her while she drives, and I like to read aloud. Makes the hours and miles go quickly, and we polish off a book in the process. And I remembered to take an anti-car-sickness pill.

They were glad to see us when we arrived. What could be better?

Rule 2. Get plenty of sleep the night before. Yeah, right.

Rule 3: Don’t worry if you leave later than planned. We had things pretty ready by the time we got to bed the night before, so we left only half an hour behind schedule, and felt pretty good about it. So we have this rule down in spades.

Rule 3: Don’t get lost. Watch the following posts to see how we fared.

So let’s not try to cover destinations here.

How about no destination? They say (It’s a Zen saying, by the way) the journey is the destination. This kind of road trip can be relaxing, unless you’re one of those goal-oriented types who just has to be headed somewhere. The trick is to have more time available than you need to get someplace (or get back), and try to take that whole time. If you can convince yourself that you have PLENTY of time, you will go slower, watch what’s going on more, meander more (turn off on side roads), maybe stop and check things out more. You’ll arrive (or return) more relaxed and refreshed than you would believe. Give it a try, then comment below. No hurry.

(Did you catch the allusion to the song in the title of this post?)

Solo—Freedom! Nobody to negotiate with about breaks or exact route, speed, meals, or choice of radio station. You go where you want, when you want and how you want. This freedom can be liberating, and a lot of motorcyclists prefer to travel this way. But beware the tendency to fall asleep when you’re alone, and be sure your solitude doesn’t turn into loneliness.

Adult companion—If you are okay with sharing the timing of meal and potty breaks, agree on a route, and have similar preferences for side trips,  adult conversation is nice, a competent navigator is nice, and just plain companionship is nice. My wife and I have a system we like: She drives and I read to her.

Kids—The key to this travel technique is: The shorter the better. Reconcile yourself to dealing with the squabbles and short attention spans. I remember dad fixing the back seat into a bed, and we actually did sleep a little. New toys help, renting a large vehicle helps, traveling games help (watch for out of state license plates, find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet, that sort of thing), and frequent breaks help. Reconcile yourself to a slower trip.

How do you like to travel? (I didn’t mention pets…) Add your adventures and opinions in the comments link below.

Anyway, One of the first posts on this blog touches on several types of vacations, and several recent posts have mentioned those types in a bit more detail. Now it’s time to mention the road trip.

Road trips come in several varieties, depending on the vehicle, the passengers, and the destination.

Vehicle

• Starting at the bottom, you can do without your own vehicle. Stand well into the shoulder of the road and put your thumb out. A sign helps, and wearing a shirt and tie helps. I did a lot of this in college. Maybe I should stop while I’m ahead, and mention that I’m not recommending you attempt this kind of travel. Maybe I’ll post more about hitchhiking some other time.
• Next up is riding a two-wheeled conveyance, such as a bicycle. Human-powered bicycling is a whole subculture all its own, and if you want to consider this kind of trip, you probably already have plenty of connections within the community.
• So is motorcycling a subculture, but you’ll find a lot of short-distance riders out there. One motorcycle club, the Iron Butt Association (real name) has plenty of advice on how to commit a long motorcycle ride. To join them, you have to document a ride of 1000 miles or more in 24 hours or less. Enough said, for now. Yes, mea culpa; I belong.
• Finally we get to automobiles. Consider renting a car instead of using your own. Especially if you belong to a travel club that offers steep discounts, such as (ahem) Serenity Travel, renting can be less expensive than putting all that stress on the old heap, and you have fewer worries about breakdowns and accidents. Your insurance company’s web site probably has a good list of things to check on regarding your car before you head out.
• You can go bigger than a mere automobile. I definitely recommend that you rent that RV. Unless you make road trips a lifestyle (subculture-based groups for that, too), you won’t get enough use out of an RV to justify the cost. I see more RVs parked in driveways than I see on the road. And you have fewer maintenance and repair hassles with a rental RV, too. Perhaps the best thing is that RVs are great for small groups, say two or three couples. You can split the cost, and you can enjoy good fun and fellowship while traveling, not just at your destination. Put some bicycles on the carrier in the back.

This is getting too long to cover passengers and destinations, so look for parts 2 and 3.