I have spent the last week or so trying to come up with a good topic for this blog post, and up until yesterday had absolutely no clue what I was going to write about. I decided to open up our Beyond Words book and try to find an article that interested me, and that I could write a blog about. After a few minutes I came across one of the clusters that we talked about in class a while back entitled Roads We Travel. This cluster focuses on experiences that people have when traveling on long road trips. It explains that many people are affected by road trips in different ways and that road trips can mean a variety of different things to an individual.
The article uses college kids as an example for the kinds of people that may take long road trips to different places. Of course when most of us think of road trips we think of driving somewhere for spring break, or some other vacation. The article says that many people our age view road trips as a rite of passage and that they symbolize our transition from kids to adults. It also mentions how there have been many movies made that use the idea of road trips as their plot. The movie Road Trip is used as a specific example.
However another part of the cluster consists of several articles that talk about a deeper meaning to the idea of road trips. These articles include, The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, and On My Road, by Holland Cotter. They focus more on how the road shapes us and how it makes us who we are. For instance, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, talks about the journey that many people had to make across the country in order to find jobs and have better lives during the 1930's. Then, in Holland Cotter's On My Road, he talks about what he experienced while driving through America during the 1950's, when the United States was being torn apart by racism.
So, my questions for everybody is what are some of the things that you have experienced while taking a road trip? Is there a particular road trip that is memorable to you? If so where did you go and what made it so memorable?
Most road trips have been pretty boring for me. Nothing really life changing has happened. Road trips allow you to see life in different areas. As the places change so do the people and how they live life. Road trips are a great way to explore and expand your horizons.
ReplyDeletei don't really go on long road trips like they describe in this cluster but i have traveled a few hours to go to DIsney, or to Sanibel, my family's favorite beach. Sanibel is my favorite place to travel to. My family is dysfunctional to say the least but i wouldnt trade them for anything. Whenever mom, my two brothers, and i were feeling stressed or just needed to get away we would pile up in the car and drive the four hours from miami to sanibel and just enjoy life. We would leave all our problems behind and focus on being together and relaxing. People deserve some time to themselves, to relax and just enjoy their lives and i think road trips are a good time to just get away for a while and have that time to yourself to do what makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteRoad trips are great. I love every part of them! People watching, games you can play with billboards and cars, stopping at restaurants, seeing new sights, hotels... Every summer since I was eleven I have been taking a 12 hour road trip to my camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The only problem with road trips is that I get very bad motion sickness. My favorite part of road trips, like my one to camp every summer, is making a fun journey to an even better destination. It gives me time to plan, think, relax, and so on.
ReplyDeleteI had to find really amusing ways to keep myself occupied in a car for long periods of time. Every year, me and my five other family members would pack into a minivan and travel 16 hours to see our family in Pennsylvania. Those trips get really boring really fast. And since my parents got tired of us playing the “I’m not touching you” game or the “he’s looking at me” complaint, we had to find something else to do. One of the things that I always loved to do was just look out the window and watch the people driving past us. I always tried to wrap my mind around the idea of all the other people in the world actually having their own lives. There have been times when I felt like I was real, and my family and friends were real, but the random people that I passed on a daily basis were robot like beings that were mostly just there for filler space. So, to try and give these people that credit they deserve for having their own lives, I would play a game where I would see how many people were in the car and what they were doing, and then I would try to make up a story about what they were doing, where they were going, and so on. These long Pennsylvania trips have helped me to really have a perspective on other people’s lives, and it kept me occupied for quite a while.
ReplyDeletei have been on many road trips in my life from the keys to nebraska it seems like I've driven every where. there is no doubt that they are memories that i will never forget that took place on these road trips. its hard to pick a favorite overall. the trip to Nebraska with my Dad was my most memorable hunting trip, while my favorite road trip with my mom was coming home from tennessee. i have traveled everywhere with my group of friends, there is no way i can pick a favorite out of these, but the longest one we took was to South Carolina because we wanted to go on the spur of the moment. that was my favorite part of road trips with friends- the minimal planning. a crazy idea on a tuesday could turn into a three day weekend road trip.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I rarely take road trips. My road trips consist of a ride to South Carolina to visit my aunt. This trip is so boring to me and I dread taking it. As soon as I was able to, I would drive the whole distance instead of my mom or dad driving. Otherwise I would try to sleep in the backseat, but I would end of feeling sick to my stomach.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable trip was my trip to Australia. It wasn't a road trip with family, but my group and I would travel by bus between cities. Our bus driver was so cool. He let us control the sound system and he would plug in his iPod or our tour guide would plug in hers or another person in the groups would plug in theirs. I learned about several different styles of music that I didn't know before. My family only listened to country or 80s music. We heard Australian and American music alike. We all sang to the songs that we knew and learned a new song called "G'day, G'day." My experiences from this trip are still my best despite traveling to other countries.
Road trips are quite boring in my book unless you're with a bunch of friends. There is nothing to do besides sitting at a 90 degree angle staring out your window. This one time, I was visiting my grandparents in Michigan and we decided to go to my grandma's brothers lake house in Canada. Well after we passed the border we had about three more hours left. I was like "bump this, Im going to sleep. " So I passed out in the back of their SUV. I woke up from my nap and asked them if we were close. They said no and I was confused because I felt like I slept for a two hours. So I asked them how long I slept for, their response was ten minutes! Ten minutes!? It literally felt like I was asleep for a good two hours, I was pissed when they told me.
ReplyDeleteMy family makes a road trip to Vail, Colorado every year. It is a God-awful, miserable drive and it is totally not worth it and I hate going. I like skiing, but I've been enough times for 3 lifetimes. My favorite part of the trip is driving through St. Louis. The arch is just beautiful and I really like the city itself.
ReplyDeleteRoad trips to me are boring. I saw this because the only ones that I have ever been on were the four hour car rides back home to Orlando. I can say that I have been on one special road trip. It was back in February and I went to New Orleans with my boyfriend and his fraternity. I had never been to New Orleans before that so I was excited about that to begin with. It was six hours long but it flew by because it was pretty much a huge party all the way there. It was a bus load of about 50 people and we all got to know each other fairly well by the end of the trip. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to do something like that again.
ReplyDeleteI once drove to atlanta from my home which is about 7 hours away. About 2 hours into the drive, we hit major traffic jam and it took about an hour just to go 10 miles, so we had to find another way. We went on back roads and ended up getting lost and trying to get back to the highway it ended up taking us 12 hours. It was a trip to remember, it was terrible.
ReplyDeleteComing from a really small island I'm not used to making road trips. My longest road trip was probably when we drove to Tampa for a track meet. Our bus driver was an old lady that had to be almost 80 years old, it took us almost six hours to get back from Tampa to Tally
ReplyDeleteEvery year my family takes a road trip back to Nebraska to visit family and friends. This takes almost all of two days but I love it. For the most part I'll just talk with my parents or brother or sister or watch movies, but what I love the best is just listening to my iPod and looking out the window. To me, this is just so relaxing and gives me plenty of time to clear my head of all thoughts and stresses that's going on in my life, not like I have a lot of stress though. I love just looking at the land when we pas through each state. For example, when we go through Chattanooga, Tennessee there are always mountains or in Kentucky or Illinois its just so flat, but my favorite is passing through St.Louis, Missouri. Not only because I know we are almost to Nebraska but upon entering the city you pass the Mississippi River, the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium and Edward Jones Dome. Then shortly after leaving the city and you continue on I-70 you follow some of the same path as Lewis & Clark and there are bluffs on both sides of the interstate.
ReplyDeleteA memorable road trip for me was from Boca Raton, Fl to somewhere in Michigan. I was about 10 and i hated it because it was a 2 day card ride. I got sick in Tenneessee because the mountains made me so dizzy and we had a cat in the car with us. Not too sure why. I was with my older sister, her husband, my nephew, and my grandma. It was so terrible, I asked to fly home instead of drive.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable road trip was to a small town in Colombia. It is an old town, where there are statues of some of the Colombian myths, such as "La LLorona," or "The Crying Girl." I love this trip because all my family went. It was a van with all my family. I enjoyed bathing in the river with my cousins, and eating BBQ next to the river was amazing. I want to go back to this place because I love everything about it. The climate, the food, and the people were simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis year for spring break I took my first college road trip with my girlfriend to North Carolina. We went without parental supervision for the first time, and I was nervous about how everything would go. The trip fortunately turned out to be a great success. We visited waterfalls, and climbed mountains along America's legendary Blue Ridge Parkway. It was the perfect way to spend spring break, and I will never forget it.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love going on road trips; whether it's with my parents or close friends. I'm one of those people who love to get into deep discussions about whatever is on the mind. The time goes by much more quickly and you learn a little bit more about the other person you're with. And of course, you do the occasional jam session to your favorite music. I used to think you have to bring lots of things to do on a road trip, but all you need is good company.
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ReplyDeleteBeing on the road you experience so many different things; from the change in scenery to seeing your family members at their finest moments. My most memorabel road trip was this past summer when my twin sister and I drove to our camp in North East Georgia, all the way from south Florida. Spending all the quality time together was very enjoyable because now we attend different universities.
ReplyDeleteI remember my first really long road trip to South Dakota. My family and I traveled from our home in Tampa almost in a diagonal pattern North-Westward. I can remember stopping at every single state and learning something unique about each one. The most memorable was when we did end up staying in South Dakota where we visited the infamous "badlands". It was unlike any place I have ever gone and I even retrieved old fossilized animal teeth in a small rock.
ReplyDeleteMany of the road trips I've taken have unfortunately been with my parents. I definitely need to take a long road trip with no one other than my friends. It is a right of passage and I have yet to pass. However, if I had to choose, I would say my most memorable trip was when my family and a friend drove to Disney in Orlando. Back then, I lived in Virginia so we had to drive down the eastern coast. We had hooked up my N64 and we played mario party and super smash bros all the way down. I had a great time, but it's sad I can't say I've had a better experience since I was six. Other times, I remember either never wanting to go in the first place or knowing that if I stayed home, I could have been at a party or group event from school. We always seemed to travel at the worst of times, especially school related. I don't think we ever traveled when I didn't have a paper due the following monday.
ReplyDeleteI don't go on a lot of road trips that often. The fun car rides, in my opinion, are the ones with friends. Even if my friends and I are in the car for hours and hours, we can talk for days on just about anything. When I go on road trips with my family, there’s nothing else really to do besides sleep and look out the window. Sight seeing is always a great thing when on road trips, but then again most of the time, your destination is where you will be seeing interesting stuff so until then things are pretty boring. It’s always a nice experience whether with family or friends to take any type of trip; I enjoy them all. My most memorable road trip would have to be the cross-country trip I took with my family. We rented a huge van so everyone was comfortable and made several stops along the way to New York. There was a lot of stuff to do and see along the way and it was a way for my family to get closer as well.
ReplyDeleteSo, my questions for everybody is what are some of the things that you have experienced while taking a road trip? Is there a particular road trip that is memorable to you? If so where did you go and what made it so memorable?
ReplyDeleteThe road trip from my hometown, St. Petersburg to New Orleans, was a really memorable trip mostly because of the stops we had along the way, the driving wasn't that interesting because it was just my mom and sister, and usually they both slept while I drove. I am planning a road trip from St. Pete, Florida to California for next summer which my sisters and I will go on. We're making a list of places we want to see on the way to California some of our stops include: the painted desert; Roswell, New Mexico (UFO sightings..); San Diego International Comicon; Hollywood, and a bunch of other places. This summer we are working and saving up money for the trip and next summer we'll be on our way! This trip will be memorable because my sisters and I are very close and this will be the first long trip we'll take together and we've never been out to the West Coast so this is going to be very memorable!
There have been a few road trips that have been very memorable to me and i've also learned a few strong life lessons from. last summer i drove from South Florida to Glenville North Carolina by myself. I couldn't sleep the night before i wanted to leave. At 1 in the morning i decided to not sleep and start the long 12 hour drive. I was wide awake and doing perfectly fine until i got to North Florida and i because very tired. I am the most if not one of the most cautious and observant teenage driver around and usually don't lack judgement while driving. But while i was driving my stubbornness got the best of me as i didn't stop to rest. The next thing i knew was that my car was half on the highway and half off as i woke up from falling asleep. I immediately pulled over and took a nap in my car. I was so mad at myself because i know better than to do that. But we live and learn, and i learned the hard way that we need adequate sleep before making a long road trip.
ReplyDeleteI had a road trip last summer that I will never forget. My best friend and I took the car all over the country. We drove from Florida to Atlanta, to New Hampshire, to New York, then back down to Florida. Over the course of the trip, I really got to bond with my best friend during the drive. We didn't sleep unless we absolutely had to, and enjoyed the scenery all throughout the trip. We spent a total of $2000 dollars in two weeks, and had a blast. There were no parents telling us what to do. It was just us, and the car. Too bad we were underage, or we would've definitely went to Vegas.
ReplyDeleteI actually got back from a road trip tonight. I went to the american college dance festival with a group of dance majors. I drove with a professor that is older and not great at driving. She lived in New York as a professional dancer almost all of her life, so she never needed a license and didn't get one until she was in her thirties. She still only drives when it's absolutely necessary. I was scared for my life. Not only did she swerve so much that I was car sick, but we had several near death experiences mostly having to do with her swerving or not paying attention.
ReplyDeleteI love road trips. They always consist of my family, my dog, and one packed mini van going to an unknown location that we booked the night before. Every time we take a road trip means that I will make a new awesome playlist for the road, if we are going to the mountains I make sure to have some Led,Bon Iver, and other mellow music; if we are going to the beach I normally have more salsa, bachata, and house music. Besides the playlist I will buy a new book which only two pages will be read because most of the trip is spent talking, sleeping, playing with my dog, or looking at the amazing scenery the American roads have to offer.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable road trip is the same trip my family takes every year to visit family in West Virginia. The anticipation of finally getting there builds up over the 12 hours of driving. Passing through Georgia and South Carolina can be boring, but that is what an iPod is for. The real fun starts at the border of North Carolina and Virginia. Just before the border you enter mountainous terrain with some of the best views ever. One in particular you drive along the side of the mountain and can look down and see the most incredible view of a town down below.
ReplyDeleteMost of the road trips I have gone on in my life I spent sleeping in the car. When I was younger flying somewhere was more expensive than driving so my family traveled by car. Because my dad worked so much and got off of work so late at night most of the trips we went on we drove at night to get to. I remember waking up most of the time thinking i was in my bed and then realizing we were already on the road. As I got older the gas went up and flying somehow became cheaper than driving. So now we travel mostly by plane. The most memorable road trips I can remember are my trips with my mom and sister to and from Miami. Once we moved from their when I was 8 we made frequent trips back there to visit close friends. That is one place we very rarely fly to. But I enjoy that trip because of the memories that go along with it. Me and my mom usually stop at the same places along the way, talk, and listen to the same CDs while my sister does her own thing in the back seat. I will always remember very clearly the road trips to Miami I have taken with my mom.
ReplyDeleteThe only road trips I have been on were ones where my family went to visit other family in Atlanta. Personally, I do not enjoy road trips because there was always a bad experience coupled with the long drive.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I used to drive up to Rhode Island every summer to visit my grandparents for a month. There's no particular event that I remember, I can just remember all of the car games we played and even made up. Over the twenty something hour trip we had fun and we had fights, but I'm glad that I was able to spend this time with my whole family.
ReplyDeleteI really have never been on a 'legit' road trip. The furthest I have driven was probably from my house in South Florida to FSU. I have never experienced anything out of the ordinary. The only things that really made one of these trips stand out is the one time I spotted an exotic car and the other time when it literally rained the whole entire trip!
ReplyDeleteI've taken quite a few road trips while I was growing up. None of them can live up to how much fun I had on my first trip to Florida. My family and I lived in Chicago and were moving down to Orlando but had no way of getting the car down there. So to save time and money my Dad and I decided to make a road trip out of it on the way down. We stopped at so many places, coke cola factory in atlanta and louisville slugger factory. This is my favorite and best road trip I've ever taken.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable road trip happened February of 2011. Me long with 4 of my friends went from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando for a weekend to camp out in the woods and to see the band The Expendables in concert. The reason why this road trip was so special to me was because it was one of the last times I got to spend quality time with my friend Juan, who unfortunately passed away 2 months after this road trip.
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