The Great Northern Roadtrip: Or how you really need to pack snacks

Back in 2010, we decided we would do something that Jessica had never done before: go on a road trip. And not just any road trip. No reservations, no definite destinations, just GO. We had a week or so with no work, so we rented a car, borrowed a friend’s GPS and went. We had a loose destination of going to Portland, Maine and that’s the direction we went. We covered 12 states on this road trip and we made almost as many new rules for travel:

1. Always pack snacks. Being in a car for long periods of time is NOT conducive to fun times when either or both persons become hangry (so hungry you are angry at nothing and EVERYTHING). At one point, there was a moment when it was “discussed” who was going to leave who on the side of the New Jersey turnpike to walk home to NC. Luckily, we stopped at a gas station, had a snack and a soda, and Presto! all was made better!

2. Do a LITTLE bit of research. Having no set plans or reservations can be lots of fun! But showing up to a tourist hot-spot after being in the car for 6 hours only to discover there are no vacancies at any hotel/motel/campsite is not fun. Almost missing your dinner because you are frantically trying to find a hotel? Not fun. Two people over six feet tall spending the night in the back of a tiny rented car? Not fun. It DOES make a good story for later, but at the time…not so much. This of course was before all the travel apps that exist now but still, do a LITTLE bit of research on where you are going – it can go a long way.

3. Make sure you have enough gas. It’s easier to find gas stations now with GPS, smart phones, etc. but sometimes in more remote places, these devices don’t always work. And in these remote places, gas stations are few and far between. Get gas whenever you stop so that you aren’t freaking out when you close to E in the middle of nowhere! Combined with being hangry – this can be a real nightmare.

4. Try the local cuisine! In this case, eat lobster until you are sick of it!! Seriously, you may think you would never get sick of lobster – but trust us, you do.

5. Try something you wouldn’t do at home. For Jessica, riding a enclosed chair lift to the top of a mountain in New Hampshire – doesn’t sound that crazy for everyone but for someone afraid of heights, it’s a big deal. For Mac, it was zip lining – though if this were an option at home, he’d do that there too. Anyway, the point is: you’re on vacation, so break out of your rut!

6. If the trip is over six hours? Unless it is a REALLY spectacular drive the entire time or you need to take a LOT of stuff with you – FLY. We decided that all those moments of hanger (again, so hungry that you are angry – the blood sugar roller coaster), all the times our butts went numb, all the boring parts of the interstate, or the whole state of Delaware (sorry Delaware), and all those times we just wanted to be finished driving despite having hours to go meant that we really should have flown (and that’s what we did the next time).

For documentation, we didn’t take too many photos on this trip (before we had exciting cameras and way before we discovered Instagram). But here are some to share:

Before the Fog came in (Mac is thrilled to have his picture taken):