Road Trip!

I recently road-tripped with two of my favorite guys-my Adam and my Mickey. Even after yearly drives to Michigan, 27-hour caravans to New Jersey, and charter-bussing around the U.S.A. for college volleyball games, I am far from the expert road-tripper. In all honesty, I am a carsick, whining, antsy, passenger…and sometimes driver. My mom felt the need to warn my husband of this many, many times. So many times in fact that I found myself determined reinvent the road trip experience as well as the stereotypes my mother pinned in my husband’s head.

Day 1: We left as soon as school adjourned on Thursday. We stopped just near the border to eat dinner at a lovely rest-stop and to let Mickey sniff around. With moving costs and realtor fees at the forefront of our budget, I brainstormed ways to save money. Avoiding eating out was my first thought. We stayed in hotels serving breakfast and bought a nifty green cooler, filling it with the following road trip treats…

1. Chicken Salad Sandwiches (Mayo, diced chicken, sliced almonds, celery, dried cranberries, & grapes) 
2. Mini-Chobani Greek Yogurts 
3. Grapes 
4. Carrots (Mickey ate more carrots than Adam) 
5. Celery 
6. Just about every box of crackers sold at Wal-Mart 
7. Peanut Butter and Jelly 
8. Trail Mix (Almonds, dried cranberries, granola, white chocolate chips, Honey-Nut Cheerios) 
9. Deli Turkey/cheese 
10. Bread 
11. Mountain Dew (It would've been requested at every gas station stop) 

We then spent two hours driving through a torrential downpour on pitch-black Nebraska’s I-80, at the disheartening speed of 40 miles per hour, tires hydroplaning anyway. The lightning was magnificent. I found myself only slightly anxious about the storm but overwhelmed by my white pup cowering in the back seat. His confusion and misery became all I could think about. Safe, Kearney, Nebraska will always hold a special place in my heart.

He's not a fan of our "book on tape" choice. 

Avoiding carsickness was mission #1 during day #2. I can no longer even step foot on a charter bus without feeling nauseous. My plan in college was always to take half of a children’s Dramamine, constantly chew peppermint-gum, pull the shades, and keep the reading to a minimum. Just riding was not an option with classes to greet Monday morning. For our trip, Adam and I cut the reading completely and checked out books on CD from the Loveland Library. We made it about half way through A Tale of Two Cities.

As for surviving 40+ hours in a Hyundai with a Pit-bull, we brought a “Mickey Bag” supplying five days’ worth of food in a pitcher, Ziploc containers with water, Ziploc containers with Milkbones, leash, harness, his collapsible crate for solo-stays in the hotel, and of course, the “black toy.”

We arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan during night number two. We slept in, enjoyed a hotel breakfast, a walk through the mall, and my cousin’s incredible wedding. If I could do our wedding all over again, I would have a photo booth complete with dress up clothes, hats, and accessories. What a great wedding favor!

Never again will I travel new territory without a GPS. Adam and I decided to bite the bullet and purchase our first smart phones when we realized we would be moving to Madison. If only I could go back to my New Jersey/New York days with a GPS in hand. My friends and I would have spend fewer hours driving around in the dark and the dangerous, cursing printed MapQuest directions with their “slight rights.” The drive from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Madison, Wisconsin has many of these “slights” through Chicago. Oh the places we could have gone.

We arrived in Madison, met our fantastic realtor, and looked at three housing possibilities during day #4. Slightly exhausted and significantly overwhelmed, we substituted the local cuisine for Adam’s staple, Buffalo Wild Wings. In our defense, Adam tried a Madison based beer. We left on Monday and arrived home Tuesday afternoon. Madison is 16 hours away from Loveland. If I can survive Jersey…