Growing up, the Road Trip was eagerly looked forward to in my family. At first they were short trips-camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Glacier National Park in Montana. Then my older sister moved to the West Coast, and our Road Trips became much longer. Planning was almost as fun as going. We would haul out the Rand McNally road atlas and plan our route. The drive itself was enforced down time, at least for us kids-no cell phones then, no CD or DVD players, no Sirius XM radio. Only the view out the window, whatever was on the local AM station, and some books. Lots of napping. The afternoon ritual of finding a motel that my mother approved of. Later on I made the same trips with my own kids. A little more stressful than I remembered, what with having to be in charge of packing, but I had a great time. And still, no entertainment other than the talking robot 2XL that my son had, and lots of books and napping. The Great American Road Trip is quantity time, but it somehow morphs into being quality time, too.
The Lewis and Clarke Expedition has to be the first Great American Road Trip. They set off with the purpose of finding and easy water route to the Pacific and came upon many unforeseen obstacles and fortuitous meetings. 'Undaunted Courage' by Stephen Ambrose is a riveting account of their journey, and the inspiration for many a road trip following in their steps.
'Travels with Charley in Search of America' by John Steinbeck is another great Road Trip book. Steinbeck took his dog Charley and drove across the US in a camper in 1960. For a different take on roughly the same time period, try the classic 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac.
The Road Trip has been used as the basis for lots of movies. Here's just a few:
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Paper Moon
- It Happened One Night
- The Road movies of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
If you want to plan your own Road Trip, I recommend 'Let's Go Roadtripping USA.' It covers every region of the country and parts of Canada, too. Reader's Digest's 'Off the Beaten Path' will guide you to our country's hidden gems. And I still use the Rand McNally Road Atlas. The Internet is great for researching specifics, but an atlas is full of possibilities.
And as usual, your library has everything you need to plan and carry out your own Road Trip. But I wouldn't recommend planning too much. Let the road be your guide. Drive Safely!
