Road trips and highway-induced mayhem
Plane tickets are expensive. Not many students can afford to fly across the country for their week off from classes. And just as many aren’t excited by the possibility of sitting in a crowded Greyhound bus.
This leads to several students hopping in cars and road tripping with a group of friends. There are advantages with this mode of travel. The gas money is split into equal expenses; the group can separate driving responsibilities into shifts; and it’s a chance to get out of Fargo for at least a few days and travel through some different terrain.
The only downsides to traveling via car or minivan are that it’s difficult to get a good night’s sleep, and you may not have a chance to shower for a day and a half.
Modern technology has changed highway travel to some degree.
In the 1970s, everybody had a CB radio and an 8-track player. Now, everybody has a cell phone and an iPod.
Outside of truckers, police officers and emergency responders, not many people use CBs anymore. But a good CB can be just as important to a road tripper as a full tank of gas.
For one thing, people who have them can talk to their friends on the road without using minutes from their cell phone plans. Not to mention they also help people find out about nearby restaurants and speed traps aka, “bear in the bushes.”
There are some problems of highway travel that are the same today as they were 30 years ago.
One problem is passing time on the road. There are only so many crossword puzzles and games of 20 Questions that you can play before you’re bored out of your mind.
While on recent road trips with friends, I have discovered two discernible facts.
The first is that the electronic form of 20 Questions is as close to a mind reader as I’ve found. It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of a ham sandwich, a tornado or a king cobra, the game will know. And once it does, it will ridicule you in a playful manner for thinking of such an obvious guess.
The second truth is that you can meet some really cool people on your travels. It’s easier than most people might think.
On past trips, friends and I have taken dry erase boards and markers along and talked to other cars on the highway. Obviously, a person wouldn’t want to do this alone since it could distract him or her, which may lead to accidents.
But by talking to other vehicles, you can learn where people are from, where they’re headed and offer them an invitation to a party. They might not even be from a nearby college. That’s the excitement of the open road; you never know whom you’ll meet or what you’ll find.
Odds are you probably won’t meet your future husband/wife in the passing lane, but it brings excitement to even the most boring stretches of highway. At the very least, it’ll help you kill a few hours.
Road trips are a great way to spend time with friends and save some money. Remember two things and you’re sure to have a good time.
No. 1: Just because you’re stuck in a car for several hundred miles doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun.
No. 2: Bring a camera.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum