By Annie Harris – ENO Brand Ambassador
I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely in love with road trips. However, it is definitely a recently found love; I honestly used to hate them. I discovered the beautiful and whimsical potential they hold and now I want to share my newly found love with all of you. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up, that’ll make your road trip one for the books.
First, you need a deadline. Laying out a rough time map allows you to enjoy your entire trip by avoiding the stress of getting to places on time or wondering when to turn around to head back home. This is very important when it comes to planning in advance and spontaneity along the way. If you have a final destination, you’ll need to know the the latest time you would be willing to arrive there. If you do not have a final destination and are simply driving, you still need to be aware of when you want to return home. This is key to a great road trip.
Second, even though planing when you want to arrive at your destination and get back home is quite important, a road trip still needs spontaneity. There are so many things found on road trips that simply can’t be planned in advance. So I challenge you to take the old expression literally and stop to smell the roses. Walk into the cute coffee shop you pass by. Strike up a conversation with the person pumping gas next to you. Pull over on the side of the road, lay on the roof of the car and gaze at the stars. Adventure through the cities and compete with your travel buddies to find the coolest piece of graffiti art. Always be looking with open hearts. Never give excuses to keep going when your heart desires otherwise. Simply live in whimsy and never let fear hold you back from a grand adventure on or off the road.
Third, really get to know your traveling companions. Go deep down beyond the basics. Spending hours upon hours with the same people in a little car is more than enough reason to hear about entire childhoods, most embarrassing stories, things they are most proud of, what their grandest dreams are. Ask questions, crazy questions, questions most people never think to ask. Here are a few examples to start off some interesting conversations: “What were your favorite family traditions growing up, and do you want to continue those traditions with your family in the future? What new traditions do you want to begin with your family?”; “If you could be one Disney character who would it be and why?”; “ If you could sum up your high school years in a single song, what would it be?”. These are just a few examples that might get your brain stirring. A road trip should be a time to grow community and truly bond with the people adventuring by your side. Forget the rest of the world, and for this short trip, really figure out what it means to do life together. Be present, laugh together, and create bonds and memories that last a lifetime.
I hope your road trip becomes a highlight of your life, a memory you will never forget. I hope the bonds you build with the ones adventuring alongside of you last forever. Do not take a single second of your adventure for granted. Dwell in each moment, never let your mind wander outside of the present. Always remember, you will never get even a single moment back that you have already lived, they will only be memories. Now whether they are good or bad memories, is up to you. Live with the intentions of filling your mind with millions of magical memories. So it has now come to the time where reading about an adventure is over, and it’s time to simply go. Drive away and let your whimsical soul be the lead.
