Before last month, it had been more than a year and a half since I’d been on an ultra-long road trip across Texas. But, as I said, I unfortunately broke that dry spell recently for a big event in another state. I spent seven hours in the car, which isn’t long at all in the realm of road trips, but it almost broke me.
Given, the circumstances weren’t great. The trip started in Texas and ended in Louisiana, which, if you aren’t from the south, means that you go from terribly long, straight highways and hours in the same state to big trucks and roads that shake you like a blender once you cross the Louisiana-Texas boarder. Thank the drinking age for that one.
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All in all, the roads aren’t fun unless you like straight lines and the scenic view of cows on either side of you. It makes for a rather boring trip.
But I realized after the trip that through the boringly straight roads, big trucks and butt pain from sitting in the backseat for hours, it never once occurred to me to try to break my boredom with something fun. I, instead, pulled out my laptop and started working like the boring adult I am. I worked for hours.
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As a kid, I would have played that “Find the ABC’s on the Signs” road-trip game approximately 100 times through or watched several seasons of Scooby-Doo! over and over again. Even better than that, I would have tipped over to take a nap for at least half of the trip. It wouldn’t have been as great as getting out and walking around, but it might have helped.
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That never even crossed my mind, because I guess I went through this boring-ification at some point in the last 10 years. I was almost sick from the bumpy Louisiana roads because of the laptop and glasses, but I just kept working. When I wasn’t working, I was staring at the hours left on the GPS. Great plan, Alanis.
So, am I doing this wrong? How do you all keep yourselves entertained on long trips—the ones that make you want to stop driving, not the ones you do for the fun of it? Considering that we Americans just wrapped up the Fourth of July weekend, I’m sure at least some of you drove somewhere far away.
Did you work, like me, or did you actually make conversation with the people around you? Or, did you have any types of games or activities that help the trip move along?
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