ROADTRIP ATTITUDE
What is it that makes a roadtrip different from an average, ordinary vacation? Like the car and the open road, the roadtrip has acquired a specific meaning. The type of roadtrip ingrained in American tradition revolves around the journey and the experience of travel itself.
At one extreme, a roadtrip can be a marathon, a test of endurance, a major undertaking. Visiting one category of sight is a popular way of planning out a trip—taking a tour of America’s mystery spots, hitting up all of the missions in California, or visiting all of the lobster shacks on the East Coast, for example. Event-based trips are also popular—baseball roadtrips from one stadium to the next are an American tradition. Pilgrimages to rock concerts (ask your parents about Woodstock), Shakespeare festivals, and historical tours, like the Lewis and Clark Trail, are all fair game.
At the other end of the spectrum, a roadtrip can also evolve with only a vague direction and a desire for knowledge and experience. Exploring a specific region or driving a historic two-lane highway are both good ways to start out, as is following one of the cardinal directions. This kind of trip revolves around discovering the lives and culture of the people who live along the way—seeing every historical site, stopping at every diner, mingling at every bar. It is all about the digression, all about the culture, and all about the detour.
CAR GAMESMiles of uninterrupted cornfields have inspired an extensive collection of road games to alleviate the interstate boredom blues. Some old favorites are “I Spy” and “Twenty Questions,” but there are many others which serve the same purpose.
Sweet and Sour. Whenever a car goes by the window, each player waves and smiles. If a person waves and smiles back (sweet), you get a point. If the person frowns or ignores you (sour), no points.
Howdy Doody. One player says a name, and the next player uses either the first or the last name to create another one. Example: Will Smith to Will Rogers to Mister Rogers.
Ghost. You spell out words: the first person says a letter, the next person has to add a letter, and you continue adding letters in order. If you add a letter that cannot form a word, you lose. If you add a letter that completes a word, you also lose.
Counting Cows. Teams count cows throughout the day on their side of the car (while trying to distract the other team). If you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, you lose all your cow points.
The Quiet Game. Shut up kids. Mom and Dad are having a conversation.
There is also a repertoire of roadtrip superstitions. Details vary by region, but standards include holding your breath while driving past graveyards, across state lines, or through tunnels, making wishes when you see a hay wagon or at the end of a tunnel, raising your feet while crossing bridges or railroad tracks, and touching the ceiling of your car when you drive through a yellow traffic light. Another common ritual is the “punchbuggy” game, in which the first person to see a Volkswagon Beetle shouts “punchbuggy!” and punches the ceiling or (in a more risky version) the arm of the person next to him or her. Variations of this classic, taken very seriously by the finest of roadtrippers, include shouting “p-diddle” or extending the ritual to include pink cars, limousines, or cars with one headlight. These rituals may seem silly, but what if they aren’t? Just something to keep in mind.