Road Trippin'

For us milteens, change is a constant. From taping boxes, to hauling them into a truck, to old and new furniture smiling back, things never truly stay the same. Flights, oh flights… those glorious hours up in the air, turbulence, smooth sailing, all of the above. On those, you get free time, legroom (albeit cramped), and sometimes the blankets and TV screens. Boats… those aren’t really the same. Nobody uses them anymore. And if you get seasick… the sea’s right there. But in the car… It’s a bit different. 

My family and I have done two cross-country road trips: from San Diego to McLean, Virginia, and back. The first time was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led us to avoid airports and places with large numbers of people from all over. At the time, I thought a road trip would be fun: five days in the car, thirteen hours a day, with family. Oh, how naive I was… it was soon to be a disaster.

The backseat was where my sister and I lurked, covered in blankets, bags on the floor, and the middle seat of the car. Pillows stacked, from headrests to backrests, trying to make the hard material as comfortable as possible. While my parents spoke quietly in the front, my sister and I needed to make the most of those first five hours in the car. From 2 AM to 7 AM, I would do the sweetest thing known to mankind: sleep.

While I woke up with the sunlight, my sister was still always out, akin to a corpse. She swears she doesn’t snore, but I remember hearing it daily, something I never had to listen to as much before. It still haunts me to this day. While I thought my father was bad, I tolerated it since he drove us all that way. But my sister, on the other hand, I had to stick with her for a combined sixty-five hours stuck in the car, give or take a few. And, to continue, this was the short route. Hah, yeah. “Short.” 

Second, my back. Oh, how horrible it was. Sixty-five hours of keeping your back in a single position in thirteen-hour increments. No room to stretch, always confined in a seatbelt. My fellow milteens may be aware of how incredibly EXCRUCIATING it is. You want to crack your back, but you NEVER can. I was a mere child at the time, rowdy and small, and you’d think… “Oh, Reina, it’s not that bad. Whenever you stop to go to the bathroom, just crack your back along the way.” But no, it’s never like that. If you gotta go, you gotta go. No time for rest.

And that brings me to my next topic! Bathrooms. Rest stops are supposedly found every 50-100 miles, but sometimes, it felt much longer. Most of the time, our so-called “rest stops” were named Starbucks or, like, any gas station. There were only a couple of actual rest stops or visitor centers we visited, and it was always great to grab a snack or lunch at that point. Never trust the signs. If there are signs for a rest stop, the quality most likely will be super duper amazing! Or… absolutely trash. With zero resources like sanitary napkins or seat covers, and with poop still unflushed in the toilets. Stay clean, fellow milteens. Please, for the love of all things sanitary, stay clean.

Blankets are a must as well. Some people prefer AC, but others (like me!) prefer the warmth. I will not be freezing to death for 13 hours because my sister felt a tad bit sweaty, thank you very much. Bring one thick blanket for the sleepy times through cold weather, a middle one for normal night usage, and a small thin one, just in case your lap is chilly. When going through various climates, I’d recommend a variety of sweatshirts and hoodies as well. 

Finally, I’m going to end off with how I spent my nights, since I slept until late in the morning. We’d leave at 2 AM, so instead of sleeping, I would stay up, reading, watching shows, and playing games. This is NOT something I would recommend doing, since it messed up my sleep schedule like crazy, but it was definitely an experience I had to do at least once.

All in all, road tripping across the United States for my dad’s PCS was fun, but I feel like it took away from my summer experience. Nocturnal life, trips just vaguely in the hotel and eating, and then back in the car again felt like a good lazy way to spend life, but at the same time, it felt a bit stifling. The only thing I know for sure is that I never want to do this type of road trip again.