What is Your RoadTrip Profile?

[Mark Sedenquist]

In the continuing effort to define whatever a roadtrip is, here is another stab --

Road trip! These two little words conjure dreams of freedom and adventure, yet they mean something different to every person who utters them. Is it a jaunt? A quest? A rendezvous with serendipity? The answers and a few more tidbits can be found on my MSNBC column this week (they left off my byline -- but it is me nonetheless...)

So, what I really want to know is -- What is YOUR RoadTrip Profile?
{Hint: You may have to read the article to properly identify your own profile....}

Mark

[lhuff]

I don't think that I really fit any one of those categories, yet I also fit several of them. I don't see a category for wild hair to see xyz, after attending the F1 race, but before continuing my quest to see all 50 states within the span of 1 week. :) (Yeah - I know I'm nuts).

[Mark Sedenquist]

I don't think that I really fit any one of those categories, yet I also fit several of them. I don't see a category for wild hair to see xyz, after attending the F1 race, but before continuing my quest to see all 50 states within the span of 1 week.

Just kidding... (sort of). Actually, I set this poll up so you can vote for all five if you want. I voted for two... So let's see where you are.

mark

[AZBuck]

When I first saw this survey, I thought "Of course my answer is The Jaunt". It's really why I hit the road. To see a bit of America (or wherever). To learn something. To see what, and who, is around the next bend. To enjoy the freedom and the newness. To watch the world roll by. And to a very large extent that is and has been true of all my RoadTrips. The main thing that has changed is that I no longer feel that each trip has to have big 'must sees', I have found that I have as much fun, learn as much, and meet a whole lot more people in the quieter venues and smaller attractions. And so I voted for The Jaunt.

But there have been times (maybe 10% of my RoadTrips) that have been driven by The Challenge. Those trips to the unique or just odd geographical location, Quody Head, ME; South Point, HI; Point Roberts, WA; Kentucky Bend, KY; Mars Hill, ME for dawn on the 4th of July, 1976; East Port, IA when I finally drove in my 50th state, oddly enough, the state I was born in. Also included in this category are some trips where the challenge was to use (or not use) certain roads - Chesapeake Bay to the Finger Lakes using only 3-digit state highways, or across Wisconsin on county trunk roads, trips where I just got tired of driving the same old roads again and again.

And finally I remembered way back to my first car, a 1957 Saab 93, when The Vehicle was the thing. I would take long drives for no other reason than to see the look on the gas station attendant's face (Remember when gas stations had attendants?) when I would open those suicide doors and pour a quart of oil into the gas tank to feed that monstrous 33 cubic inch, 3 cylinder, two-stroke engine under the forward hinged hood. The best of all was when the pump jockey in Harrington, DE asked me if I had made the car myself.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

Is it a jaunt? A quest? A rendezvous with serendipity?

When Megan and embarked on our first long roadtrip (6.5 years in length) we both had the notion that we were "going out to seek our fortune" and maybe even "discover the meaning of life" -- We found it and we are still doing it. All that said, I have never passed a dirt road that was heading off for a distant horizon that I didn't immediately want to follow. Is that the jaunt's siren call or do I just like the risk of not knowing where I am going? Hard to know, but I think these questions are an interesting way to look at the activity that we all love to do.

I am really curious about how Moderator Judy will respond to this poll --since we know she loves her car....

Mark

[Midwest Michael]

I'm certainly a little of most of these, it just depends upon the day. Some days I just look forward to getting out on the road, other days I'm looking for the spiritual enlightenment that I find much more so behind the wheel than in any church. Of course, I'm always trying to find a way to stop by a state or province I haven't been to yet - or check off a major or minor league ballpark I haven't yet seen. And of course there's some of the risk in there too, as I almost never make reservations because the ability to totally change directions and just see where I end up.

The only one I don't really relate to is the Vehicle driven trip. You give me a working car, and I'll take it on a roadtrip. In fact, in these days of $3+ gas, I'm just as likely to be on the road in my 1990 Toyota Subcompact with overheating issues as I am in my nice roadtriping SUV - but maybe that goes back to the risk factor again....

[PNW Judy]

I've done all the above but I chose "the jaunt" because most roadtrips are probably for that reason, I guess. Fun, after all, is a must on a roadtrip. But I usually do a little of all of these things on each roadtrip, too. I usually find out something about myself or discover something that brings me great joy so while a quest might not be the major goal, I consider my whole life a quest for enlightenment and personal growth so why shouldn't it happen on a roadtrip? And, well, I do collect magnets (cheap, easy to pack away, and they bring back memories everytime I look at them). And I am always seeking quirky TTT's, Tacky Tourist Traps. I don't think I've ever done a roadtrip without seeking the world's biggest egg or Muffler Men or something else strange and bizarre along the road. So The Challenge kinda fits, too. I don't mind having a goal but I don't like being tied down to an itinerary or reservations if I can help it so, yeah, the Risk Factor fits but it really doesn't feel risky at all to me. And, now, to the car. I do love driving my car. And I think I look quite cute in it going down the road. And the second thing I collect is pictures of my car in front of things. And I find myself feeling sorry for people who aren't traveling in such a fun, little car. So, yeah, while The Vehicle might NOT be King as I've enjoyed roadtrips in less fun/cute cars, it sure does make a difference, imo.

Gosh, how can anyone choose?

[RalphHightower]

I convinced my wife to take a trip to the Iowa State Fair in 1996. The last day of the Iowa State Fair was our drop dead date, we had to make it to Des Moines by then. The convincing factor for her was that I promised that we would visit the Mall of America. There were a few stops to make to visit friends that I met, Jim in East Moline, IL and George in Cedar Rapids. We didn't get the chance to see Jim and his wife since she delivered a new son days before, but Jim managed to give us a short boat ride on the Mississippi. There were some must stops on the trip, the Hooters in Davenport since that opened after I left Iowa and the one in Cincinnati that I missed on my move back home.

Paula and I drove to Paducah, KY when we ran out of gas (physical exhaustion) and found a motel, stopping at the Hooters in Chattanooga and Memphis along the way. The next day, Paula asked "Want to go to St. Louis?" and I said "Sure, why not?". So we took a side trip to St. Louis, visited the Arch and had lunch at the Hooters in Union Station. On the way up to Moline, we saw signs of the "Home of Superman" at Metropolis, IL; so we visited Metropolis a bit, visited a few stores and took some pictures.

After Moline and spending the night in Cedar Rapids, it was on to Des Moines for the state fair. The Iowa State Fair is huge! (Much bigger than the South Carolina State Fair) Try finding a vacancy in Des Moines during the state fair. It is impossible! Nothing inside of 50 miles has vacancies, finally in downtown Des Moines, we spotted a vacancy sign at Hotel Fort Des Moines.

The next day, it was onto the Mall of America. We skipped the chain stores, Sears is Sears in Anywhere USA, and even the regional chains. We stopped at the unique stores. On the return home, we stayed at a motel in the middle of nowhere Illinois surrounded by cornfields and made a stop at the Hooters on the river in Cincinnati.

It was a fun trip and none of the trip was planned, no reservations; just one firm date, visit the Iowa State Fair before closing day.

So I reckon that vacation trip was a combination of "The Quest" and "The Risk Factor".

Why Iowa and their State Fair?

I had a short-term contract working in Cedar Rapids, IA from April through October, 1994. I decided to make the most of my stay and visited places in the surrounding area. As a Southerner, used to fresh seafood, I wanted some raw oysters; Red Lobster quit serving raw oysters, then I remembered that Hooters Restaurant serves raw oysters at their location in Columbia, SC; I went on the computer and found there was a restaurant in Des Moines, IA and I drove there for lunch on a weekend.

Then I developed an off-beat hobby, visiting as many Hooters Restaurants that I could. I made a day trip to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN. One of my craziest trips was to drive from Cedar Rapids, to Omaha for lunch, then to Kansas City for dinner. I couldn't find a motel room on the return leg, so I just drove back to Cedar Rapids through Des Moines, a 900 mile road trip.

On my moving trip back home, I stopped at the Hooters in Indianapolis, tried to find the one in Cincinnati and decided to press on; spent the night in Lexington, KY and had dinner at the Hooters and had lunch at the Hooters in Knoxville. I also did not want to unload my van on the twisting curves of I-40 or I-26 in the mountains, I put the spare tire in the passenger seat and the jack and lug wrench under the seat.

Since I started my Hooters Restaurant Quest, I have visited 23 Hooters in 14 states. I have an understanding wife and she doesn't mind eating there either.

PS:
I see material in here for a Toastmasters speech.

[Mark Sedenquist]

I also did not want to unload my van on the twisting curves of I-40 or I-26 in the mountains, I put the spare tire in the passenger seat and the jack and lug wrench under the seat.

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! Uh, I see your point, but somehow don't like that solution -- can you imagine what a spare tire would do rocketing around (inside) a car trying to stop for an errant deer on the highway?

Since I started my Hooters Restaurant Quest, I have visited 23 Hooters in 14 states. I have an understanding wife and she doesn't mind eating there either.

Well, you know -- you need to factor in Las Vegas... There is a Hooters hotel here and the Hooters gals are in good supply. Maybe you could even fly part of the way on the Hooter's public jet?

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

Gosh, how can anyone choose?

I think that is the primary point that all of these posts are making -- the best roadtrips are those where the motivations are clearly understood and appreciated and, most importantly, embraced --

So, yeah, while The Vehicle might NOT be King as I've enjoyed roadtrips in less fun/cute cars, it sure does make a difference, imo.

Gosh, why am I not surprised by that? Actually, maybe the phrase should have been -- the vehicle reigns supreme???

Above is Moderator Judy in her beloved roadtrip car "Bilbo."

Mark