Let’s say you are going by car to (or through) a previously untravelled section of your country. Let’s also say you have a definite destination that you’re planning to reach, at a comfortable pace, sometime tomorrow or the next day. Let’s also say you’re well ahead of schedule so that you have at least a couple of hours to do with as you choose, without upsetting your timetable.
Do you:
Stay on the interstates and prepare to get where you’re going a little ahead of time and just relax
Get off the interstates and see what major roads through towns and villages look like
Get off the interstate and looks for some scenic attraction you may have heard about but never seen
Get off the interstate and “go exploring” on some backroads or “blue highways”
Something else you like to do – describe it, please
Expand on your answer as much as you like. Give slight variations if needed.
I love to wander and explore, but it depends. If it’s a long trip and I need to get there and back home on the same day, I won’t dally on the way but I might wander on the way home. Which is how I almost ended up in South Dakota on the way back from Minneapolis to central Iowa. (I hate the interstates but I have no sense of direction.)
When my daughter and I went to Kansas City for a weekend convention, we left half a day early and explored small towns on the Iowa-Missouri border. First time we saw cemeteries with concrete “blankets” over the graves.
One memorable wander was with my parents. We were going to Fort Riley to visit my brother at the army base. On the way home we got off the main road and into an area that was soon to be under water for the new Tuttle Creek Dam. Summer, we had the car windows down (no A/C in those days) and I had my first encounter with a cicada.
My first husband liked to wander and we’d often get lost. Current husband doesn’t – he used to be a trucker and driving isn’t fun for him. But if we take an interstate somewhere, he’ll usually agree to get off the interstate on the way home. And he knows all the best places to eat.
My husband says I’m like a Russian submarine captain—don’t take a ****without a plan, but I even have a plan for “ahead of schedule”. I am an excellent traveler and very prepared, so I will have researched potential scenic attractions along the travel route and, time allowing, am ready to explore the Poodle Parade at the French Festival or wineries or whatever interesting thing I’ve discovered in the area.
Google is our friend!
I might PLAN to stop somewhere along the way and sightsee, but it would have to be planned. And if there were any sort of time-sensitivity to me getting where I was going, I wouldn’t take the risk–what if something happened and I ended up late? Better to have a few hours leeway.
In 1995, my wife and I rented a car and drove from Texas to California. We followed I-40 most of the way, stopping in Albuquerque to visit a friend. But in Arizona, we left the interstate for the smaller highways and did some exploring. It was neat even if no big thrills and entirely spur of the moment. We went up to the Grand Canyon as planned, then when it came time to continue on to California, we thought what the heck, Las Vegas is so close. In Circus Circus (chosen because of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”), I set the wife in front of the nickel slots and made sure she was well armed with coins, while I went off to play blackjack. Only spent one afternoon there. I ended up winning $50. Then we took the highway straight from Las Vegas to LA. It was a lovely trip.
I usually do option 1, but sometimes I’ll do option 2. It’s easy enough to get into and out of in unfamiliar territory. I’ll only do serious exploring if I’m not planning on making any distance. Scenic attractions are typically worked into the day’s driving ahead of time. Nowadays I’m travelling with the wife and two four year olds so I’m more reluctant to improvise.
I’d find a place to go sightseeing for a few hours. Hiking or wandering around somewhere nice. Or stopping somewhere for whatever reason. But I’d be looking for a break from being behind the wheel, not a chance to spend more time driving.
Number 1 by far. We drive all the way and take turns driving until we get there. Occasional breaks for gas are the only the only reason we will stop. We carry all the food we have and try to refrain from drinking too much.
If I’m alone, I’m all about back roads and side trips. Anything that catches my interest is worth a detour or even a backtrack (“Hey! Were those raspberry bushes?”). I’m rarely late for anything, and that possiblity (of being late) is my major justification for carrying a cell phone.
If my otherwise beloved husband is with me, not a snowballs chance. In the first place, “sometime tomorrow or the next day” is not an acceptable ETA in his universe. Leaving point A at oh-dark-thirty and reaching point B at exactly 1400 Tuesday 13Mar2007 is a schedule. Not 2:05 pm, either. The man wouldn’t slow down to watch the Second Coming.
Yes, travelling with him is sheer hell for me. Good thing he’s cute.
I am all for #4. It took me 5 days to get to Chicago from NW Ohio in 2000. It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive. I really enjoyed seeing Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands on the way. This year I will have 4 days to drive to St. Louis, I can hardly wait to see where I go on the way.
I would stop at interesting-looking roadcuttings and leap forth, geopick & camera in hand. I never travel anywhere in SA without a geological map, camera and geopick. If it doesn’t look like there are any interesting cuttings on the route (slim chance here), I might seek out a spot of (geological) interest that’s a little off the track. Most places I go here, that means pegmatites or dykes.
If I have to be somewhere (traveling for work reasons): main roads, but prefering Autovías (free) to Autopistas (pay). Autopistas have much more delimited rest areas; an autovía (specially if it’s an upgraded old nacional) may have a hotel or a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Autovías are also more likely to go just around a town rather than a long distance away. I wouldn’t stop to look-see, but I’d have more varied landscapes and might see a town that looks interesting to come visit later.
I’d arrive ahead, park the car (at the hotel if I’m staying overnight) and go for a walk.
If I’m traveling for pleasure, I’d take a look at the map beforehand. The map indicates monuments and stuff like that; I’d pick the route that takes me to the most interesting location(s) and stop there. For example, in a road trip I took for vacation a few years ago, we stopped in San Millán (the double monastery where the first book with words in Spanish and Euskera is; they’re notes written on a Latin book, both languages by the same hand) on our way between Palencia and Nájera.
When not in my country and having a loooooot of time, I’ve been known to take day trips which consisted of taking the small roads, stopping at anything that looked interesting, and not looking at the map until I’d eaten and wanted to go back to the hotel. For a place with the dimensions you find in the Americas, this is not a good strategy, but for Europe it’s great and gets you to see all those cute romanic churches which Italy also has. Who would’a thought there was people in Italy between the Romans and the Renaissance, eh? (exagerated, I know, but that’s almost all you get in the tourist guides)
Mostly #3 as described – I like to get off the interstate, but only if I have done the research first. I’m the kind of person who likes to be spontaneous, but only if there is research involved.
The overall length of the trip is a factor, too. Two hours and three hours in a car are practically the same thing, if you ask me. However, there is a world of difference between 12 and 13 hours. The hour is a completely different unit of time in those two examples. For a short trip, I don’t mind adding time to explore a bit, but the longer the trip gets, the more every minute of roadtime becomes gravely important.
The OP says previously untravelled, but I find I’m more likely to explore if I’m doing a familiar route. We do a 400 mile drive about once a month, and I love finding new variations of how to get there (a little like that Stephen King short story, I’m convinced I will discover new ways to improve the trip). I like trying to cut corners by getting off the interstate, or finding a great little back-highway restaurant at the perfect time along the route.
For my husband and I, no brainer - #1 all the way. If, of course, we are in a place we’ve never been. If we’re coming back from his sister’s in Elgin then I have no problem taking side streets - I’d rather. But in a place we don’t know? Interstate, baby.
I’ve usually only done about 1/3 of the research before hand…so I’ve probably made plans to stop at the huge attractions.
With a little bit of time, I tend to stop frequently (you know those roadside highway markers? “Thomas Jefferson once sent a letter to someone standing at this very spot. It was cordially worded.” I stop and read those.)
If I have a lot of time, I’ll take detours to “interesting places,” small towns who have scenic attractions (or at least claim they do on the signs I saw on my way there), stop and look at pretty lakes and waterfalls, etc. - but as I get lost frequently (if I don’t have a good map. I can read maps fine. I just have no innate sense of direction), I know better than to do that if I’ve not got much time to spare.
True back roads? Probably not. I like driving on pavement.
This year I will have 4 days to drive to St. Louis, I can hardly wait to see where I go on the way.