At this point, we want to see everything there is to see, and you just don’t get that from flying to places. I think we could drive almost indefinitely, but we need a good break from driving after a couple of days of it. My husband loves to drive (we just did a trip that was 5 1/2 days there and back, and he drove almost all of it), and the only problem was that we didn’t have enough down time in the middle. I guess the limit for us is just how much time off we have.
I find it interesting in this discussion that no one has used the extreme impact on the atmosphere with regards to global warming that air travel has versus car travel. It’s definitely a factor in our decisions to have driving rather than flying vacation - much more than the price of gas (our Corolla is very fuel-efficient).
Pretty much my attitude, with 12 hours instead of 15 and “Husband” in place of “FIL” as modifiers.
After The Death March Move from Montana to California, I promised to divorce him if he ever did that to me again. I’m a girl and refuse to even try to prove I have big balls.
I’d rather drive than deal with a commercial airline, unless I absolutely, positively HAVE to be there tomorrow.
Driving With Others – Now that’s a challenge. After 40+ years, my husband and I have learned how to manage with each other and we do just fine. What I had to learn was to be specific and direct about what I wanted, not always try to be gentle and subtle.
For example: When we were first married, we’d be driving several hours and I’d say, “Hon, are you getting hungry? Do you think we should stop for lunch soon?” And he’d say, “Yeah, OK.” Repeat half hour later. Repeat 15 minutes later. Finally I’d have a raging headache. “Fer chrissakes, when are we going to get lunch?!!” “Oh, did you want to stop? You should have said so.” “I’ve been telling you that for an hour!” “No, you weren’t. You kept asking me if I wanted to stop and I didn’t so I just kept driving.” I learned that he wouldn’t get mad if I just said, “I’m hungry. Let’s stop for lunch at the next diner.”
We also learned to work out the driving and navigating. He likes to drive and so do I. But when it comes to maps, he hasn’t a clue. I learned this on a cross country drive, when I wanted to drive and told him to watch the map and tell me what turns to make. We ended up in one of the less desirable parts of St. Louis, lost as hell, in the rain. That was when we discovered that the windshield defroster didn’t work well. When we finally got someplace where it was safe to stop, I grabbed the map. "Where the blazes where you taking us? What road are we on? " “Well,” says he, stabbing at the map with a forefinger, “I was just trying to get us to this road here.” “Which road?” “This one, right here. It’s a nice wide road, see? It’s marked in blue.” “That’s the Mississippi River, you dodo!” So now I navigate and he steers. We’ve also worked out that if in doubt it’s o.k. for me to point something out. If he’s already seen it, fine. Better to be redundant than lost or in a dangerous situation. I agree not to overdo it and he agrees not to complain.
I’d rather drive pretty much anywhere. Too far usually comes up when there is an ocean or major country change involved. Otherwise, the amount of stress that comes from flying out of a major airport these days means that either I am not paying for it, I need to be there in a hurry, or I don’t think my vehicular situation is good for the entire trip. I wouldn’t go any further than two states/6 hours away in my current car, because I’d be too concerned about it breaking down. In a brand new car, I’ll drive to freaking Chile if you want.
It’s interesting how people are different. I find flying completely relaxing. I can read, or sleep, as I wish. I’m usually a nervous wreck while driving.
Being on a plane and flying is cool. Getting through the hordes of people in security lines, surly employees, waiting for the plane only to be confined in a small space with other passengers and their poor screaming kids, perfume, and stinky food is not.
A while ago*, I declared that airline flying had become too invasive, offensive, and inflexible. I dusted off my pilot’s license, and bought an RV. Now I either rent a plane and fly myself, or drive. We’re taking a 3000 mile trip in the RV next month (summer vacation); If the airlines were the only option, I’d cancel the trip.
*…in 1995, if you’re interested. Haven’t set foot in a airliner since.
Where I grew up, and when, we thought nothing of 8 hour drives, and we would often take 16 hour drives to get to Banff to ski for a day and a half on a weekend. Nowadays, I’m less inclined to do that kind of driving all at once, but I hate, hate, hate flying!
A trick we have used a number of times - one of us drives in the car, while the other takes the train with the kids. That way, when we arrive, we have the car with the car seats, we can pack that much more kid stuff in the car, and the kids can get up and walk around on the train trip and drive a large group of people crazy. That’s how we got from Toronto to Ottawa, and it worked brilliantly.
Another time, we did a similar thing Toronto to Québec, only this time we left Québec headed east, circled the Saguenay fiord, crossed the St. Lawrence and circled the Gaspé peninsula, coming back to Québec by the south shore, and then my wife and kids went back on the train while I drove the 8 hours home from there. We never went more than 100 km a day, and stayed in B&Bs all along the route. It was fantastic.
Here’s a website that compares the relative times and environmental impact of trains, planes and automobiles. I cannot vouch at all for its accuracy, and my instinct tells me that the train should have come in better than it is rated. I’ll keep looking…
Ah, that’s just hassle. Driving long distances is physically painful. Mainly because I have to keep my arms and my right leg in essentially the same positions for long periods.
