road trip essay examples

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Write a Good Travel Essay. Please.

Kathleen Boardman

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Editor’s Note: We know that many of you are looking for help writing travel experience essays for school or simply writing about a trip for your friends or family. To inspire you and help you write your next trip essay—whether it’s an essay about a trip with family or simply a way to remember your best trip ever (so far)—we enlisted the help of Professor Kathleen Boardman, whose decades of teaching have helped many college students learn the fine art of autobiography and life writing. Here’s advice on how to turn a simple “my best trip” essay into a story that will inspire others to explore the world.

Welcome home! Now that you’re back from your trip, you’d like to share it with others in a travel essay. You’re a good writer and a good editor of your work, but you’ve never tried travel writing before. As your potential reader, I have some advice and some requests for you as you write your travel experience essay.

Trip Essays: What to Avoid

Please don’t tell me everything about your trip. I don’t want to know your travel schedule or the names of all the castles or restaurants you visited. I don’t care about the plane trip that got you there (unless, of course, that trip is the story).

I have a friend who, when I return from a trip, never asks me, “How was your trip?” She knows that I would give her a long, rambling answer: “… and then … and then … and then.” So instead, she says, “Tell me about one thing that really stood out for you.” That’s what I’d like you to do in this travel essay you’re writing.

The Power of Compelling Scenes

One or two “snapshots” are enough—but make them great. Many good writers jump right into the middle of their account with a vivid written “snapshot” of an important scene. Then, having aroused their readers’ interest or curiosity, they fill in the story or background. I think this technique works great for travel writing; at least, I would rather enjoy a vivid snapshot than read through a day-to-day summary of somebody’s travel journal.

Write About a Trip Using Vivid Descriptions

Take your time. Tell a story. So what if you saw things that were “incredible,” did things that were “amazing,” observed actions that you thought “weird”? These words don’t mean anything to me unless you show me, in a story or a vivid description, the experience that made you want to use those adjectives.

I’d like to see the place, the people, or the journey through your eyes, not someone else’s. Please don’t rewrite someone else’s account of visiting the place. Please don’t try to imitate a travel guide or travelogue or someone’s blog or Facebook entry. You are not writing a real travel essay unless you are describing, as clearly and honestly as possible, yourself in the place you visited. What did you see, hear, taste, say? Don’t worry if your “take” on your experience doesn’t match what everyone else says about it. (I’ve already read what THEY have to say.)

The Importance of Self-Editing Your Trip Essay

Don’t give me your first draft to read. Instead, set it aside and then reread it. Reread it again. Where might I need more explanation? What parts of your account are likely to confuse me? (After all, I wasn’t there.) Where might you be wasting my time by repeating or rambling on about something you’ve already told me?

Make me feel, make me laugh, help me learn something. But don’t overdo it: Please don’t preach to me about broadening my horizons or understanding other cultures. Instead, let me in on your feelings, your change of heart and mind, even your fear and uncertainty, as you confronted something you’d never experienced before. If you can, surprise me with something I didn’t know or couldn’t have suspected.

You Can Do It: Turning Your Trip into a Great Travel Experience Essay

I hope you will take yourself seriously as a traveler and as a writer. Through what—and how—you write about just a small portion of your travel experience, show me that you are an interesting, thoughtful, observant person. I will come back to you, begging for more of your travel essays.

Take Notes in a Cute Journal

Keep track of all the crucial details- and even the ones you might forget, in a durable and refillable journal.

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21 Road Trip Writing Prompts

by Joe Bunting | 133 comments

Summer is the season for road trips. Whether you are on the road yourself or only dreaming of a vacation, today we have some road trip writing prompts to make the time fly. Try one out today!

This prompt was originally posted in June, 2012. Today, I'm traveling overseas and thought a few of you might also be on the road! We've added twenty prompts to the original one, but I kept my own practice from 2012 at the end. Enjoy!

Road trips yield great stories. Why? Because a road trip forces you, your family, your friends, or your characters into uncomfortable and new situations. Add to that the potential for various complications and conflict, and you have all the ingredients for a terrific story. 

Whether you want to write the story of a road trip you took, or one you're planning, or a scene from your work in progress that involves a road trip, you can use the elements of plot to help you. (See our full guide here.)

Start with a character who has a goal, and then let the complications and conflict ensue. Bring their actions to a crescendo of crisis (will they make the best bad choice to get what they want?) and deliver the climax and denouement .

A road trip has a built in external goal: you want to get to your destination, usually in a specific way for a specific purpose. But all those details can get hijacked by internal conflict, car trouble, wild roadside stops, and any other complication you can dream up. Give it a try!

Twenty-one Road Trip Writing Prompts 

• My original prompt was simple: Write about a road trip.

You can still do that one. But here are twenty more to take for a drive. (See what I did there?)

2. A parent and adult child have to take a road trip to sort out important family business. What happens?

3. Two co-workers have to drive to a work event one state away, but the trip goes terribly wrong.

4. A group of college seniors embark on a final road trip before graduation, but at the beginning of the second day, they pick up a hitchhiker who looks a lot like one of their professors who died the year before. 

5. A newlywed couple borrows a travel trailer and sets off on a cross-country roadtrip, when…

6. A young twenty-something trying to get home makes the mistake of stopping at…

7. An older couple has to move closer to family and takes a route that has some unusual memories.

8. A multi-family caravan road trip is derailed when a sink hole drops them into another dimension.

9. A motorcycle road trip through the Rocky Mountains turns deadly when…

10. A photographer sets out to capture pictures of the last five family-owned motels along a historic route when they discover…

11. A child convinces their grandparent to drive a thousand miles to return to a family home, but when they arrive, they are shocked to find…

Ten more road trip prompts for journaling

12. Tell about a time you took a wrong turn on a road trip.

13. Describe your dream road trip. Be sure to include details about the vehicle and riders along with the route and sights along the way. 

14. What was the best thing you ever ate on a road trip? The worst?

15. If you could only take a single route to a single destination for a road trip every summer for the rest of your life, which would it be and why?

16. Describe a time you learned something new on a road trip. 

17. Create your dream road trip playlist. Which artists and albums would you include and why?

18. Write about the characteristics that would describe your worst-case-scenario road trip buddy. (You can approach this either way: the person who would be best in a crisis OR the worst person to ride with.)

19. Find pictures of the open road in your favorite region and describe how it feels to be in that setting. 

20. What is your favorite book or film that includes a road trip and why?

21. Write about your favorite season or time of day to be on the road and describe it. 

For this writing practice, choose one of the prompts above. Set your timer for fifteen minutes . When you’re finished, share your work in the Pro Practice Workshop here (and if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ).

If  you post, please read and comment on a few posts by other writers. Share the love 🙂 

Here's my practice from 2012:

We're driving from California to Georgia this week, my dad and me. The first time since I was sixteen and only spoke six words to him the whole trip. We drove to Big Sur and then to Cambria where we stopped and listened to jazz in a little club along the road. It was the first time I had really listened to jazz. The piano player was blind. He could play well, the whole band could play well, but all I remember is feeling sad and alone and observant.

This time we're driving to Georgia through New Orleans where we'll sit in a smoky bar on Canal Street and listen to jazz. We drove through Texas today. Texas is normally a two day state, but for us it's a three day state. He wants to take it slow and relaxing so we'll stop in San Antonio and then Houston before making it the Mississippi Delta. I'm impatient to go faster and farther, a flaw of youth I suppose.

In El Paso we ate the worst Texas barbecued brisket either of us have ever had. Me, because it's the first Texas barbecued brisket I've ever had so it was both the best and worst. And he, because it was so dry and tasteless he had to chase it with shots of BBQ sauce just to get it down.

After El Paso we drove along Texas roads so long and flat you stop seeing road entirely and completely disappear into the black asphalt, the golden land, and the blue eternal sky that seems to dissolve the land itself.

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

133 Comments

“Come on, Nick, are you coming or what?”

“I’m coming, hang on.” Nicky rummaged through her shoulder bag again. “I just…hang on. Have you seen my Dramamine?”

“You already took it. The bottle is in your pocket.”

“Right. Okay.” She patted her pockets. You reminded your sister about the plants?”

“I did. Twice a week. She’s going to take the orchid home with her tonight.” Jack jingled the car keys and stared her down. She started down the front steps.

“Oh, I’m just going to check the coffee maker. I don’t remember if I turned it off.” She started back up.

“Nick! It’s on a timer. If you forgot to turn it off, which you didn’t, it’ll go off in an hour.” She hesitated at the top of the stairs. “We already got the garbage, the modem and tv are unplugged and the refrigerator is closed. We dumped the extra milk.”

“You’re sure?”

“Do you want to do this or not?”

“Of course I do! We’ve been planning it all month. You know how I am…” She smiled weakly. “ Just being thorough.” He didn’t respond, just spun the keys around his index finger before turning to climb into the driver’s seat of the rental car.

She took a deep breath and plunged down the steps and into the passenger seat. After arranging her bag on the floor she started to put on her seat belt, but stopped. Jack’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel as he stared ahead. Nicky picked her bag back up, took out her water bottle and put it in the cup holder. She exchanged her glasses for sunglasses. Hesitating, she put the box with the Sea Bands on her lap before buckling up. She anchored herself in the seat and reached for the bar on the roof.

“You know I’m a good driver, right?”

“Oh, I know. Its the rest of them I’m not sure about.”

I like the banter between your characters, Catherine. It’s great dialogue. It also made me laugh. I swear I have been Nick on a car trip or two.

I love the mystery in this. Are you going to keep writing this? I would.

I just might. I’ve been getting a sense of where these two might be going on their (ill-fated) trip. I’ve only been visiting Write Practice for about two weeks now, and the practice prompts are all so great I keep tucking all these little 300 word stories aside to work on later!

This is like a great study on the beginning of agoraphobia. What would happen is you followed them further. Would she want to go back. Would she worry about her home while she was gone? Very interesting theme.

Love it. Great dialogue. Getting ready to go on a trip is such chaos. Especially around worry warts (not sure if “worry warts” is a real thing or just a phrase we made up to describe my brother) I really felt that in your piece.

Really enjoyed this piece and would continue reading to find out more. I related to the woman’s OCD tendencies and her companions resultant frustration.

When I was a kid, road trips were awful. I remember the miles of boredom. Green mile marker after green mile marker ticking by like the second hand on a clock on Christmas Eve.

There was only so much we could do in the car. Read books. Play animal poker. Sing songs together.

Seat belts were usually neglected like the leftover tuna casserole in the back of the fridge. Some states protected us with laws back then, but nobody cared. We would often fall sleep while laying in the floorboard of the car.

My kids do not understand how good they have it. The minivan was built to keep them entertained for the 13 hour drive to Tampa. Instead of having to stare out the window for what seems forever, they can stare at the LCD screen conveniently hanging from the roof of the van.

Instead of swiping through the pages of a book and the story hidden within the collections of letters and words and punctuation marks, they can swipe through “Angry Birds” or “Cut the Rope.”

Instead of singing songs with each other, belting out the “I Wish They All Could be California Girls” with Brian Wilson and the beach boys, they can put on their headphones and sing along silently to Lady Gaga.

If only my kids understood how wonderful of a world they live in with all of the technology that helps the time pass by.

I guess someday they will say the same about their kids. In that great mystery of time and life, the present will become the past, and the past will become the present. The future will remain as it were, a better place that none of us find.

I love this Jeremy, especially the part about state laws. Great writing.

Jeremy, this is beautiful. The first three paragraphs are my favorite. Oh, and “California Girls” will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

Interesting idea in the last paragraph. I wonder what will happen to the human mind when it no longer has time to rest and wander (or be bored).

I really love that last line. Too often we are caught up with the Future, as if it were something we knew as well as the Past. I enjoyed the compare and contrast between then and now as a sort of reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Keep up the good work.

The last line is GR-R-R-R-R-R-E-A-T!!!

Brings back so many memories of sleeping in the back of the station wagon. Things have definitely changed!

The last paragraph really is just great. Though to be honest technology tends to be a negative thing because it removes the human interaction in road trips. We suddenly now have our own worlds where we’re alone along with our phones / laptops.

Actually that was the angle I was going for. Thanks JB.

I agree with EVERYTHING. (Except that I much prefer reading to electronics). 😉 😀 I HATE it when somebody says “I’m BORED.” My hair bristles at the thought of someone being bored when they have the whole world around them.

Great piece which keeps me reading on. The last paragraph is wonderful. 🙂

I never could read in a moving vehicle.  Even with all of today’s technology,  my kid’s still cry boredom.  I think they suffer from the same “car sickness” affliction as I have my whole life.  Although, I believe technology doesn’t add anything, it subtracts a whole heck of a lot!  Loved your writing.

It’s odd but I have the opposite reaction. I wish they could experience just a little of the joy of those good old days when we we not all separate and know they joy of singing loudly and off key hurtling down the road to a new shared adventure

The rain pounded on the car, a thunderous sound on the silver metal hood of their little car as they they drove northeast to Rochester, New York. An unexpected trip they didn’t plan to take. They had no plans this New Year’s Eve so Rick had planned an impromptu road trip to Rochester. Erin had always wanted to go to New York for New Year’s eve but by the time they got on the road they knew they wouldn’t make it to New York. They settled for Rochester. Erin stared blankly out the window. The darkness outside made the car feel like a tightly enclosed space adding to the mounting anxiety burning deep in her stomach. Rick reached over and squeezed her knee. He always squeezed her knee, on car trips when she drifted and he wanted her to talk to him. She didn’t feel much like talking on this trip. “This will be fun,” He said to her with a smile. There was an air of genuine excitement in his voice. She nodded. She knew Rick had nothing planned. They would arrive at a hotel and from there they would meandering aimlessly in a strange town in the middle of the night. They would end up in a bar with strangers for the midnight count down, she was certain. She let out a breath, silently. Trying to release some of the tension inside her. She told herself it would all be fine. But, things hadn’t been fine for a while and this trip only reminded her of the disconnection that was growing between them. It seemed to be getting worse and worse everyday. This trip felt like an attempt by Rick to pull her back into him. It only really prolonged the inevitable, in her mind, at least. She looked over at Rick. He noticed and smiled at her. She gave him a forced tight lipped smile in return. She turned her attention back to the darkness beyond the car window.

I like it. I felt the tension.

This is interesting. I don’t really like the narrator because I can’t figure our why she is still with this guy, but I would keep reading to see what was going to happen mostly because it’s a trip and trips often show conflict well. I like the phrase “pull her back into him”. The first paragraph is confusing I think because you say the trip is unplanned too many times and in different ways..

Good story–very heartfelt.

I think this is an interesting narrative depicting inner tension and anxiety in the woman, who is evidenly not at home anymore in the relationship. This might make a good scene in a longer story developing the reasons for the tensions and their resolution. Does he attempt “to pull her back into him” because he wants her to be an extension of himself, or maybe his posession? In my opinion, the second “car” in the first sentence is somewhat redundant — there are all manner of descriptive nouns that could be used to fill in the portrait — their little (BMW? roadster? Toyota? the possibilities are like endless!)

The description is great. I know it was only fifteen minutes for the practice, but I was left wanting more. DID Erin end up in a bar? Or did Rick pull off something amazing?

I love the built-in futility of the beginning (having lived near Rochester and in New York). It shows the incompatibility between the characters so clearly right from the start.

Joe, I’m sorry for you terrible BBQ brisket experience, but that’s what you get planning a road trip through Texas. Next time go through my home state of Missouri and enjoy some delicious Kansas City BBQ brisket or St. Louis ribs. Wash ’em down with a cold Bud and then finish it off with our famous Gooey Butter Cake and Frozen Custard.

We may just have to add a day to the trip and do that. 🙂

I loved your story, especially the scene about barbeque. Here’s my attempt.

Kin Marla Cantrell

I’m writing a review for the new album Kin that author Mary Karr wrote with singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell and I’m thinking about drinking again. The whole thing is about drinking and pickups and firearms and cussing and drinking, you get my drift, and I’m trying to find a way to say I love the album but you shouldn’t drink, no sir, you should not drink to excess, which is what you do now if you’re a writer for a responsible publication, and don’t we all want to be responsible?

So I’m thinking about drinking and I’m thinking about family, which is the catalyst for this album, and I say in it that family makes you as crazy as a sprayed roach, and then I worry that my family will read this and be offended, and hit BACKSPACE, and up in the cabinet is a bottle of Arkansas Moonshine that I took home from a bluegrass show last July, and it’s calling to me, all sweet and sinister at the same time, but I’ve got another story to write, about beer makers, my Lord, beer makers, and my eye starts to twitch.

I chunk the story for now, and get back to the review. Norah Jones sings, “If the law don’t want you, neither do I,” and I remember that summer with Troy who had a twin named Roy, and how Troy stole change from Coke machines in rest stops all along I-40 all the way up to Little Rock, and how I rode with him on those black nights, and how it felt like flying to be so close to him, the quarters piling up, and his arm around me and the windows down. He took me to Del’s Place, out past a cow pasture in Clarksville, where they’d serve you if you looks old enough to do long division, and we drank beer that stuck on the bar, which I now know, thanks to the beer makers I interviewed, is not a good sign.

There used to be a man with fancy leather pants whose entire job was to wait on the brewers, let them pour their beer on a bench, and then he’d sit on the beer for thirty minutes. If his pants stuck, the beer was bad. If he’s was at Del’s Place, it’d take a crow bar to set him free.

In the review I say I love Mary Karr’s foray into country music, and her triumph over alcohol that led her to write Lit, and how I have my own demons, don’t we all? I say, but drinking is not one of them. No-sir-ee, I say, but now I’m sweating, and the moonshine’s talking, and Troy still lives up in the hills, a half day’s drive away, and my keys are right there where I can see them. Right there like an omen, like dare, like a bad country song.

Wow. That was impressive. The second sentence in the first paragraph is confusing, needs to be made into two. Other that that this is great, perfect.

Thanks Marianne. I think you’re right. I just started writing and kept going. It needs editing, but it was so much fun.

Oh my goodness, I LOVE this character!! Hilarious, and I love the feel of this piece – you’ve hit the nail with the pace and ‘ramblings’!!! They’d serve you ‘if you’re old enough to do long division’, the keys are ‘like a bad country song’. REALLY enjoyed the freedom of this. Please write more!!!

Thank you so much. You made me smile. It was really fun writing it.

The last bit is awesome. 😀

Thank you so much, Themagicviolinst.

The sun set early on that cold night in November we hit the road. The entire family, as well as Grandpa Ace, was headed across the state to visit family for Thanksgiving. I was at the wheel, while Ace rode shotgun; the wife and kids were safely stowed in the back of our minivan.

I hate driving at dusk. It seems my eyes have a hard time adjusting from day to night vision. The lights of oncoming cars blur and multiply on my dirty windshield. I’m convinced that every oncoming car has purposely turned on their high beams just to mess with me.

State Highway 54 is a narrow two lane road heavily traveled by farmers, hunters and college students. That’s not a great combination; so it’s important to stay alert and practice defensive driving.

Ace is breathing heavily next to me, fogging up the window. His asthma is working overtime due to his lung cancer treatments. I try not to act annoyed, being that he’s dying and all.

“If we pick up the speed, we might be able to make the last quarter of the football game when we get there,” Ace said. I hate driving when my father-in-law is in the car.

I see up ahead a police car and a truck pulled over on the other side of the road. The policeman is shining his flashlight towards me.

“Why is he doing that? Doesn’t he know that’s blinding me?” I say, highly aggravated. I slow down to about forty and keep moving ahead. As I get up next to the cop with the blinding light, I hit something.

Thud! Kerplunk-kerplunk!

My windshield goes dark, completely covered in deer juice.

That was great Tom. I’m so glad your posting her again. I like how you describe that time at dusk when it gets really hard to see. I can definitely sympathize with your narrator. Well done.

Love it! Grandpa Ace is a great name. Makes me feel like he was once a powerful man and even though he is sick, his ego must be maintained. Shows the difficulty of keeping track of a lot of details at once.

Thanks! This is actually a true story and my F-I-L was named Ace. And your description of him is spot on!

I can identify with your driver. Every other driver absolutely puts his high beams on to purposely blind me. It’s a conspiracy I’m telling you.

I love your description of Highway 54. Great work.

Really enjoyable reading, due mostly to the sardonic family humor!

ewwww … deer juice! Great piece.

I’m so excited. My parents are taking my brothers and I to a beach to celebrate my 11th birthday. We’ll camp and get to stay up late. I’m a little more excited about the staying up late part than the camping park. There will be bugs. Sandy restrooms too. But at least I’ll get to stay up late. I’m pretty sure we’re mostly going for my mom since she loves the beach so much, but that’s fine. I love the beach too.

We always take our road trips at night. My parents probably think we’re all back here asleep. My brothers are, but I’m not. Ha. All they do is sleep. My mom says they’re always tired because they’re growing, but they’re only 13 and 15 years old. Not that much older than me anyway.

I like them the most when they’re asleep anyway. Even if they did put me in the middle for our car ride down. I don’t know why they think it’s fair to put me in the middle of them. Every single car trip. Just because I’m a girl. Hmph.

I can feel the energy of the narrator. “I like them the most when they’re asleep anyway.” So true!

You have a great narrator here. She is very authentic and I would keep reading were this a longer piece to hear more from her.

What is a road trip without snacks. My favorite road snack, well probably really my favorite snack overall, is popcorn. For the car, I usually stop at Trader Joe’s and get their salted corn popped in olive oil. Once, when driving across country, I went about 15 miles out of my way to stop at the closest Trader Joes. My boyfriend said I needed to get back “on point” if I was going to complete the drive from Southern California to Georgia. That tells you a lot about that relationship. I’m enjoying my road trip and he’s talking about being “on point.”

That was the trip where I decided almost at the drop of a hat to move across country. I had 3 weeks to empty my house, load what was left in my car and arrive in Georgia start my new job. I usually don’t make snap decisions like that and after that one,and I know why. Lets just say the job didn’t even last a year.

Now it’s sounding like I don’t have any stability, changing boyfriends, changing jobs, moveing across the country. Well I used to be the most stable person in the world. My nickname in college was Maytag – because I was so dependable. But that was a long time ago.

I took a great road trip came when I was in high school. What kind of parents would let their 17 year old girl get in a car with three boys and drive half way across the state to see a friend’s college play? Only the best in the world – mine.

That brings me to another key ingredient of a legendary road trip. Music. For that trip in 1984, the music that still stands out in my mind is Queen’s “We Will Rock You – We are the Champions.” Oh yeah, they were doing mashups before there were mashups. Driving down the freeway, John K’s feet hanging out the front passenger window and all four of us pounding on whatever was closest shouting “We will, We will., Rock You!” Sigh

So far we have two key ingredients in the road trip – snacks and music. But what about the car you ask? Isn’t that an essential ingredient. Well, it depends. A road trip could be by road, rail or air. While I didn’t realize it at the time the trip I took with my parents from San Diego to Seattle on the Amtrak was a road trip too. Although I was only about 11 that was a really great road trip, too.

So here we are at the final ingredient I have time to discuss today. The Company. At eleven years old, my parents were great company. At seventeen, three boys was even better. Now at nearly 50 I find my own company some of the best.

We drove for half an hour before saying anything. Cate and I were exhausted after the previous day’s drive through the south-eastern states. Waking up in Amarillo today was like opening our eyes on an entirely new world. The air was bitter, the sky straight-up blue, and the light of the sun was sharp, as if there was nothing between us and that great ball of fire. Insects were fewer, but the windshield would not get clean. I hit the dash after another attempt to clear off the glass. Cate looked at me as if she had just gotten a mouthful of dust. “We’re out of wiper fluid.” It was all she said, but it felt like she had just unzipped our pouch-full of problems and dumped them into the jeep. It was another jab at my ineptness, my inability to prepare for the trip, my incapability of doing any job to her standards, my lack of responsibility because I was still out of what she termed a ‘real job’, and my failure to give her a happy marriage. I felt like pulling over, getting out, and walking along the highway like a cowboy in one of those westerns I loved. Oh yeah, that was another thing my wife hated. Cate wiped her forehead. “It’s so hot, why don’t you turn on the air?” My brow must have furrowed too low for her, as I studied her, trying to figure out why I had married her in the first place; because she narrowed her eyes at me and said, “What? You don’t have to get mad just because I’m hot. It’s not my fault we’re out here in the middle of nowhere to see your parents.” I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry you’re miserable. You didn’t have to come.” She tossed her head and her red hair barely moved from all the hairspray she’d bathed it in. “Of course I didn’t. But someone has to keep you in line.” I laughed, completely unamused. “You know what, Cate, I don’t want any of this.” She hardly flinched, although I did. “You don’t know what you want, Caleb. You have no backbone. Just turn on the air conditioning and drive.” I wanted to hate her for her words, but I couldn’t because I knew her words were true. I didn’t know what I wanted. But at the same time she was wrong; I might not know what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t want her. As I started to count how many words we had spoken that day, she coughed and said, “Caleb, you know you need to think about what sort of job you want to get. Daddy doesn’t like you living off my allowance.” “I’m sure.” I grunted. “I don’t know why you have to live on his money anyway.” I said it softly, not harsh or cold, completely emotionless. “Shut up and drive, Caleb,” she snapped as I started to tell her how much I disliked her, her family, everything about her stupid life. Cate rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you stopped fooling around trying to write songs, you could make real money at something. Daddy is holding that position open for you and I will tell him you’ve taken it.” We sat in silence as I contemplated how best to tell her I hated everything about her. I wanted to make her hurt. Just as I mustered enough courage to say, “Cate?” she gasped and gave a tiny shriek. “Oh my gosh, where is my purse! Stop the car, stop the car!” I pulled over, looked into her startled, angry brown eyes and said it. The words that I had been biting back since the day I said I do. They finally came out. At least, I heard my voice yell at her. “I’m done, Cate. I want out.” I sat back and waited. Her eyes glistened and I thought maybe, just maybe she was going to cry. Maybe she would show some emotion and I would know her heart was not petrified. “Did you hear me?” I said, but the scratchiness of my voice betrayed my fear. There was a tiny tear in her right eye and my heart lept to think that she would react. “I can’t believe I left it. What if somebody stole it? It’s probably back at the hotel, right?” “What is wrong with you?” I said, hoping she would react at last to what I had said earlier. “Don’t you care that I can’t stand the sight of you? I hate being with you–I always have. Don’t you care that I don’t love you!?” I blanched, surprised at myself for finally expressing those thoughts that had tortured me for months. My emotions had felt so just, so right in the quiet of my heart, but as soon as I had spoken them, I felt dirty and cruel. Cate didn’t seem to care that I was pallid and sweating; if she did notice, she probably thought I was just hot from the oppressive heat. She tilted her chin up and repeated, “Just shut up and drive.” But there was something different. A tone in her voice that told me I had hit the nail on the head.

Painfully real and honest, Mollie. It was like they were both in different cars and conversations. I loved the line, “My emotions had felt so just, so right in the quiet of my heart, but as soon as I had spoken them, I felt dirty and cruel.” Sad to say, I’ve been there, done that. Great job!

Thank you very much. I have been there as well; I guess Caleb was really a reflection of myself at times…his quiet, cool bitterness. It felt truly awful to write those words he spoke to his wife.

I love the fact that the wiper fluid is the spark to all this… so true to life – that feeling that it truly is the last straw, that something so small can bring so many huge issues to the surface.

Thank you–I feel the same way. The simplest things can spark a huge fire!

I used the writing prompt as a way to reconnect with some memories from my childhood, writing about them for 15 minutes on my blog: http://amairedinsmore.com/2012/06/13/writing-prompt-road-trip/

Joe, just a note to say how much I like your photo images. You are doing a spectacular job of adding to your writing with great imagery. Love this road photo.

Thanks Cynthia. You’re too nice, though. If they’re good, though, I blame it on the flickr creative commons. I’d be lost without it.

She smirked to herself as she slid into the back seat. “This oughta be somethin’ to write home about.” Not that she would. The car turned onto the main road and the hum of the tires on the pavement was all that could be heard for the next half an hour.

A crackle and a sharp voice that sounded like it was coming from inside a tin can startled her. It was the dispatcher at the sherif’s station. The sherif picked up the receiver and mumbled a response. She straightened up and looked around.

The road lay before them like a rattlesnakes’ back, slithering silently through the hot sand. She chortled to herself. The sound of her laugh surprised her. She didn’t laugh very often. Her laugh had a different effect on the Sherif. His eyes, which were framed perfectly in the rear view mirror, narrowed. “You shut up back there” he warned.

The warning irritated her. “Why’s that Sherif?” she hissed. ” You can’t even get at me through that fence. I never been this far outta Haxton before and I will laugh about it if I damn well want to.” She felt empowered. She whispered to herself, “I’ll never tell them who did it. I promised.”

Oh, I’d like to read the rest of this. I like her already! She sounds like a hoot!

haha, thanks! I’m pretty sure she’s insane. I’m continuing it on my blog. http://www.rainybrook.org . Think I’ll work on it throughout the week. Post a new bit every evening.

I love the images and feel of the third paragraph – from rattlesnake’s back to her laugh that suprised her, to the Sherrif’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. Nice.

I love the reveal on being in the back of the Sherif’s car. I want to follow this character around as she gets into trouble.

I’m continuing this story at http://www.rainybrook.org . I would love some input, especially on grammar etc.

I was seven years old in 1970 and riding shotgun in my dad’s 1968 Camaro. We were headed home with the top down. We had just spent a terrific week in the beautiful hills of middle Tennessee. I had a lot of firsts on that trip. I got my first taste of life outside of Chicago. I met my grandparents and some of my first cousins on my Dad’s side for the first time, and got into my first fight with one of them. I saw my first cow, rode my first horse, played in my first barn, and I was the first one in our family to see our new house. And now we were on our way back to Chicago, but I couldn’t get the memories of that week out of my head.

I didn’t want it to end. I wanted my dad to turn that car around and take me back and drop me off. I argued that I could stay with my new cousins until he brought my mom and sister down in the truck with our furniture. He didn’t buy it.

I was already becoming nostalgic as the country began to give way to the city. I remember it well. We drove away from fresh country air into the familiar fragrance of Chicago. I watched in disappointment as the beautiful rolling hills and colorful trees morphed into row houses and skylines. The pastures were replaced by city streets. The reality of returning to the city was grudgingly sinking in.

When we pulled up to the curb, some of my friends met me and asked about my trip. I just smiled and pulled out my very first silver dollar my new-to-me grandmother had given me just before we pulled out. With shrieks of joy they followed me as we ran to the five and dime on the corner of that city street in Chicago.

The four of us are crammed in John’s much-to-small silver pickup, ensorceled by British accents and lightning-fast guitar spilling from the stereo. There is Nothing in every direction for miles outside the truck’s cab. On a wintery Tuesday, in the dead chill of early morning, we are the only car creeping slowly up the I-5. No cars means no cops and the truck is filled from ceiling to floor boards with pot smoke.

John is driving and I am riding co-pilot, with Pud and Sebastian stuffed into the truck’s half-assed attempt at a back seat. Wrapped in every blanket we brought, the two of them look like a giant pile of rags, hands reaching up from the cozy abyss to grasp for bowl after bowl. When John says he can hardly see anymore, we roll down the windows and I imagine we must look every bit the smoking locomotive.

“What’s the first thing you want to do when we get back?” Pud asks. He and John just got back from this very trip a few months ago and are itching to introduce Sebastian and I to all of the things they discovered the first time they trekked up to Seattle.

“Um…” John says and quickly forgets that he had said anything at all.

I watch Nothing stretch on before us and then quickly slip by to make room for more Nothing, all the while a knot twisting in my gut. The first thing I want to do is hit a handle of whiskey and explore the new world we have set out for. The first thing I should do is tell them that I’m not going back to California…

“We’re looking for a nurse to help transport a ventilator patient from Coffeeville, KS back here.”

I quickly raised my hand to get my supervisors attention.

“I’ll do it! I could really use the overtime.”

The trip from south Kansas City to Coffeeville Kansas and back would be a long one; seven hours round trip.

“Hey, what could be more glamorous than being able to tell my friends that I helped transport a critically ill patient two hundred miles?” I told myself.

Excitedly, I climbed into the ambulance. The medic was already strapped into his seat which was located right behind the wall separating the drivers cab from the box portion of the truck. I had the pleasure of sitting on the long bench. You have seen this seat before in the movies or on TV. It is where the medical professional sits and works on the patient while the ambulance is screaming down the highway headed to the hospital. It is the glamor seat, of course.

This long, bench style, seat was quite possibly the least comfortable place on earth. Imagine, if you will, trying to sit on your kitchen counter top for three-and-a-half hours while being driven down the windy, gravel covered back roads of Kansas, and every time you try to stretch your back to get comfortable, the upper cabinets gouge into the back of your neck. This is an ambulance ride across the great state of Kansas.

Trying to lie down was worse. There was no restraining belt of any kind on this seat. It was impossible to lie down on this thing. I had to keep one leg on the floor at all times to keep from being thrown clear of the edge. Every bump in the road caused the entirety of my body to bounce completely off the firm foam seat. What I hoped would be an opportunity to sleep on the way down to Coffeeville turned into an opportunity to realize that I get severely sick when riding in the back of a vehicle with no windows.

Once we arrived in Coffeeville I flung open the back door of the ambulance, and stumbled clear of the truck. I quickly grabbed the biggest container of water I could find, and slammed it down hoping to hydrate away my pounding headache and overwhelming nausea.

I followed the ambulance crew into the small hospital attempting to stand as erect as possible and not appear disabled. We found our patient, complete with portable ventilator, three bags of IV medications, an indwelling catheter and a feeding tube.

We transfered the patient onto the gurney and headed back towards the ambulance.

It did not look as glamorous this time. The rear doors looked more like the mouth of a monster that wanted to eat me.

Your description of how uncomfortable the bench was was really effective. I felt that gouge and winced.

My red-haired sister picks me up from the store early that afternoon. We head south from Fort Worth on the Cleburne highway, and the memories set in at once of all the summertime trips to the family reunions at Ben and Sarah’s place on the Brazos River, between Glen Rose and Nemo, less than a mile from the low-water bridge, site of my near-drowning and salvation at the hands of my dad at age fourteen; I always swam like a rock, and did not realize that day how swiftly the sand bottom was washing away. The land seemed unchanged by the intervening decades’ passing. Colors shone bright and vivid — deep blue big sky, stunted evergreen trees, the large flat white rocks that line the sides of two-lane country highway. We lost our way just this side of Glen Rose, then found it just by remembering carefully. “That’s our story . . .” Sis began, ” . . . and we’re stickin’ to it!” I finished. There was a good-sized group of people at the little frame house, and we all walked up the hill to the family cemetery to see our Uncle Ben laid to rest. Quiet, scholarly (and a career school-teacher), creative, artistic, he was my absolute favorite uncle because he was so different. I’m glad I have my broad-brimmed straw hat and wrap-around sunglasses on. I have dropped twenty years, and aged forty, with this road trip. I won’t be able to make my wife understand.

Fort Worth, Cleburne, Brazos, Glen Rose, all my stompin grounds. good job.

Thank you ! Absolutely love that country.

You had me at red-haired sister. I love this. The line “found it just by remembering carefully” is wonderful.

Thank you very much!

This ends with another interesting comment about time. I like how you put that. Good writing.

My father asked me what happened in the witch doctor’s hut. I said, what witch doctor? He said, you wrote a post card home, you wrote about it. What? I had no recollection. Six weeks hitchhiking around East Africa and I get home and can’t remember. How weird is that? I can only think it occured on the shores of Lake Victoria when our steamer stopped at Kisumu, giving us six hours to get into trouble. I hired a taxi to run me into the bundu for quick lookie-loo. The driver delivered me to a village where a traveling judge was presiding over an outdoor session, during which a character flaunting a pink boa and dancing to music in his own head, decided, at great embarrassment to me, to entertain me, the only muzungu. My mind goes blank. But obviously not immediately blank, because I had written home about it. I’d also written about wandering into lion country after midnight and being inticed back to town by a klatch of kids concerned for my health. They stood across the road and stopped the next vehicle, a tire truck. They unhappily put me in the back. I spent a moonlit night bouncing through Tanzania in a cage piled high with tires. I remember that. I remember getting stung by jellyfish in Mombasa. I remember getting picked up by the Tanzanian Highways minister in a cool cream Mercedez and wondering how he got the scars on the back of his hand. I remember shrimp curry in Dar es Salaam. I remember walking the Kenyan savannah country with ostriches on one side of me and zebra on the other. I remember being shit scared. But for the life of me I don’t remember that witch doctor. I reckon it’s a good thing I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe in spells. I don’t believe in much. But hitting the road…now, that’s my religion.

So much description in this piece. I got a feel for the variety of places in your words.

Wow. What great writing.

This is so great, PJ. I like how conversational and yet powerful it is.

I want to read an entire travelogue of this trip!

Joanne has a headache. And we know the only thing that will cure that. The open road.

We pile in, Snail with his leaky nose, Sammy with his fistful of chocolates and me. We squeeze in the back because Joanne needs space to allow her head to rest. Maybe in an hour or so, I’ll be bumped up to the front seat. It all depends on whether her headache is gone or not. So much of my life depends on her moods, so it makes sense to me that the tone of the roadtrip will be too.

Nobody says anything. Snail is holding his head back to stop the inevitable, and Joanne’s glaring at him through the rearview mirror, just daring him to sniff. He knows better. I look out at the industrial building, all grey and straight, and just like the one next to my house.

I want to ask her to drive way faster than the speed limit, way faster that’s safe, but I just scratch the pink nailpolish off my nails instead. Snail’s head’s waving to and fro with the pressure from staying bent out of shape so long, and it looks like he’s struggling to breathe. I realise I’m holding my breath just watching this play out. Sammy’s grabbing for a chocolate wrapper and tearing it open for dear life, and he can’t eat it fast enough.

Joanne puts her hand to her temples. ‘That’s not helping,’ she says, meaning that she doesn’t want Sammy to rustle chocolate papers in her car.

‘Can I give you a massage?’ I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders, which means OK. So I lean over Sammy and his chocolate, putting an elbow on his hairy leg, and start squeezing Joanne’s tight shoulders through her navy cardigan.

It’s then that Snail sniffs. Not just a little one, but a humongous sniff that he’s been holding onto since he got into the car. Joanne slams on the breaks. I look out and see the fir trees in the distance.

This is fantastic! I LOVE the name Snail, and your descriptions are wonderful. How many times have I chipped off nail polish when I really wanted to do something else? Did you really do this in just 15 minutes? I may be jealous.

Haha, thanks Marla! That means we’re both jealous then! 😉 Question – do you live in the South? If so, where? It sure sounds like it! 😉 I lived there for a while, though I’m in South Africa now, and find myself OFTEN writing Southern… I just LOVE the South!!

I do live in the South, Zo-Zo.  In Arkansas.  I’m the managing editor of @Urban:disqus  Magazine http://www.AtUrbanMagazine.  I’m the senior writer, so I get to do a LOT of writing, which led me to my post about the road trip.  I was juggling both stories and stopped to do this.  I love the South.  Where did you live?  (I love your writing!)

That was really good. Is Joanne their mother or there sister? It really doesn’t matter, she’s in charge and she’s mean and unstable. You really have some good characters going there.

thanks Marianne!! You’re really generous with your comments – I can’t wait to read your pieces! 🙂

Wonderful cast of characters here! Your descriptive words are excellent. I assumed they were small children when the piece started but saw a variety of ages, and genders, by the end. Very well done!

Thanks, Beth… So good to hear! 🙂

I want to know what happens next. Interesting story. I’m curious why everything depends on Joanne.

I like the ending when Snail finally sniffs. It was all great, Joanne’s tension, the kids trying to help but they’re not really helping, the description. I have only one thing (and really, it’s just me being picky as usual). At the beginning it says, “We pile in, Snail with his leaky nose, Sammy with his fistful of chocolates and me.” It sounds like Sammy has a fistful of chocolates and her. (I assume it’s a her since the person has pink nail polish on). It needs a comma. Otherwise it’s great! 😀

Ha, ALL feedback – especially picky crit – is welcome!!! Thanks! 🙂

Phew! 😀 I’m always worried about being too picky. ;P You’re welcome! 😀

Read and enjoy 🙂

The day was scorching hot. The car’s AC was broken and the windows were down. I tried leaning forward and I felt my clothes sticking to my seat with my sweat as glue. In front of me was the road—endless and vast and lonely. Above me was the sun—red and angry and was following me like big brother’s eye. I pressed harder down on the gas and the car roared in protest. I kept on driving.

I knew perfectly where I had come from, but my destination was still a mystery. I just decided I needed a drive alone. I packed light—just a few snacks, two bottles of water, and three handpicked music CD’s. An hour of driving reduced the buildings to trees. Two hours passed and the people became rocks. Eventually the other cars became ghosts and I was the only one driving on that road. The trees lost their leaves and became bare and naked and dead. I kept on driving.

I stopped and pulled the handbrake. I grabbed a bag of Cheetos and ripped it open. Maybe I wasn’t driving, not really. It was more of an escape. I needed an escape from her, from the words thrown, from the voices raised, and from her leaving. I needed, no, wanted to be alone. I needed to be moving because whenever I stopped, my mind would wander back to her. I’d remember stuff—the scent of her shampoo on her hair, the way she pursed her lips absentmindedly, the way she said that she just wasted two years of her life with me. The words felt like daggers. I lowered the handbrake and I kept on driving.

I eased on the gas and the car slowed down to 20. My right hand grabbed a random CD and I pushed it in the car’s audio system—I thanked the good lord that the radio still worked. Strumming of guitars filled my oven-hot car and I knew what song was being played. It was our favorite. The playing of harmonica followed the guitars. The voices came on last. I sang with them. I sang loud. My tuneless voice rose out of the open window and into the barren landscape. I sang until the end of the second chorus. The third chorus had a different voice—a female’s. I stopped singing, smiling, waiting for her to sing—this had always been her solo part. I waited. Then, I remembered we’re no longer together. I was driving alone. The smile dropped from my lips and the song ended in silence. I kept on driving.

That kind of points out how the end of a love affair has both it’s bad and good moments no matter how much one wants it to end. You get in the habit of having the other person around. Very well done as usual

Thanks Marianne. Yeah, especially if the two of you were together for a long time.

Well done! Sad ending.

Thanks Beth. 🙂

The sadness is tangible through all the little details you remember about her, and your description of the road. The driver’s resilience and doggedness comes through vividly – the repetition of the phrase ‘I kept on driving’ is very effective…

The story just felt so sad. Like how everything revolves around a single person when you’re together. And when things get rough and eventually break, the routine, the feeling of having someone there all the time just shatters you to a gazillion pieces.

“The higher you climb, the harder you fall.”

I loved the end where he forgets that they’re not together again. Sad and mysterious. Nice job! 😀

Thomas loved road trips. It had been quite some time since he had driven one so this would be an extra special treat.

“Tommy, I am so excited, where are we going?” Madge’s voice cut thought Thomas’s reverie, quickly grounding him in the reality that such a carefree excursion would not be so carefree. The city slugged by as they battled traffic on the wide expressway, not fast enough, thought Thomas, as that cankerous voice assaulted his right ear. “Oh, Tommy, so thoughtful of you to take me away on a trip! But for heavens sake, tell me, where are we going? You never even let me pack a bag, oh I will have to buy clothes when we get there I suppose.”

Thomas did not look away from the view over the curve of the steering wheel as he replied in a distracted monotone. He was taking Madge on a long trip. He barely heard her as she lamented about how his boss would never approve the extended leave. This whining wife of his was always thinking on the downside. If all went well, he would not have to return to work again anyway after this journey was done.

Honking horns gave way to the blissful hum of tires speeding along the freeway, and soon concrete melded into suburbia. Madge opened her window and the breeze tossed her chemical stiff hair all about. Thomas did not look at her once but he was sourly reminded of her presence as the scent of her expensive perfume permeated the tiny car.

The sun was high and the freeway thinned down to a ribbon of road that stretched for miles before them. Only a few others traveled this way now, seen only as shiny dots far ahead of them in the haze. Thomas led the car off an exit and the gentle tinging of the turn signal was barely audible above the din of the engine. For a brief moment the sun got caught in Madge’s hair. For an instant it transformed her head into some feral torch while she absentmindedly studied her top notch salon manicure that Thomas had paid for with his blood, sweat, and tears.

Flat expanse soon rose up around the little car in rolling mounds, green fields dotted with the shadows of clouds passing overhead. Thomas remembered how he used to make pictures in the clouds when he had been just a boy, back before the days of long hours at the factory, piles of bills, and the incessant company of a nagging and useless wife. What had he ever seen in her? He realized that he did not even know anymore.

The drive back home was peaceful. It would be nearly morning when the trip would finally end, but that was ok, Thomas did not plan on going into the foundry in the morning. As he looked over to the empty passenger seat to his right, he inwardly exalted the thought of never returning to that stinking place again. For years he labored away while Madge spent every dime, but now the insurance money would more than pay him back for all the trouble she had caused.

Thomas pulled into the driveway at last, and for the first time in years a genuine smile turned up the corners of his thin lips.

That’s chilling. You got a complete story done in fifteen minutes. I’m impressed

Somehow I knew Madge was destined to die the first time she opened her mouth! Excellent piece of writing. I really enjoyed this!

This sentence, “The first time since I was six­teen and only spoke six words to him the whole trip,” felt awkward to me but otherwise really enjoyed your piece. 🙂 Maybe it’s the word “since.” Seems to flow better without it.

Here’s the most basic math problem any idiot can solve: A road trip from New Jersey to California + No electronics allowed in the car + two annoying little brothers + an annoying older sister = BOREDOMVILLE. It’s every 12-year-old boy’s nightmare. So at six o’clock in the morning, everyone reluctantly began to pack the car, still yawning and still rubbing half-closed eyes. We barely fit all of the stuff into our minivan. The worst part (besides the electronic ban) was that I was stuck sitting next to my big sister Gabby who was popping bubble gum and chewing loudly. I rolled my eyes in frustration and sat down, arms crossed, on the seat. “This’ll be fun!” My mom said, giving us a huge smile and making the thumbs up sign on both of her hands. “Uh huh,” Gabby said. “Yeah, Mom, you can stop lying to us right now. We are not going to have fun.” Mom frowned slightly in her disapproving way. “Now, Gabby-.” “Why do we have to drive to see Grandma and Grandpa?” My little brother Trent inturuppted before giving a humongous yawn, showing the gaps in his mouth from the teeth that had fallen out. “Why can’t they fly on an airplane to see us? They have, like, a bazillion dollars.” “Trent, we thought it would be nice to surprise them, remember?” My dad reminded him as he put yet another bulky suitcase in the bulging trunk. “They always come visit us so we thought they’d enjoy us visiting them.” Trent stuck out his lower lip and narrowed his eyes. “Plus, this gives us a chance to spend time as a family,” Mom said, trying to stay positive. “For once I’d rather be in school,” Ben said. Ben was the second youngest kid in our family, Trent being the youngest. Mom opened her mouth to give one of her “school is wonderful and you should appreciate it and don’t you want to learn?” speeches, then closed her mouth, thinking better of it. “Time to go, kids!” Dad yelled, clapping his hands together several times. We all got in the car and buckled in. As soon as we set off down the road, Mom pointed out everything to us, whether it was a Texas license plate (“That’s not very common around here!”) or a calf drinking milk. (“Isn’t it so cute!”) Three hours later, I finally caved and pulled out one of the “Boredom Busters” Mom had packed for me. She and Dad were now singing along to a cheesy romantic duet on the radio and I was trying to figure out how to block out the screeching. I reached into the backpack labeled “Jonathon” and pulled out an item at random. It was a book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I read the back. Mom had done it. She had found a book that I thought looked interesting. I read the first page. And the second. And the third. I was on Chapter 10 when it started to get dark and Mom forced me to put the book down, (she actually forced me to put a book down!) insisting that it was bad for my eyes to read in the dark. I rumaged in the backpack for a flashlight. Unfortunately, she hadn’t packed one. After a few days, we reached California and I had finished the book. As soon as we stopped for a bathroom break before going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I begged my mom to take me to the nearest book store so we could purchase the second Harry Potter book. She was so excited that I was interested in reading, that she agreed. Three months later, I had finished the whole series and had watched all of the movies. And that, ladies and gentleman, is how I discovered the love of reading. And that is also discovered how much I loved roadtrips. (Not that I’d ever go on one again without a good book).

A good book is essential for a long road trip! How clever of your mom to introduce you to reading that way.

LOL! 😀 Actually, this story isn’t about me. I wrote it based on people I know. 😉

I had butterflies in my stomach as I packed the car. I was driving from southern Alabama to middle Georgia with a four year old, but otherwise alone. Not a long trip by some standards. Still there were plenty of unknowns. It had been some years since I’d driven most of the day, serving as mommy, navigator, and driver. Not to mention the funeral at the end of the trip.

I checked items off my mental list. Afraid I would forget something. I like more time to prepare, but funerals wait for no one.

The first hour or so it rained. Maggie asked me, “Are we there yet,” at least 30 times. It wasn’t long though before we settled comfortably into our trip. As I left the live oaks and Spanish moss of the coastal south the familiar winding roads through pine forests felt like a memory.

As the scenery changed images from the past imposed themselves on my surroundings. I felt myself smiling as I recalled road trips to Grandma’s. Huge columned homes, mouldering in their grandeur, flashed by. Split rail fences; orange back roads; and grey outbuildings, decaying under a layer of vines, sped by as the road drew me closer to childhood.

As I followed a print out of Googled directions another journey was being sorted out. The hours afforded me time. I gained perspective on a relationship that had become fuzzy, the edges smudged and undefined. Peace settled and gratitude accompanied me as the last miles fell away.

Some beautiful lines here! I love the nostalgia of ‘the familiar winding roads through pine forests felt like a memory’. ‘huge columned houses, mouldering in their grandeur, flashed by’ – what an image!!

Engine started. Brakes checked. Mirrors adjusted. Music playing. Camera ready. Go!

I just quit my job and my parents wouldn’t stop bickering about how life was too short to be wasted on useless dreams like being a photographer. It wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t useless.

The sky was starting to turn a nice shade of pink as I turned to the highway. A lovely mix of colors. I moved to the emergency lane and turned on the hazard lights. I opened the windows and framed the sky and the highway together.

Click. One beautiful moment captured. 

I took a couple more shots from a different angle and started to drive again.

My GPS gave me directions to the first destination I entered before leaving: a small wedding chapel.

Just in time, I thought as I saw the couple walk out of the chapel smiling happily at the crowd with hands entwined together. Happiness. Love. Trust. Everything wonderful in a single portrait.

I stared at the couple and imagined myself walking down the aisle. Tears started to flood my eyes. 

Happiness. What is happiness for me? Where can I find it?

I let myself think for a while longer but realized that this wasn’t the only way to get happiness. Marriage isn’t the only thing.

Time to get back in the car and drive, continue on the journey of life. 

Terribly bad with grammar and tenses. This is my first time writing so go easy on me please.

——————————-

I don’t remember what brought me on the road. I only know I needed to get out of that house, get out and breathe in some fresh air. So I grabbed the keys, jumped into the car and just went off.

I have no idea where I’m going and when should I stop. All I wanted to do at the point was just to keep moving. Move and not think.

I can’t remember how long I must have driven. One hour, two hours, five hours, ten hours. It’s just seemed like an endless road. A road with no destination. I can just continue driving like this forever.

But reality pulled me back. Can I really escape? Can I really let go? Forget about the years together? Ignore the existence of our kids?

So all I can do is to give up and drove back, back to the house I ran away from. And to forget that this road trip even happened at all.

I still remember the car dance that Anna, Tiffany, and I created back in October 1999. We were on our way down to Jacksonville for a football game affectionately termed as the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party.” That’s right, the Georgia versus Florida football game. We were proud fans of the Bulldog Nation and drove down clad in our red and black. We went down there (some of us in the friend group three years in a row) more so for the football and the friends than for the cocktails, but I would be lying if I said the third was not at least a minor consideration. 🙂 If you were to meet Anna, Tiffany, and I nowadays, you never would guess that we partook in this event. Anna just earned a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences and is about to have a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in England. Tiffany and I both earned master’s degrees and are now teachers. All three of us are and have been writers, at times professionally, at times as a hobby. Tiffany and Anna have baby girls who, coincidentally, will both turn a year old this July. I am an honorary aunt to both girls, and I greatly enjoy dancing and playing with them. Hopefully, they will be like the three of us and our girlfriends Jaymee and Laurie, studious girls who are career-oriented, but still like to have fun. Now, all three of us girls who created the car dance have bigger fish to fry than who wins the big game. But, I am still glad we took those college road trips. We formed friendships that would last a lifetime in the midst of screaming at football games until we were hoarse, going to “cocktail parties”, dancing in the car, and driving six to ten hours in a day to see a bunch of large college guys run into each other. I’ll definitely remember those games and road trips more than what I learned in my college classes, as much as I enjoyed reading Shakespeare.

Meet Spirit and Dance. six year old twins – they went on a road trip – a walking trip:

We call our mother “mother” because it annoys her. She would like us to address her as Sweet Divinity, the name she chose when she left home to join a commune. We found out years later she was called Mary Winifred O’Connell but we were used to mother by then and much as we would have liked to annoy her with Mary we could never remember it in time. We never really knew mother, just when we thought we understood what she was, she changed becoming more robust, or a little fragile, very political or like an earth mother. Her moods were like shifting sands, when other people were around she was always bright and shining like a beacon of hope. However when they left they snuffed out the spark of hope and we endured dark days, sometimes she didn’t cook for days or even get out of bed.

It was on one such deep black nadir, as long as we had known, lasting more than five days that we went in search of food and changed our lives forever. We could only count up to five and we had done that and eaten all the berries we could find. We weren’t sure about weeks but we knew it was autumn as the leaves were falling from trees, it was getting colder and both of us had put on shoes for the first time that year.

We dressed with care for the occasion of the big walk. Spirit was wearing orange corduroys with a yellow jumper that came down to her knees. Dance was wearing a dress that dragged along the ground made out of heavy crushed velvet. A dark blue matching cardigan two sizes too small finished her outfit.

We now know that we looked wild but back then it seemed natural to have our hair streaming down our back, unkempt with twig and leaf entwined. The clothes we wore were either too big or too small, all given by these transient caravanners as part payment for water and pitch. So on this particularly momentous day in our lives we thought we looked normal and set off down the road. We decided to walk down rather than up because when the people went for a walk in the evening they always went that way and came home cheery, loud and happy.

The first part we skipped as a new freedom descended on us, this slowly gave way to a slower pace until we were trudging. Our clothes were getting wet as rain dripped unnecessarily harshly, they hung down and got heavier and muddier as we marched our slow monotonous walk. The village started abruptly as we turned a bend, cottages on both sides gave way to terraces and eventually we saw a shop. We had brought money in mother’s purse. Although naïve about a lot of things we knew that mother gave money to get things and people sometimes gave money to her for staying with her. We pushed open the door and Dance spoke to the lady, well pointed at things; a packet of jam biscuits, a chocolate bar and bananas. Spirit opened the purse and gave it to the lady.

Honesty was thankfully well imbued in the shop lady and she only took out the £2.30 needed. We left and sat on a bench outside, each item came out of the bag, halved and stuffed unceremonially into our watering waiting mouths. We choked and spluttered our way through the food and with hiccups stood and went in search of something to quench our thirst.

As we turned a corner a group of children were coming the other way. We said hello to them but they laughed, encircling us, they pointed; at our hair, our faces now covered in chocolate and biscuit crumbs, our clothes, they said we smelled funny, we were dirty, and we were stupid. We cowered turning into each other, arm around protecting, not understanding why but aware of danger. The noise must have alerted some adults to investigate because suddenly the chanting stopped and we opened our eyes. A huge man stood over them asking who they were.

Spirit spoke, “I am Spirit. She is Dance.”

“Come on now girls, tell the truth. You have run away and stolen a lot of money. Mrs Hanrahan at the shop says you had more than fifty pounds in that purse. Tell the truth like good girls.”

Dance moved forward, facing him, she craned her neck until she could see his face, “We tell truth, me Dance and she is Spirit, we were hungry so we came for food.”

Spirit dragged her back to be with her and put her arms back around her

We were driving from California to Missouri and then from Missouri to Michigan. We would make stops when needed and see many states along the way. I was with my parents in my favorite yellow van, the one that looked like a special bus that I used to beg my parents not to pick me up from school in, but they didn’t listen. I loved the inside of that van though. The outside gave no indication of the awesomeness inside. The plush velour seats that were so comfortable and beautiful. You could write secret messages into the back of the chair and then wipe it away with one hand swipe. It was going to be a great trip.

And then I learned my stepsister and her daughter were coming as well. This meant I had to share the inside workings of the van with someone who was not only extremely selfish and vengeful, but she taught her daughter to be the same as well. As most road trips will treat small squeamish girls, I got car sick about three-quarters of the way through. I think we were in Oklahoma somewhere when my inertia couldn’t take the moving van any longer; the van where I sat claustrophobically trapped with someone who was not nice in any way, (they even looked nasty because they had a black, scrunched up soul that didn’t hold very much good inside). Her inside ugliness seeping out hour after hour, along with the trapped sensation inside a moving box, forced everything I had eaten up until that point to eject violently from wherever I sat. Apparently, I was sitting quite close to my stepsister’s pink satin blanket. Let me tell you, her heiness (or so she thought what with the pink satin) was mortified.

Although I had just given my stomach’s contents to her blanket, and obviously needed to just lay down, I’m pretty sure there was a smile there. If not an outward smile, then for sure a grin from deep within me. Nobody on the planet deserved a blanketful of 9-year old puke more than she did. There were many screams, a pull on the van door and much commotion to move my lifeless body to the side of the road where I could finish if I must. Her horrified screams proceeded as she wondered what she would do now with her blanket. I didn’t care what she did. As far as I was concerned, she could take her pink satin blanket with her and hitchhike home. Sadly, this is the memory that remains from this trip. Let’s just say it was the trip from hell.  

The day was hot and we didn’t set out as early as planned. There was always something to do at the last minute: check that all water and gas pipes were closed, set the answering machinge, leave enough food out for the cat.

Finally, we took to the road, only stopping to buy snacks and drinks. The way was long but we were excited. We put on a tape, started singing and laughing. I thought it was going to be a great rip.

We passed farmers bringing produce and flowers from the fields. There were stalls selling coconuts, mangoes and tepache (a pineapple fermented drink). We drove past archaeological sites that we had visited in school trips.

Once, we stopped in a small town because there was an old cathedral right by the side of the road and we wanted to take some pictures. It turned out it was being renovated because an earthquake (and time) had damaged it.

A little further on we saw a cutting on a mountain that was shaped like a heart. My sister loved that it seemed pink in the evening glow.

And after a few more turns, we saw it: Oaxaca. The lights were just starting to turn on and the valley seemed magical. We had been there once before, but we were very small and could barely remember the town. I felt as if we were discovering it for the first time.

I was excited about the history we were about to see, the gorgeous churches, the delicious food and incredible handcrafts. Perhaps we would even meet old friends. It was the best graduation gift my mom could give me, and Oaxaca did not disappoint.

There are certain songs that come on the radio and make me want to jump in the car and head across the Land of the Free. 

My dream is to start on the farthest east location in the United States and drive all the way across the United States and find the most Western point and then stop.

Do I take someone with me on take this  Pilgrimage– a finding myself from east to west and back again? 

Find the cutest convertible with the greatest sound system, because you will need a great stereo for that long of a drive.  Gas up and load the console with plenty of Chex mix, not the kind with m & m’s because they will melt.  A case of water which I will undoubtedly forget about and grab Coca Cola at every pee stop on the trek out west and I am ready to go. 

My only dilemma is do you drive and only stop at the great attractions like the giant ball of string. Do I stop in the tourist trap stops built for people just like me that think they are witnessing real Texas when they buy an Armadillo keychain.

Or do I spend a night here and take in a band and a meal.  Should I dance with the man who has grinned at me all night across the restaurant?  I could take the Tornado alley tours and witness what families are forced to endure every year.  I could stop at the World’s Largest Mall and the World’s smallest doorknob museum. 

I have a mental checklist in my head of things I want to find such as the best food in Texas and the Grand Canyon and spy a look at a local tribe on their reservation.  I want to peer across the cornfields of Iowa and the mountains of Montana.  I want to say I have been to Hell and back in Colorado and go and watch fish be thrown at the fish market in Seattle. 

I want to arrive on the West Coast and get out of my car and wriggle my toes in the sand of California. 

But until I can do that, I will finish dinner that is cooking on my stove.  Until I can get in that rented, red, car full of Chex Mix I will feed my family and dream of a trip on another day from sea to shining sea. 

The intent for this one wasn’t to fit with this, but it works out that the main character is (I think) the Disney Anti-Hero. This was inspired solely by James Halls’ commentary piece:

Before them, large, jagged mounds rose from the cave floor, a miniature of a landscape that belonged someplace else, where the sun was hot and scorching and the only fools who crossed it were adorned in thick soled hiking boots. Cella eyed the boy’s flimsy, tattered sneakers (if they could still be called that) piteously and wiggled her toes in her boots. Ah well.

“Take these, boy, quickly now.” She toed off her comfortable, well-worn shoes and handed them to him, almost bitterly. From the light of the lamp Cella carried, he observed her barefooted-ness.

“And what will you wear?” His little voice was expectant, as though he truly expected her to whip out an extra pair of shoes from inside her pant pocket.

Annoyed, she hissed, “Do you want them or not, prat?”

Silently, he took the shoes, and she felt a sting of bitterness, at herself, and at the boy. Feeling mutinous, she touched the tough pad of her big toe against the edge of the limestone landscape. At first it wasn’t so bad, but after a while her optimism faded, as her feet were assaulted from all sides by the brittle rock. She was sinisterly reminding herself that the boy hasn’t even tanked her for the shoes when she first heard it—an echoing far above them. She looked up.

Before, the roof of the cave felt oppressive and intrusive, and stirred within her feelings of claustrophobia previously unobserved by her. Yet now, as Cella gazed up with wonder and awe, her feelings of suppression dissipated, to be replaced by a sudden loneliness that conjured fear. Above her, the darkness moved in an endless abyss, a sky where no stars dwelled.

She stumbled as the rock broke beneath her and another piece fell on her left foot, digging, burrowing itself into the skin there, and when she lifted it, hissing, her skin oozed interlocking webs of blood. She threw the rock aside, where the shadows swayed mournfully and jeered at her beyond the broken bubble of light. The boy stood watching her, healthy and normal, and had just enough decency to look guilty as they trudged on, although perhaps his hanging head was just to watch his footing.

Z.C.S. July 10, 2013

Advice and such are strongly appreciated and encouraged. =)

“Above her, the darkness moved in an endless abyss, a sky where no stars dwelled.” I like this, but I think “moved” is a poor verb choice. This suggestion that something is moving above them. But, at least in this excerpt, you don’t show that.

Nice job of showing tension between the characters. I don’t think I did that well with my characters.

This is the beginning of something I’ve wanted to start for a long time. It is still pretty rough….

The call came unexpectedly. A jarring sound that pulled him into his bed and out of the darkness of slumber. He realized that his time of rest was over and rolled over to grab the phone without opening his eyes. The high pitched voice on the other end had a pinched quality to it, as though the back of the throat were cutting off the words despite her best efforts to create them. breathily, she asked, “Aaron Jade? Are you still doing detective work?”

He wondered briefly weather to answer or ask who was calling. Before he could do either, the raspy voice continued, “I need someone with your skills who can be counted on to be discreet, at least until my issue has been resolved to my satisfacation.”

It was obvious she was used to getting her way, what she wanted, and she wanted him, or rather his detective skills.

“Who is this?” He tried to sound harsh and demanding, “ I haven’t done a job in years. How did you get my number? No-one has access to this number unless I know about I what.”

“Who gave it to me isn’t important.” The breathiness had left her voice, and a commanding, I know-what-I-want-and-I’m-going-to-get-it tone had completely replaced any sign of fear. “I need someone who knows his way around, and will do whatever it takes to complete the job. I hear that you’ve done business with those that have needed the utmost discretion, and have gotten results.”

Jade’s inner radar had kicked in, his attention fully engaged, he recognized the old back-in business feeling. It began as a slight, nearly imperceptible tingle in the middle of his body, as if a clock had been set to ticking.

Your dialog comes across as a bit fake. I’m not sure what has caused it though. Things are not quite said right, probably a little too long winded. Dialog is a little more snappy.

More creepiness or something in the woman’s dialog would up the tension needed in the piece. The “I’m a woman who knows how to get what she wants” cliche just doesn’t cut it, in my opinion. At this point, you want the reader thinking “What is UP with this crazy woman calling?”

On the other hand, you did say it was rough. I didn’t have to struggle with the ideas, it was easy to read. You get your point across.

Keep Practicing and you’ll get there!

I don’t really know what kind of anti-hero Lindy is, but we can let her speak for herself. ——– “Today’s the day!” Tinder was grinning from ear to ear when Lindy opened the hostel door. “Our grand adventure. We’re going to save the town and bring settlers back to the North. It’s going to be a raging success, I can feel it!” Lindy rubbed the knuckles on her right hand absently. Tinder still bore the purplish blotch on his cheek from their row a few days ago. When Lindy had still insisted that she would return to her homestead alone and leave the colonies to their own fate. The scabs on her knuckles itched where the split skin threatened to open up again. “You’re not going to hit me again are you?” Tinder asked cheerfully eyeing her clenched fist. “If you keep grinning like that, I might. There’s no room for blind optimism out there. If you want to have a gleeful adventure, try the hologarden. We’ll be very lucky if we don’t freeze to death before we’ve reached the first outpost. And you better hope there’s fuel and shelter there. Nobody’s restocked the place in 10 years.” Lindy hoisted her pack onto her back and carried her heavy green parka over her arm. “Let’s get on with it.” A small crowd had gathered at the east gate. Tinder’s father handed him an oiled leather packet. “Pemmican, for the journey. Should keep you when everything else has frozen solid.” He handed a similar packet to Lindy, along with a second, smaller pouch. “Try not to lose my boy down a crevasse” he said. “No promises” Lindy said as she gingerly opened the pouch. It contained heavy twine made of horse hair, long cords made of sinew and an oiled length of catgut. “I know old Pete taught you how to trap, let’s hope you still remember some of it.” He rested a hand uneasily on her shoulder and gave it an awkward pat. She turned to Tinder to break the man’s touch and placed the pouch into the tall boy’s pack. The townspeople were quiet as they loaded their saviors down with gifts of fuel, provisions and tools. The headman presented Lindy with a map that looked more like it had been drawn for a child’s scavenger hunt. Their destination and the various outposts were scrawled on it with vague directional markers, landmarks and distances measured in ox legs. It wasn’t much to go on and more likely than not they would be blown off course by summer storms and never reach their destination. There were so many things that could go wrong. It was no wonder that, while everyone wished them well, no one spoke of their return. Hope had long deserted this settlement. It probably died just after her grandfather did, Lindy thought bitterly. Served them all right, sending their most valuable ally on a fool’s errand. Now it was Lindy’s turn to be sent off into the arctic night. Except no one here would mourn the loss of her skills. As for Tinder, the town already had a butcher and he would not long be needed once the herders’ dome collapsed entirely. Soon this town dome would empty and the people would go out and die in whatever way seemed best to them. Lindy and Tinder would have only one ox for their journey. Lindy’s own ox was left to the care of the herdmistress and a fresh one, Petri was gifted to them. Lindy preferred her own ox, but was relieved that her Snowball at least wouldn’t die on this foolish errand. “All right, let’s go.” Lindy donned her parka and mittens and fitted her goggles to her face. When Tinder was similarly bundled and masked, the townspeople retreated to the cafés. The east gate squealed in its tracks. The wide open air was before them. At least Lindy would be nearer to her Lights again. The first morning passed in silence. They took turns riding Petri and walking alongside her. On the ground, the large animal’s bulk blocked the majority of the wind. As the day grew old, both Tinder and Lindy walked on the leeward side of the ox, trying to regain the warmth in their hands and keep the sharp winds from biting the coddled dome skin around their masks. “How much further to the outpost?” Tinder asked. “Didn’t the map say three ox legs? We should have seen the first landmark a leg ago.” “I imagine the landmark is long gone, it was only a signpost or shack. Any number of storms could have ripped it down and buried it under snow by now.” They marched on, their eyes burning in the bright light of unfiltered sun on snow. As the sun met them direct in the eyes, Lindy knew they wouldn’t reach shelter by dark. “We have to make camp” she said. “Don’t argue” she said as Tinder opened his mouth. “If Petri freezes in the twilight cold, we won’t be saving any domes this lifetime.” She scanned the land around them for any geographic features that might block the wind and give their ox a respite from the cold. “There” she said, pointing at a strip of pale blue on the snow a hundred yards from them. “Looks like a mound or a hill or something, we can make camp next to it.” She strode off with lead rein in hand, not waiting for Tinder’s response. As they approached the strip of blue, she found it didn’t rise up from the snow as she had expected. It grew larger to be sure, but it should have blocked out the sky or something. At the very edge of it, Lindy stopped abruptly, and pushed Petri back. “It’s a hole!” she shouted to Tinder who had been looking at sky and landscape and snow. Everywhere but at his own feet where the crevasse yawned wide.

5 Types of Anti-Heroes, there’s something more to talk about this anymore.

Um, my anti-hero isn’t in this list? What do you call an anti-hero who is a complete screw-up in crisis and knows it, but can’t seem to stop doing hurtful things despite wanting to do the right thing, until he finally realizes the truth he needs to in order to live differently?

How are you? I had fun with the Prompt. *** A Road-Trip; 278 tunnels; seeing snow for the first time & learning to ski – on the spur of the moment.

I know all about road trips, good ones and bad ones, boring and exciting ones. Road trips in thirty-two US States, South Africa, France, Italy, Spain, Ballearic Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Belgium, Luxembourg…

Our road trips are never planned. We don’t own a car because we own a boat. For road-trips we rent a car, dust off the worn map and go, wherever the road takes us. We love to drive on smaller roads and mostly they are not marked on the big scale maps that is why we argue a lot too, because we get lost al lot.

But we also have amazing experiences and seen amazing places. A few years ago, in March 2010, we were in Pretoria, South Africa and our son had two days to get to Viareggio in Italy for a job. Airline tickets booked and the morning of our flight they emailed us saying we can fly to London but no further because of airline personnel strikes. The brave or stupid or both, Storbecks made a plan. Landing at Heathrow we had 18 hours left to arrive in Italy. We rented a car at the airport. After much hassle because we needed one with an EU number plate, Avis had no road maps and no GPS for us either. Ok, we knew we had to drive south-east to the Mediterranean. On the A20 to the Euro Channel, arriving in Calais, France we followed signs south-east. Riems, Troyes, sleeping late that night somewhere near Chaumont in an motel. The next day we drove to Dijon, Geneva, through the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, tunnel. An amazing tunnel, 18 miles in length. Arriving in Italy we drove like a bat out of hell to Genoa and arrived with a few hours to spare in Viareggio.

Tired, hungry and Peter very happy because the new job on a stunning super yacht, a dream come true. A few days later, knowing he was settled we made a quick detour in Tuscany, near the Italian Swiss border I saw Zermatt on the map. I remembered a friend said they go skiing there every year. That the Zermatt looked like those pictures you see on chocolate boxes. We are from South Africa and have never seen snow! ‘Let’s go skiing” we said, funny right? We drove to Zermatt, a resort below the Matterhorn, booked into a hotel, rented gear and an instructor and skied for 4 days.

That was the most fun I have ever had on any road trip. Snow…and more snow… hiking in snow, getting lost in the dark, on the mountain, following voices to town, sliding down a steep plowed slope on our behinds, it was to steep to walk. Then the trip back to the UK. All in all we drove 2700 miles in 14 days, through 278 tunnels.

My 15 minutes is up

It was the crack of dawn at Laguna Seca Speedway in the summer of 1988, the Sunday after a weekend concert. I had to be back in Portland Oregon for class on Monday morning. I was in grad school then and swore I would never miss another class for a Dead Show again. I hadn’t slept that night though everyone else in my friend’s converted school bus had managed to sleep. My shoes were somewhere under someone’s head. Did I dare wake them to say goodbye and look for my shoes? No. It was time to go; shoes be damned. I wrote a quick goodbye note with something about butterflies and headed for the freeway North. About fifteen minutes into the drive I saw a hitchhiker and picked him up. He lived not too much out of my way so I decided to drive him back to his house somewhere in Marin County. When we got to his house, I went in to use the bathroom and get a bite to eat. We sat on his living room floor and he cried in my arms because he could never see the Dead again; the memories were too painful. He and his wife had met at a show and she had just left him for another man. I held him; stroked his hair; gave him a bear hug and left on my journey, never to see or hear from him again. I then had twenty hours left to make a fifteen hour drive. No problem. However, my detour to his house got me off the highway and so I had to trek through the back roads of Northern California. Several hours later I came across another hitchhiker and picked him up. He was an older man, perhaps in his forties as I was in my twenties. When he got into the car he said, “Thanks for picking me up. I just got out of the hospital.” To which I immediately thought, “Oh no. Here’s the one I should never have stopped for. Here’s the serial killer I thought I’d never be unlucky enough to meet.” But it turned out someone rear-ended him and he had been in the hospital for a few days and when released he had no way to get home; his car had been totaled.

We talked of his family, his wife and Elvis. She named one son Elvis and the other Russell after Kurt Russell because he played Elvis in a movie once. I drove him home too; met the wife, and the two tributes to The King and off I went once again with now 15 hours to make a 12 hour drive. No problem. I turned on the radio in nowheresville and up popped Jerry singing Sugaree, a very good sign. All was well. I was the angel of hitchhiker-mercy endorsed by synchronicity. I passed through Marysville and as I passed the town limit sign, The Wind Cries Mary came on. I stopped to get gas. The wind did feel a bit moist as if washing us in light tears. I noticed on my map I was near Oroville and a commune one Deahead boyfriend from long had moved to: Con Cow. The gas attended gave me directions to the commune and I showed up asking around for Rich. I found him and the woman he’d left me for living in a dome next to a pond. We skinny-dipped and milked his goats. I cried in his arms at life in general. He said his dome often got people to cry. I gave Jezebel a bear hug and took him with me to Chico where he was spending the night with some friends. It was midnight when I dropped him off. I said hello to his friend’s drank some coffee and was off again. I had to be inclass at ten am. I drove all night not having slept in over 24 hours. I pulled into Lewis and Clark College at 10:05 and ran to class, barefoot, in a ripped hippie skirt. The class gave me a standing ovation.

The violent weather is treacherous on the tarmac tonight, a lonely deserted road in the desert accompanied by a raging storm lights up the night sky, lightning stretches & appears to crawl across the distant blackness. This weather doesn’t deter this type of man who’s brain is wired indifferent to most others of his own kind, with no thought of consequence of personal well being. A psychopathic assassin has no need for normal thought processes or common sense, out here alone in this situation he is right at home.

Speeding through the treacherous conditions the car is bombarded by dense rain where it appears nails are tearing through the sky to bombard this crazy’s man vehicle.

This black hot rod engine wanes and punches through the weather wanting more.

Finally our killer known as Magnolia reaches an intersection, the hot rod screams to a halt, this moment will be used to light up a cigarette. As He lights his smoke he see’s a wolf pounce onto a nearby rock on the side of the road. The headlights shine in the wolfs eyes. Magnolia gazes at the wolf when he begins to show his teeth and snarl at the car in confusion. Magnolia smiles and nods to the wolf to deliver fellow acknowledgement between predators.

The hot rod suddenly speeds off and the road trip is underway again, there is not a lot of distance left to cover to reach this designated city of black smoke and hatred.

An industrial erected man made monstrosity of abandoned structures have now become canvases for the local kids to characterize and graffiti. The sun is powerless to beings there.

The car speeds on and on, in the revision mirror Magnolia sees red and blue lights closing in on his position. he slows down to enable these highway patrol pawns to get closer to the hot rod, that is just what Magnolia wants.

The Police car eventually pulls alongside the perused car of Magnolias, The Police pa instructs the hot rod to pull to the side of the road as Magnolia increases his speed, The passenger highway cop draws his gun and flashes it out the window as a warning, Magnolia begins to also wind down his window. when the officer flashes a torch to see the suspects face, he sees a pale white scared face accompanied with slick long black hair.

Magnolia begins to slow the chase right down, enough so he can draw his silver plated pistol and shoot the back passenger window, he appears to miss the squad drivers but this is part of his plan. The car speeds back up, the cops pull alongside to shine a light on Magnolia to fix a target to shoot, as the light shines on Magnolia they spot his yellowing teeth grip and pull out two pins of a couple of grenades, he then tosses them in the back seat through the shot window of the police car, One officer frantically turns around to collect and discard the grenades when he is stopped by the prisoners back seat protection grill, the grenades are trapped bouncing around on the seat.

The police car pulls over but it is too late, the car explodes and it is all over.

Magnolia turn around to pull over and marvel at this event, he exits his car and smiles and approaches the car, he rubs his hands together and lights up a smoke using the burnt out wreckage.

He turns and faces what remains of the open road, in the distance he sees the city lights

It is not long to go now until this road trip is at an end and Magnolia is home.

By Luke Stanley [email protected]

Roadtrips. Truth be told, I’ve never had a memorable one. Well I have few images of a roadtrip I once had one with my family, but seeing as I was about five years old, I don’t remember it in details. I only know that that day was memorable, even if I did forget most of it. I just remember us being happy, my family and I. It was one of the last times we were all in one car. And that’s why I plan on going on plenty of roadtrips as soon as I’m old enough to drive. Not with anyone. With the people I love. We would listen to good music, take pictures, walk in old markets, watch the sunrise, have heart-to-heart conversations, and simply pour our hearts out and soak up all the beauty in this world. I know this idea of a perfect roadtrip is a bit utopian, but the slightest prospect of having such a roadtrip makes my heart flutter and fills me up with hope. The possibility that, in time of hardships, a simple car trip with a true friend might renew my vision of life and love, makes me have a hopeful look on the future. So, to me, a roadtrip is more than just a long car ride. It’s a ride towards a new perspective. It’s a way to show me the good in the world when I’ve lost sight. I truly hope I won’t be not disappointed when I actually go on a roadtrip. I’m almost sure that i won’t be, because I am confident in the faithfulness of my friends, no matter how little I’ve experienced.

The move from California to Texas was both exhilarating and terrifying. I used to think that there would be no new adventures for me as I aged. After all I was a part of the generation that loudly proclaimed “Trust no on over 30.” That of course changed as the years flew past and 30 something became the new 20 and 60 the new 40 and so on and so on. Will death become the new life? Numerical options become somewhat limited at this point in the game. I honestly have no answers but I have made a deal with myself to stop counting and just be present for this chapter of my life. The only thing I’m currently certain about is that at this point anything other than living each day to it’s fullest and on my own terms is a waste of precious time. With that in mind each day becomes it’s own new adventure.

The icy winds blew in through the windows, the frozen path straining on the car. A heavy mist had surrounded us and my vision was restricted to just the front of the vehicle. I heard Mal and An shivering and comforting each other as I tried to plow ahead. Heather was rubbing her hands together, an attempt to keep the escaping heat in her body. She kept trying to toy with the heating systems but everything had broken down an hour ago.

I cursed myself for plunging my family into this disaster, all holiday plans melting away. I had promised them an adventurous get-away but had never fathomed it turning into this.

Heather was holding on to my arm and tried to soothe me. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked up at me. Someone was coming behind us and we all knew that they could be our saving grace.

I clambered out of the car, making sure to buckle myself up, ready to brace the chills. My feet; having made contact with the snow-laiden road; froze instantly and my voice struggled to escape my throat. I signalled for the driver to stop and come to our assisstance but, to my utmost panic, the car never stopped. The jet black Jeep just speeded past me and left me stranded. I was lost in thought, as to why I wasn’t offered any help when the loud honk of a horn woke me up. Heather was staring up at me and gave me a confused and questioning glance, mirroring my expression.

I peered into the fog, hoping for anyone to come but I was just greeted by a silvery haze and an increasingly cold and fast wind threatening to trap us in a whirlwind of disasters. The only thing I could do was wait…This was turning out to be a never-ending road trip for us all!

No mountains, no lakes, no greenery, no waterfall…no beautiful brook is flowing parallel to the road in which I am travelling….so what you think .. I am in a monotonous journey you do not long for…. The dust clearly strewn visible in black bituminous road crossing which appears to be a eternity.My black Scorpio has turned white due to patches. I am in a stretch surrounded by large dunes of sand on two sides… I cannot add .#beautiful# adjective to these dunes, they are dry and nothing else and I have turned drier. I occasionally wet my lips with tounges lubricating the cracks… Casting my eyes sideways I find a herd of camels traversing the desert in peace somewhere near the horizon … I am calm too but not in peace, for my senses which are not used to this silence start keeping me busy with distractions of past and future , worries and griefs maybe this is the most rewarding time for introspection.. Yes THAR triggers the philosophical side of me…… When I had planned this trip , I had mentally imagined this scene quite numerous times but this was catalyzed by the traditional tune of KESARIYA BALAM AAVO JI MAARHE DESH…..( you are welcome to my country … The grace of lord may bequeath upon you) … But now in this very moment I am feeling so much thirsty that the depression ahead of me which appears to be filled with water makes me joyous only to make me sad when I reach there ..all my water bottles have drained and so the knowledge of miraje which I has read in my science books…………

The best type of road trip is one where I am not driving. When I get to look out the window and allow my mind to paint over the vast expanse of the land around me. Boy, do I love the days where I can make up catchy song-lyrics in my head, pretending that I can play an instrument, while the car speeds along the highway at ten miles-per-hour over the speed limit. Those are the days that I can devote to doing nothing, answering to nobody, and still see everything. I can see the earth itself, polka-dotted with trees, cars and uniform houses. I can see the occasional hitch-hiker as we tumble past him, the thought never crossing our minds to pick him up. I see the world as it is, a bastion of infinite artistry. I can visualize the creation of something far greater than myself, the colors that humans have forged. And from the cars we pass and those that pass us, I can see their hues and I can rest assured that each one is inherently unique, each one portrays a new gradient. Because of these observations, my mind can rest easy, letting the car hurl me forward into a flurry of colors. Sometimes though, when the sun becomes consumed by mountains and the radiance of the daytime becomes nothing more than a muddled shadow, I start to think of myself. I don’t like it when I think of myself. It starts with the faces. Always the faces. Faces of people whose voices I refuse to recall because they are faces of people whom I have deemed unworthy of my time, my dreams, or my thoughts. And while they have never done anything to deserve my condemnation, I have still chosen to shun them. Then come those who have wronged me, people whose hearts I have invested my own in and yet they chose to do the same thing to me that I have done to others. They chose condemnation over recognition. I hate them for it, and if I hate them for their ugliness, then others must hate me in the same way. The only color I see now in the evening light is not a color at all, it’s more like a feeling. It cannot be explained, our language does not denote the existence of this color; it simply is. I peer into the side-view mirror from the backseat of the car, the sun almost finished banishing itself into the abyss of western mountains, and I can no longer see myself. All I see is the ever-elusive color, and a crowd of faces in front of mine.

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123 The Road Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

If you're struggling to come up with a topic for your next essay, look no further! We've compiled a list of 123 road essay topic ideas and examples to inspire you and get your creative juices flowing. Whether you're writing a narrative essay about a road trip you took, analyzing the symbolism of roads in literature, or discussing the impact of road infrastructure on the environment, we've got you covered. Check out these ideas and examples below:

• The road less traveled: A personal narrative of a journey off the beaten path.
• The road to success: How perseverance and determination can lead to achievement.
• Road rage: Exploring the causes and consequences of aggressive driving behavior.
• The road to recovery: Overcoming obstacles and finding strength in adversity.
• The road to self-discovery: Reflecting on a journey of personal growth and transformation.
• The road to happiness: Finding joy and fulfillment in life's journey.
• The road to redemption: Seeking forgiveness and healing after making mistakes.
• The road to freedom: Escaping from oppression and embracing independence.
• The road to enlightenment: Exploring spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.
• The road to nowhere: A philosophical reflection on the meaninglessness of life's journey.

Literature and Film

• The road as a symbol of freedom in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road".
• The road as a metaphor for life's journey in Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken".
• The road as a symbol of escape in Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road".
• The road as a motif in the film "Mad Max: Fury Road" and its significance in the post-apocalyptic world.
• The road as a symbol of adventure and discovery in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit".
• The road as a symbol of transformation in Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple".
• The road as a symbol of rebellion in the film "Easy Rider" and its countercultural themes.
• The road as a symbol of isolation in Samuel Beckett's play "Endgame" and its existential themes.
• The road as a symbol of hope in John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" and its themes of resilience.
• The road as a symbol of danger in Stephen King's novel "The Long Walk" and its dystopian setting.

Travel and Adventure

• The road trip of a lifetime: A travelogue of a cross-country journey.
• Exploring the backroads: Finding hidden gems off the beaten path.
• Road tripping on a budget: Tips for traveling cheaply and efficiently.
• The thrill of the open road: Embracing spontaneity and adventure on a road trip.
• Road trip essentials: Packing list and must-have items for a successful journey.
• The road less traveled: Discovering unique destinations and experiences.
• Road tripping with kids: Tips for a family-friendly adventure on the road.
• Road trip playlist: Creating the perfect soundtrack for your journey.
• Road trip cuisine: Sampling local delicacies and regional cuisine along the way.
• Road trip photography: Capturing memories and moments on the road.

History and Culture

• The impact of the Silk Road on trade and cultural exchange in ancient times.
• The construction of the Roman road network and its influence on European civilization.
• The significance of Route 66 in American history and popular culture.
• The development of the interstate highway system and its impact on transportation.
• The role of roads in the expansion of empires and conquest throughout history.
• The cultural significance of pilgrimage routes like the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
• The symbolism of roads in Native American folklore and mythology.
• The impact of colonial roads on indigenous communities and land rights.
• The role of roads in the spread of religion and missionary activity.
• The significance of the Great Wall of China as a defensive road network.

Environmental and Urban Planning

• The environmental impact of road construction and deforestation.
• The role of roads in habitat fragmentation and wildlife conservation.
• The benefits of green infrastructure and sustainable road design.
• The impact of road pollution on air quality and public health.
• The challenges of urban sprawl and road congestion in metropolitan areas.
• The importance of pedestrian-friendly road design and walkable communities.
• The role of public transportation in reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
• The benefits of cycling infrastructure and promoting active transportation.
• The impact of road salt on freshwater ecosystems and aquatic life.
• The future of autonomous vehicles and smart road technology in urban planning.

Social Issues and Justice

• The role of roads in facilitating human trafficking and exploitation.
• The impact of road closures and infrastructure projects on marginalized communities.
• The connection between road access and economic development in rural areas.
• The challenges of road safety and reducing traffic accidents worldwide.
• The intersection of race and class in road construction and transportation policy.
• The role of roads in gentrification and displacement of low-income residents.
• The impact of road closures on emergency response times and public safety.
• The role of roads in forced migration and refugee crises around the world.
• The challenges of road maintenance and funding in developing countries.
• The importance of accessible roads and transportation for people with disabilities.

Science and Technology

• The engineering behind road construction and infrastructure projects.
• The impact of climate change on road maintenance and resilience.
• The role of GPS and navigation systems in modern road travel.
• The future of electric vehicles and renewable energy on the road.
• The challenges of cybersecurity and protecting connected vehicles from hacking.
• The impact of road sensors and data analytics on traffic management.
• The role of drones in road inspection and maintenance.
• The benefits of smart road technology in reducing accidents and congestion.
• The challenges of integrating autonomous vehicles into existing road infrastructure.
• The role of artificial intelligence in optimizing traffic flow and road safety.

Health and Wellness

• The benefits of road running and outdoor exercise for physical fitness.
• The impact of road noise and pollution on mental health and well-being.
• The connection between road safety and public health outcomes.
• The benefits of urban green spaces and pedestrian-friendly road design for community health.
• The role of road closures and car-free zones in promoting active lifestyles.
• The impact of road congestion on stress levels and quality of life.
• The benefits of road cycling and bike commuting for cardiovascular health.
• The challenges of road safety for pedestrians and vulnerable road users.
• The connection between road infrastructure and access to healthcare services.
• The importance of road safety education and awareness campaigns for preventing accidents.

Economics and Business

• The impact of road infrastructure investments on regional economic development.
• The role of transportation logistics and supply chain management in road networks.
• The benefits of road connectivity for businesses and commerce.
• The challenges of road congestion and transportation costs for businesses.
• The impact of road closures on tourism and hospitality industries.
• The role of road maintenance and repair in job creation and economic growth.
• The connection between road access and property values in real estate markets.
• The benefits of road connectivity for small businesses and entrepreneurship.
• The challenges of road tolling and financing infrastructure projects.
• The future of drone delivery and autonomous vehicles in changing business models.

Politics and Policy

• The role of road infrastructure in political campaigns and public works projects.
• The impact of road funding and transportation policy on government budgets.
• The challenges of partisan gridlock and infrastructure investment in Congress.
• The connection between road access and voting rights in marginalized communities.
• The role of roads in disaster response and emergency management.
• The impact of road closures on public services and government operations.
• The benefits of public-private partnerships in financing road projects.
• The challenges of regulatory compliance and environmental protections in road construction.
• The connection between road safety laws and public health outcomes.
• The future of transportation policy and sustainable road development.

Education and Learning

• The benefits of road trips for experiential learning and cultural immersion.
• The role of roads in historical education and heritage preservation.
• The impact of road closures on school transportation and student access.
• The connection between road safety education and reducing accidents among young drivers.
• The benefits of road safety programs and driver training for adolescents.
• The challenges of road congestion and transportation options for students.
• The role of road infrastructure in promoting access to education in rural areas.
• The impact of road construction on school bus routes and student transportation.
• The benefits of road safety campaigns and awareness programs in schools.
• The future of virtual field trips and online learning in supplementing road travel.

Family and Relationships

• The role of road trips in family bonding and creating lasting memories.
• The impact of road closures on family vacations and travel plans.
• The benefits of road safety education for children and parents.
• The challenges of road congestion and traffic delays for family outings.
• The connection between road access and social isolation in rural communities.
• The role of roads in fostering community connections and neighborhood relationships.
• The impact of road infrastructure on family dynamics and quality of life.
• The benefits of road trips for multigenerational families and extended relatives.
• The challenges of road travel with young children and elderly relatives.
• The future of family road trips and technology in staying connected on the go.

Creativity and Inspiration

• The road as a symbol of creativity and

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How To Write a Good Travel Essay

Home / Blog / How To Write A Good Travel Essay - Guide With Examples

Introduction

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

-Gustav Flaubert

Packing the duffel with the bare essentials and hopping into the car, getting behind the steering wheel and driving with no perfect destination in mind – we all dream to live such a life, don't we? Travelling to unseen places and exploring what it has to offer can be an enriching experience. However beautiful can travel be as an experience, writing a travelling essay can be quite a challenge. It may seem easy to come up with the ideas that you want to include in the essay but putting them into coherent sentences can be difficult. Your words should be impactful enough to be able to sweep the readers off their feet and take them on the cliff or make them feel the saline breeze on a beach.  

A perfect travel essay must reflect the journey and highlight the little-known facts about the region. It should be infused with the character and culture of the place. If you are feeling stymied while writing a travel essay, then we have some brilliant tips for you that can make the task considerably easy for you.

8 tips for an outstanding essay on travelling

Here are 8 tips that you can cash on to produce a winning travelling essay:

• Be specific with the destination

Before you choose a topic for your travel essay, keep the time spent in the location in mind. If your trip is just for a couple of days, then do not make the mistake of writing about an entire city. Think it out practically – is it possible to travel through a city in just a few days? Take for instance your essay is about London. It is quite an insurmountable task to be able to cover all the distance even in a week. So stick to a particular destination so that you can include the nuances and minutest details of the place to paint a picture in the reader’s mind with your words. 

• Less guide, more exploring

Also, the destination need not be about an exotic locale. It can be a story about an idyllic rustic location in the suburb of the teeming city. It can be about a cottage up on the hills with just the view of snowy valleys and iced peaks. Your words should give the sense of exploring and not touring. The essay should not be like a guide. It should be a view of the location through your lens.

• Know the location like the back of your hand

Before starting to write a travel essay, do your research. A travel essay isn’t a made-up story so there should not be any fake information. Readers will be looking for more than just the necessary information about the must-visit tourist attractions. So you need to go beyond the surface and include more about the history of the place. Just do not write about the restaurants – talk about the cuisine of the place and the story behind it, if any. To get into the innermost recesses of the location, you can speak to the residents of the area. To bring richness in your travel essay, you must reveal another side of the destination.

• Include the nitty-gritty

The key to an impressive travel essay is to be able to break down the location into kernels and write the core details about them. As mentioned earlier, so not just write about the tourist attractions and restaurants in the destination. Write about the lesser talked streets and unknown landmarks and the history behind them. If the place is known for its delicacies, write about how the cuisine has evolved and who had started it. From quaint bookstores to ice cream parlours to run-down shabby pubs – shed light to such nuances to bring your essay to life. You can even mention the negative things that you have faced in the place – like irregular transport modes or impolite locals. These little details will help you make your essay more impactful.

• Be creative with the writing style

Since a travel essay is more like an anecdote, there is no specific format to write it. Therefore, a travel essay gives you the scope of setting your foot into the unchartered areas of creativity. You have got the creative freedom to write what you want. You can study how the natives of the locale speak and learn some of the basic words and phrases they use. To put them into writing you can read the local newspaper to get the pulse of the city you are in. Using the colloquial lingo can help the reader get a closer peek into the lives of the people living in the place. It will reflect a slice of how they live their way of life. Your words should be simple and yet impactful to portray and not just merely narrate. Touch every bit of the rust in the roof to make the reader feel like they are on the same journey with you.

• Make it personal

The travel essay is your story. So add some personal experience in the story and at the same time do not make it self-indulgent. Include stories that can resonate with all your readers. Your experiences should be able to bring the reader back to the travel destination and connect him with the place. It should be the perfect blend of narration of the experiences you had while on the trip along with a vivid description of the place. To achieve the balance, write your essay in first person perspective to give a real touch to the story. Include the most interesting bits that will help the reader connect with you. You can even include the quotes of natives living in the area you had visited.

• Start with a captivating catch

Like every essay, the introduction is the key to make it an impressive read. The opening should be capturing enough to attract the reader’s attention. It should leave an impact and should make them want to go on reading the piece. Start with an unknown fact about the place and leave it hanging from the cliff. Use a tone of suspense to excite the readers to keep them guessing about the contents of the essay.

• Make it vivid with images

For certain places, words may fall short in being able to explain the exact description of a place. You cannot describe how the sky looked with the mountains seemingly touching the clouds or the horizon fading beyond the sea. Certain things cannot be explained in words – like the color of the sky or the water! This is where pictures come in! Providing real images of the place in between can help the readers stay connected. Vivid photos can also make the readers understand the story better by bringing them closer to it. So make sure you take breathtaking pictures of the place you are writing about. The images will help your essay stay in the readers’ mind longer.

With the above tips, we are sure you will be able to write an excellent travelling essay  that will impress your professor and fetch you a good grade.

And if you are still unsure about putting these to use, then below is a winning sample to show you how it is done!

Travelling essay sample

I have visited London several times, and yet it is amazing how I find something new to explore every time I visit the capital city. My visit last autumn too did not fail to surprise me. With the hustle and bustle and the rich royal history, London city has a lot to offer. Since I just had a few days to spare, I wanted to make the best out of this trip.

Although vast and sprawling, I decided to visit most of the city on foot this time. Now since in my previous visits I had seen most of the tourist-y attractions already, I wanted to take the path less travelled this time to discover the hidden gems of the city. The last time I had been to London, I had missed out on the chance to visit the chock full of literature and history that awaited me in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. Being a student of literature, visiting the place where the Bard of Avon once enacted the plays he wrote was a spellbinding moment. And guess what? I also caught a staging of the Macbeth before I left the place. Before heading towards the Hyde Park tube station, I grabbed some of London’s famous Fish ‘n’ Chips from the oldest food market of the city, the Borough Market. From Hyde Park to Tower Hill in under fifteen minutes by Tube, I began exploring the Tower of London. It was there that I heard a guard speaking about where he hailed from. A quick conversation with Peter, I had gotten intrigued to know more about his village – Suffolk in Lavenham. I asked him how to get there and Peter, being the quintessential helping guide that Londoners are known to be, told me that I could either take a car from central London. Or I could wait for the next day and take the train from Liverpool to Sudbury and then take the bus route 753 and reach in around two hours. Having nothing to do, I spent that day in the British Museum and walking on Oxford Street.

The next morning, I started my journey to the quaint village of Suffolk. I had picked up a book about the village where I learned that the village had once housed Henry III in 1257. And a bonus for all the Harry Potter fans – the village also starred in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ as Godric’s Hollow where Hermoine and Harry are seen to be visiting Bathilda Bagshot. On reaching the village, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the picture-perfect silhouette of prosperous medieval England with all the half-timbered houses. The lime-washed and brightly coloured buildings added an idyllic element to the village with the De Vere House standing out from the rest. Adding to the rustic touch was the fifteenth-century St Peter Church with its soaring height of a 141ft tower. The autumn breeze welcomed me as I walked on the leaf-covered high streets. I saw some young guns cycling around in a park and called out to them for directions. My stay for the trip was an Air BnB home-stay where I had to put up with an elderly couple – the Havishams. I still remember how on reaching the gate of the house, I had caught a waft of crumpets and hot scones. After an exchange of banalities followed by me gorging on the scones, I had found out about the hidden gems from Mr Havisham who happened to be quite a cheerful talker. He told me what a must-visit Hadley’s was when in Suffolk. I had then set out with a local map to find the hidden gem. On reaching I had found that Hadley’s was a cutesy ice cream shop, almost run down, run by an old lady. Here Rebecca told me how the ice cream parlour was opened back in the 1850s and was still known for their hand-made sorbets.

Like the sorbet, my stay in Suffolk had been a sweet experience – a trip of revelation. The tour – with all the lonely walks – had in an inexplicable way helped me to get my perspectives right. It isn’t the exotic locales and the flight above the clouds that make travelling my drug. Rather, it is little but beautiful discoveries like Suffolk that feed my wanderlust. Thank you, London. Thank you for being a wonderful experience, once again.   

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Essay on Road Trip in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Essay on Road Trip: Road trip is one of the best ways to freshen the mind and enjoy every moments with nature. It is a best way to uplift the mood and capture the happiest moments into the album of good memories for future. People who love travelling mostly prefer road trips as they offer a completely different experience. Whether one is going out with family or friends – road trips are considered to be the best way to enjoy the vacation to the fullest.

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They are entertaining, joyful and could also be informative. As you cover mile after miles, you discover new horizons, moving further with every passing minute. New faces, new places make the whole experience a memory to reckon with. Road trip could range from a couple of miles to over fifty miles or so; nevertheless, they are always taken to escape boredom and elevate the mood. Moreover, it’s never disappointing barring some exceptional change of events.

Long and Short Essay on Road Trip in English

Here we have provided short and long essay on Road Trip of varying lengths in English to help you with the topic in your exam.

The Road Trip essay are written effectively to give you experience of a real road trip and its joys.

You can select any of the Road Trip Essay given below as per your need and interest and use it in essay writing, speech recitation or other competitions in your school or college.

Short Essay on Road Trip in India – Essay 1 (200 words)

India encompasses numerous tourist spots located in different parts throughout the country. So, it doesn’t matter which part of the country one lives in there is always an option of planning a short road trip in India. Most people prefer short road trips of around six-seven hours as they are more comfortable. However, many people even go for longer ones spread across days. They halt at different places during the journey to take rest and explore the place.

I had been on many road trips with my family. My father loves driving and is also fond of travelling. So, we always travel by car. We have planned road trips to several places including Jaipur, Nainital, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Shimla and Vrindavan.

My favourite among these was our trip to Nanital. We went there with our extended family. My uncle, aunt and cousins accompanied us on this trip. My uncle, aunt and parents travelled by one car while I and my cousins travelled by another. We had a lot of fun during this trip. We stopped at two places on our way to have food.

As we drove by, we saw the beautiful mountains and green valleys. The view was absolutely spectacular. We saw various lakes, enjoyed boating and indulged in a lot of shopping on our trip. It was a great experience.

Essay on My Journey by Road – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

Road journeys have always fascinated me. I had been on many road trips with my family. On such journeys, I always took the window seat to have a view of the trees, green fields, roads and other interesting things that came along the way. I loved the fact that these journeys gave me the chance to be with my family and chat with them for hours.

My First Solo Road Journey

We went to my maternal grandparents’ place in Chandigarh during our summer vacations each year. I went there with my brother and mother. When I was in my tenth standard, my vacations commenced just after the final exams in the month of March. My brother was in the seventh grade at that time and he still had to wait till the mid of May for the vacations to start. So, we couldn’t plan anything together anytime soon.

After a year of hard work and rigorous study sessions, I really needed a break to rejuvenate. It was then that I took permission from my parents to travel alone to visit my grandparents and cousins in Chandigarh.

I was excited yet nervous about this first ever solo road journey of mine. I took the window seat in a bus and enjoyed the view outside. After around 2 hours, the bus stopped at a restaurant. I stepped out of the bus to grab a cup of tea and sandwich. Sitting all by myself, exploring new things was a unique experience for me.

As we moved further on our journey, I spoke to the lady sitting beside me. She was also travelling alone. She told me that she travels alone quite frequently for business as well as leisure trips. She shared many interesting incidents. I enjoyed talking to her and before I could realize this beautiful road journey came to an end.

I believe road journeys are the best. I simply love them. I love travelling with my family and also enjoy travelling alone. I learned a lot during my solo road journey. It was a different experience all together.

Essay on Road Trip with Family – A Short Story – Essay 3 (400 words)

Road trips are fun. I always look forward to road trip with family. We are all so busy with our daily chores that we hardly spend any time with each other. It is during such trips that we get to spend quality time with one another. I had been on quite a few road trips with family. The best among these was our trip to the beautiful Indian town, Dalhousie.

Road Trip to Dalhousie

During my last summer vacations, we all suggested different places for road trip and finally decided to go to Dalhousie. Dalhousie is around ten hours away from our place so we decided to go for a night journey. We booked a six-seater cab to accommodate our family of five – Me, my mother, father, brother and sister.

My father chose not to drive as it was a night journey and he wanted to wake up fresh the next morning. The driver who accompanied us was not only skilled at driving in hilly areas but was also aware about the various site-seeing places in Dalhousie as he had been there few times.

We played antakshari and dumb charades and chatted with each other until late night. Next morning, we woke up as the driver stopped the car and announced we have reached our destination. The place was beautiful and the weather was amazing.

Exploring Dalhousie

Our rooms were cosy and comfortable and the view outside was mesmerizing. I could see the beautiful mountains and greenery all around. We had our breakfast, got ready and went for site-seeing. Punch Pula was the first tourist attraction we visited. It was a beautiful waterfall that offered a scenic view. We roamed around the place for some time and sat there enjoying the beauty of the nature.

Next, we went to Dainkund Peak. The view from the peak was just amazing. We then headed back to our hotel. We had dinner on the way and dosed off to sleep almost as soon as we reached our room as it had been an extremely tiring day.

Over the next two days, we saw several breathtaking places including Chamera Lake, Sach Pass, St. John’s Church, Bara Patthar Temple and Khajjar Lake. The experience was awesome. Dalhousie is a beautiful place that encompasses several spectacular tourist attractions. The best part is that it is tranquil unlike many other hill stations that are overcrowded most of the times.

Road trips with family strengthen the familial bond. Many of the fun things we indulge in during these trips are missed out in the routine life. It is these little things that bring us closer. I will always cherish the moments we spent on my road trip to Dalhousie.

Essay on Road Trip with Friends – Essay 4 (500 words)

I am lucky to have been blessed with some very good friends who are super fun to be around. I had always longed to go on a road trip with them and my wish was finally fulfilled when I reached the ninth grade. We went on a road trip to Manali. The experience was amazing.

Seeking Permission for Road Trip with Friends

Ever since we entered the sixth standard, we wanted to go for a road trip however our parents always denied permission as they thought we were too young to take good care of ourselves. Seeking permission from them was a big challenge for us. However, we did the best we could to convince them for a trip to Manali as we entered the ninth standard and at last they agreed.

Trip Organised by School

This was a trip organised by our school. We were lucky that we were being accompanied by our favourite teachers. Sine this was a school trip, we just had to pay the amount and enjoy. Every little detail of the trip was taken care of by the school management. We were all super excited about the journey and made ourselves comfortable as we boarded the bus. I took the window seat and my best friend sat next to me.

On the Way to Manali

Manali is around 12 hours away from our city. So, overnight journey was planned for the trip. We couldn’t stop giggling as we sat in the bus. The atmosphere was all cheerful. We played antakshari, cracked jokes and laughed to make the most of this time together. Soon, we were tired and dosed off to sleep. As I woke up in the morning, I saw the breathtaking view of mountains from the window. We were about to reach our destination. I opened the window to feel the fresh air on my face. It was a great start of the day.

The bus stopped at a road side dhaba where we freshened up and had breakfast. We had piping hot Maggi along with a cup of coffee for breakfast. After having this delicious food we headed further.

Site-Seeing at Manali

After relaxing for a while in the hotel, we got dressed and headed to the Hidimba Temple which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Manali. The temple was beautiful and serene. After spending some time there we went to the mall road. We spent our evening roaming on the mall road viewing the beauty of the place.

Next day, we went to Rohtang pass which was located at a great height. The place was colder than Manali and we had our jackets on even in the month of June. The cool breeze, fresh air and scenic view of the place were a perfect recipe for rejuvenation.

The next day we shopped at the local market. I bought souvenirs for friends and family. I also brought a shawl for my mother, a watch for my sister and a woollen cap for my father. We had our dinner at a popular restaurant in Manali and then headed back home. We sat with our close pals in the bus and chatted until late at night before we dosed off to sleep.

We came back with several memories that we shall cherish forever. I look forward to many more such road trips with friends.

Essay on Road Trip – a Memorable Trip – Essay 5 (600 words)

Road trips are special. They give us the much needed break from our daily routine and bring us closer to our family members and friends. I have gone on many road trips with my family. These trips give us a chance to spend quality time with our loved ones which we miss during our routine days. One of the most memorable trips I have been on with my family was our road trip to Jaipur.

Our Road Journey to Jaipur

It was the month of December and we had our Christmas holidays. It had been long that we had planned a family trip. We decided to make the most of these holidays. So, we planned a road trip to Jaipur. The weather was perfect to roam around in the beautiful Pink City.

We started from our place at around 5 in the morning and reached Jaipur at around 2 in the afternoon. We stopped by at two places during our journey. Our first halt was at a road side dhaba which is famous for its scrumptious paranthas. We relished the paranthas with curd. We then relaxed for a while and started our journey further. Next, we stopped to have tea and stretch a bit after sitting for hours in the car.

Site Seeing in Jaipur

The weather in Jaipur was pleasant. We checked into our hotel, rested for some time and then set out for site seeing. On the first day, we saw Jal Mahal and Hawa Mahal. I was mesmerized looking at the beauty of these edifices. After this long tiring day, the scrumptious Rajasthani thali served to us for dinner was just what we needed.

The next day, we went to Nahargarh Fort. The fort was located at a hill and it took a while to reach there. The fort was spectacular and so was the view from there. Next, we went to Amer Fort which was equally beautiful. Having spent the evening in and around Amer Fort, we headed to a famous restaurant to have our dinner. I simply love Rajasthani food and the one served at this restaurant was just outstanding.

On the third day of the trip, we decided to explore the local market. Jaipur is famous for its beautiful handicraft items, bandhani suits and Jaipuri print bed sheets. There is so much to shop from. We roamed around the market eating the delicious street food and indulging in a lot of shopping. We went back to the hotel and had our dinner in the room as we had been extremely exhausted.

Visit to Chokhi Dhani

On the fourth day (which was the last day of the trip), we decided to visit Chokhi Dhani which is a beautiful place that gives a true picture of the Rajasthani culture. The place hosts numerous cultural events, displays Rajasthani art and serves scrumptious Rajasthani food. From camel rides to puppet shows, from village games to Rajasthani folk dances – this place gives the feeling of being in the heart of Rajasthan.

The place is beautifully decorated and looks all the more spectacular when it is all lit up at night. We roamed around the place, indulged in various activities and enjoyed ourselves to the chore. We also bought sovereigns from this place. After spending around four-five hours at this place, we headed back to Delhi. We took just one halt on our way back.

This was one of the best road trips with my family. I enjoyed every bit of it. Jaipur is a beautiful place that encompasses architectural marvels. The food served there is equally amazing. The company of my family members made it all the more special. We came back with numerous beautiful memories that I will cherish forever. I wish to visit this place again.

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Road Trips College Essays Samples For Students

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Road Trips Essay Example

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Essay on Trip With Family – Short Essay & Long Essay upto 1500 Words

Essay on Trip With Family: Traveling with family can be a wonderful experience filled with laughter, bonding, and unforgettable memories. Whether it’s a road trip to a nearby destination or a grand adventure to a far-off land, the time spent exploring new places and creating shared experiences can strengthen the bonds between family members. In this essay, we will delve into the joys and challenges of embarking on a trip with family, and how these experiences can shape our relationships and create lasting connections.

Table of Contents

Trip With Family Essay Writing Tips

1. Start by brainstorming and outlining your essay. Think about the key moments and experiences from your trip with your family that you want to highlight in your essay.

2. Begin your essay with a captivating introduction that sets the scene for your trip. You can start with a descriptive anecdote or a memorable quote to grab the reader’s attention.

3. Use vivid and descriptive language to paint a picture of your trip for the reader. Describe the sights, sounds, and smells of the places you visited with your family.

4. Share personal anecdotes and stories from your trip to make your essay more engaging and relatable. Talk about the funny moments, the challenges you faced, and the lessons you learned during your time with your family.

5. Reflect on the impact of the trip on your relationship with your family. Did you bond over shared experiences? Did you learn something new about each other? How did the trip strengthen your family ties?

6. Include details about the destinations you visited, the activities you did, and the people you met during your trip. This will give your essay depth and provide context for your experiences.

7. Use transitions to connect your ideas and ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs. This will help your essay to be well-organized and easy to follow.

8. Conclude your essay by summarizing the key points you discussed and reflecting on the overall significance of the trip with your family. Consider how the trip impacted you personally and how it brought you closer to your family.

9. Edit and revise your essay to ensure clarity, coherence, and correctness. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure your writing is concise and focused.

10. Finally, consider sharing your essay with your family members to get their feedback and perspective on the trip. Their insights may help you to further refine your writing and capture the essence of your shared experience.

Essay on Trip With Family in 10 Lines – Examples

1. Family trips are a great way to bond and create lasting memories with loved ones. 2. Planning a trip with family involves choosing a destination that appeals to everyone’s interests. 3. It is important to set a budget for the trip and plan activities that fit within that budget. 4. Packing essentials such as clothing, toiletries, and any necessary medications is crucial for a successful trip. 5. Researching the destination and creating an itinerary can help maximize the enjoyment of the trip. 6. Family trips provide an opportunity to explore new places, try new foods, and experience different cultures. 7. It is important to involve all family members in the planning process to ensure everyone’s preferences are taken into account. 8. Family trips can also be a time to relax and unwind from the stresses of everyday life. 9. Creating fun and engaging activities for the whole family to participate in can make the trip more enjoyable. 10. Overall, family trips are a wonderful way to strengthen relationships and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

Sample Essay on Trip With Family in 100-180 Words

Last summer, my family and I went on a trip to the mountains. It was a much-needed break from our busy lives and a chance for us to bond and create lasting memories together. We spent our days hiking through the lush forests, exploring hidden waterfalls, and enjoying picnics by the riverside.

One of the highlights of our trip was when we visited a local farm and learned how to milk cows and make cheese. It was a fun and educational experience that we all enjoyed. In the evenings, we would gather around the campfire, roast marshmallows, and share stories.

The trip brought us closer together as a family and allowed us to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. We laughed, we explored, and we made unforgettable memories that we will cherish for years to come. Traveling with family is truly a special experience that I will always treasure.

Short Essay on Trip With Family in 200-500 Words

Going on a trip with family is always a special experience. It is a time to bond, create lasting memories, and explore new places together. Recently, my family and I went on a trip to the mountains for a weekend getaway, and it was an unforgettable experience.

The trip started with an early morning drive to the mountains. As we drove through winding roads and lush green forests, we were all filled with excitement and anticipation for the adventures that awaited us. The scenic views along the way were breathtaking, and we couldn’t help but stop at various viewpoints to take in the beauty of nature.

Upon reaching our destination, we checked into a cozy cabin nestled in the heart of the mountains. The cabin was spacious and well-equipped, providing us with all the comforts of home. We spent the first evening relaxing by the fireplace, playing board games, and enjoying each other’s company. It was a simple yet joyful time spent together as a family.

The next day, we set out to explore the surrounding area. We went on a hike through the forest, following a trail that led us to a stunning waterfall. The sound of rushing water and the sight of the cascading falls left us in awe of nature’s beauty. We spent hours exploring the area, taking photos, and enjoying a picnic lunch by the waterfall.

In the afternoon, we visited a local village market where we sampled delicious homemade treats and shopped for souvenirs. The vibrant colors, lively atmosphere, and friendly locals made the experience even more enjoyable. We tried local delicacies, bought handmade crafts, and learned about the culture and traditions of the region.

As the day came to a close, we returned to our cabin for a cozy evening by the fire. We cooked a delicious meal together, shared stories and laughter, and reflected on the day’s adventures. It was a time of togetherness and connection that brought us closer as a family.

On the final day of our trip, we visited a nearby wildlife sanctuary where we had the opportunity to see various species of animals up close. We marveled at the beauty of the creatures and learned about the importance of conservation efforts. It was a humbling experience that reminded us of the wonders of the natural world.

As we packed our bags and prepared to leave, we were filled with a sense of gratitude for the time spent together as a family. The trip had been a perfect blend of adventure, relaxation, and bonding moments that we would cherish forever. It was a reminder of the importance of family and the joy that comes from exploring new places together.

Essay on Trip With Family in 1000-1500 Words

A family trip is always a special and memorable experience. It is a time when loved ones come together to create lasting memories and bond over shared experiences. Recently, my family and I embarked on a trip to the beautiful city of Paris, France. This trip was not only a chance to explore a new destination but also an opportunity to spend quality time together and strengthen our family bonds.

The planning for our trip began months in advance. We researched the best places to visit, the most delicious foods to try, and the most convenient modes of transportation. We booked our flights, accommodations, and tours well ahead of time to ensure a smooth and stress-free trip. As the departure date approached, excitement and anticipation grew among all family members.

Finally, the day arrived when we set off on our journey to Paris. The flight was long but comfortable, and we were all eager to land and start exploring the city. As we stepped out of the airport, the cool breeze and the bustling streets of Paris welcomed us. We checked into our hotel, which was conveniently located near the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic landmarks in the city.

Our first day in Paris was dedicated to exploring the Eiffel Tower. We took a leisurely stroll along the Seine River, admiring the beautiful architecture and charming cafes along the way. As we approached the Eiffel Tower, its towering presence took our breath away. We decided to take the elevator to the top to get a bird’s eye view of the city. The panoramic views of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower were simply breathtaking. We spent hours taking in the sights and capturing memories through photographs.

The next few days were filled with visits to famous landmarks such as the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Palace of Versailles. We marveled at the stunning art collections, intricate architecture, and rich history of these iconic sites. Each day brought new adventures and discoveries, and we were grateful to experience them together as a family.

One of the highlights of our trip was a day trip to the charming village of Montmartre. We wandered through the cobblestone streets, visited the famous Sacre-Coeur Basilica, and enjoyed delicious crepes at a local cafe. The quaint atmosphere of Montmartre was a welcome change from the bustling city life of Paris, and we cherished the peaceful moments we spent together in this picturesque village.

Another memorable experience was a boat cruise along the Seine River. As we glided past the historic buildings and landmarks of Paris, we were mesmerized by the beauty of the city. The gentle sway of the boat, the soft music playing in the background, and the laughter of my family members created a sense of peace and contentment that I will always cherish.

Throughout our trip, we indulged in the delicious French cuisine, from buttery croissants and flaky pastries to savory crepes and rich cheeses. We dined at cozy bistros, elegant restaurants, and charming cafes, savoring each bite and relishing the flavors of France. Food has always been a central part of our family gatherings, and sharing meals together in Paris brought us even closer as a family.

As our trip came to an end, we reflected on the memories we had created and the experiences we had shared. From the awe-inspiring sights of the Eiffel Tower to the peaceful moments in Montmartre, each day had been filled with laughter, love, and togetherness. Our family trip to Paris had brought us closer together, strengthened our bonds, and created memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.

In conclusion, a family trip is a precious opportunity to create lasting memories, strengthen bonds, and experience new adventures together. Our trip to Paris was a magical journey that brought us closer as a family and allowed us to explore the beauty and charm of one of the most iconic cities in the world. I am grateful for the time we spent together, the laughter we shared, and the memories we created on this unforgettable trip with my family.

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Road Trip Essay

Road trip is one of the best ways to freshen the mind and enjoy every moments with nature. It is a best way to uplift the mood and capture the happiest moments into the album of good memories for future. People who love travelling mostly prefer road trips as they offer a completely different experience. Whether one is going out with family or friends – road trips are considered to be the best way to enjoy the vacation to the fullest.

They are entertaining, joyful and could also be informative. As you cover mile after miles, you discover new horizons, moving further with every passing minute. New faces, new places make the whole experience a memory to reckon with. Road trip could range from a couple of miles to over fifty miles or so; nevertheless, they are always taken to escape boredom and elevate the mood. Moreover, it’s never disappointing barring some exceptional change of events.

Long and Short Essay on Road Trip in English

Here we have provided short and long essay on Road Trip of varying lengths in English to help you with the topic in your exam.

The Road Trip essay are written effectively to give you experience of a real road trip and its joys.

You can select any of the Road Trip Essay given below as per your need and interest and use it in essay writing, speech recitation or other competitions in your school or college.

Short Essay on Road Trip in India – Essay 1 (200 words)

India encompasses numerous tourist spots located in different parts throughout the country. So, it doesn’t matter which part of the country one lives in there is always an option of planning a short road trip in India. Most people prefer short road trips of around six-seven hours as they are more comfortable. However, many people even go for longer ones spread across days. They halt at different places during the journey to take rest and explore the place.

I had been on many road trips with my family. My father loves driving and is also fond of travelling. So, we always travel by car. We have planned road trips to several places including Jaipur, Nainital, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Shimla and Vrindavan.

My favourite among these was our trip to Nanital. We went there with our extended family. My uncle, aunt and cousins accompanied us on this trip. My uncle, aunt and parents travelled by one car while I and my cousins travelled by another. We had a lot of fun during this trip. We stopped at two places on our way to have food.

As we drove by, we saw the beautiful mountains and green valleys. The view was absolutely spectacular. We saw various lakes, enjoyed boating and indulged in a lot of shopping on our trip. It was a great experience.

Essay on My Journey by Road – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

Road journeys have always fascinated me. I had been on many road trips with my family. On such journeys, I always took the window seat to have a view of the trees, green fields, roads and other interesting things that came along the way. I loved the fact that these journeys gave me the chance to be with my family and chat with them for hours.

My First Solo Road Journey

We went to my maternal grandparents’ place in Chandigarh during our summer vacations each year. I went there with my brother and mother. When I was in my tenth standard, my vacations commenced just after the final exams in the month of March. My brother was in the seventh grade at that time and he still had to wait till the mid of May for the vacations to start.  So, we couldn’t plan anything together anytime soon.

After a year of hard work and rigorous study sessions, I really needed a break to rejuvenate. It was then that I took permission from my parents to travel alone to visit my grandparents and cousins in Chandigarh.

I was excited yet nervous about this first ever solo road journey of mine. I took the window seat in a bus and enjoyed the view outside. After around 2 hours, the bus stopped at a restaurant. I stepped out of the bus to grab a cup of tea and sandwich. Sitting all by myself, exploring new things was a unique experience for me.

As we moved further on our journey, I spoke to the lady sitting beside me. She was also travelling alone. She told me that she travels alone quite frequently for business as well as leisure trips. She shared many interesting incidents. I enjoyed talking to her and before I could realize this beautiful road journey came to an end.

I believe road journeys are the best. I simply love them. I love travelling with my family and also enjoy travelling alone. I learned a lot during my solo road journey. It was a different experience all together.

Essay on Road Trip with Family – A Short Story – Essay 3 (400 words)

Road trips are fun. I always look forward to road trip with family. We are all so busy with our daily chores that we hardly spend any time with each other. It is during such trips that we get to spend quality time with one another. I had been on quite a few road trips with family. The best among these was our trip to the beautiful Indian town, Dalhousie.

Road Trip to Dalhousie

During my last summer vacations, we all suggested different places for road trip and finally decided to go to Dalhousie. Dalhousie is around ten hours away from our place so we decided to go for a night journey. We booked a six-seater cab to accommodate our family of five – Me, my mother, father, brother and sister.

My father chose not to drive as it was a night journey and he wanted to wake up fresh the next morning. The driver who accompanied us was not only skilled at driving in hilly areas but was also aware about the various site-seeing places in Dalhousie as he had been there few times.

We played antakshari and dumb charades and chatted with each other until late night. Next morning, we woke up as the driver stopped the car and announced we have reached our destination. The place was beautiful and the weather was amazing.

Exploring Dalhousie

Our rooms were cosy and comfortable and the view outside was mesmerizing. I could see the beautiful mountains and greenery all around. We had our breakfast, got ready and went for site-seeing. Punch Pula was the first tourist attraction we visited. It was a beautiful waterfall that offered a scenic view. We roamed around the place for some time and sat there enjoying the beauty of the nature.

Next, we went to Dainkund Peak. The view from the peak was just amazing. We then headed back to our hotel. We had dinner on the way and dosed off to sleep almost as soon as we reached our room as it had been an extremely tiring day.

Over the next two days, we saw several breathtaking places including Chamera Lake, Sach Pass, St. John’s Church, Bara Patthar Temple and Khajjar Lake. The experience was awesome. Dalhousie is a beautiful place that encompasses several spectacular tourist attractions. The best part is that it is tranquil unlike many other hill stations that are overcrowded most of the times.

Road trips with family strengthen the familial bond. Many of the fun things we indulge in during these trips are missed out in the routine life. It is these little things that bring us closer. I will always cherish the moments we spent on my road trip to Dalhousie.

Essay on Road Trip with Friends – Essay 4 (500 words)

I am lucky to have been blessed with some very good friends who are super fun to be around. I had always longed to go on a road trip with them and my wish was finally fulfilled when I reached the ninth grade. We went on a road trip to Manali. The experience was amazing.

Seeking Permission for Road Trip with Friends

Ever since we entered the sixth standard, we wanted to go for a road trip however our parents always denied permission as they thought we were too young to take good care of ourselves. Seeking permission from them was a big challenge for us. However, we did the best we could to convince them for a trip to Manali as we entered the ninth standard and at last they agreed.

Trip Organised by School 

This was a trip organised by our school. We were lucky that we were being accompanied by our favourite teachers. Sine this was a school trip, we just had to pay the amount and enjoy. Every little detail of the trip was taken care of by the school management. We were all super excited about the journey and made ourselves comfortable as we boarded the bus. I took the window seat and my best friend sat next to me.

On the Way to Manali

Manali is around 12 hours away from our city. So, overnight journey was planned for the trip. We couldn’t stop giggling as we sat in the bus. The atmosphere was all cheerful. We played antakshari, cracked jokes and laughed to make the most of this time together. Soon, we were tired and dosed off to sleep. As I woke up in the morning, I saw the breathtaking view of mountains from the window. We were about to reach our destination. I opened the window to feel the fresh air on my face. It was a great start of the day.

The bus stopped at a road side dhaba where we freshened up and had breakfast. We had piping hot Maggi along with a cup of coffee for breakfast. After having this delicious food we headed further.

Site-Seeing at Manali

After relaxing for a while in the hotel, we got dressed and headed to the Hidimba Temple which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Manali. The temple was beautiful and serene. After spending some time there we went to the mall road. We spent our evening roaming on the mall road viewing the beauty of the place.

Next day, we went to Rohtang pass which was located at a great height. The place was colder than Manali and we had our jackets on even in the month of June. The cool breeze, fresh air and scenic view of the place were a perfect recipe for rejuvenation.

The next day we shopped at the local market. I bought souvenirs for friends and family. I also brought a shawl for my mother, a watch for my sister and a woollen cap for my father. We had our dinner at a popular restaurant in Manali and then headed back home. We sat with our close pals in the bus and chatted until late at night before we dosed off to sleep.

We came back with several memories that we shall cherish forever. I look forward to many more such road trips with friends.

Essay on Road Trip – a Memorable Trip – Essay 5 (600 words)

Road trips are special. They give us the much needed break from our daily routine and bring us closer to our family members and friends. I have gone on many road trips with my family. These trips give us a chance to spend quality time with our loved ones which we miss during our routine days. One of the most memorable trips I have been on with my family was our road trip to Jaipur.

Our Road Journey to Jaipur

It was the month of December and we had our Christmas holidays. It had been long that we had planned a family trip. We decided to make the most of these holidays. So, we planned a road trip to Jaipur. The weather was perfect to roam around in the beautiful Pink City.

We started from our place at around 5 in the morning and reached Jaipur at around 2 in the afternoon. We stopped by at two places during our journey. Our first halt was at a road side dhaba which is famous for its scrumptious paranthas. We relished the paranthas with curd. We then relaxed for a while and started our journey further. Next, we stopped to have tea and stretch a bit after sitting for hours in the car.

Site Seeing in Jaipur

The weather in Jaipur was pleasant. We checked into our hotel, rested for some time and then set out for site seeing. On the first day, we saw Jal Mahal and Hawa Mahal. I was mesmerized looking at the beauty of these edifices. After this long tiring day, the scrumptious Rajasthani thali served to us for dinner was just what we needed.

The next day, we went to Nahargarh Fort. The fort was located at a hill and it took a while to reach there. The fort was spectacular and so was the view from there. Next, we went to Amer Fort which was equally beautiful. Having spent the evening in and around Amer Fort, we headed to a famous restaurant to have our dinner. I simply love Rajasthani food and the one served at this restaurant was just outstanding.

On the third day of the trip, we decided to explore the local market. Jaipur is famous for its beautiful handicraft items, bandhani suits and Jaipuri print bed sheets. There is so much to shop from. We roamed around the market eating the delicious street food and indulging in a lot of shopping. We went back to the hotel and had our dinner in the room as we had been extremely exhausted.

Visit to Chokhi Dhani

On the fourth day (which was the last day of the trip), we decided to visit Chokhi Dhani which is a beautiful place that gives a true picture of the Rajasthani culture. The place hosts numerous cultural events, displays Rajasthani art and serves scrumptious Rajasthani food. From camel rides to puppet shows, from village games to Rajasthani folk dances – this place gives the feeling of being in the heart of Rajasthan.

The place is beautifully decorated and looks all the more spectacular when it is all lit up at night. We roamed around the place, indulged in various activities and enjoyed ourselves to the chore. We also bought sovereigns from this place. After spending around four-five hours at this place, we headed back to Delhi. We took just one halt on our way back.

This was one of the best road trips with my family. I enjoyed every bit of it. Jaipur is a beautiful place that encompasses architectural marvels. The food served there is equally amazing. The company of my family members made it all the more special. We came back with numerous beautiful memories that I will cherish forever. I wish to visit this place again.

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Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Road trips: the essential kit and useful tips

4 September 2024 6 minutes

Tristan Kennedy on the highs and lows of road trips – and exactly what equipment you need to bring to enjoy them all

By Tristan Kennedy

It’s the book that launched a thousand road trips. But like many of the travel stories it went on to inspire, Jack Kerouac’s supposedly autobiographical novel On the Road involves a healthy dose of embellishment, exaggeration and outright invention. Even the generally accepted account of its creation is full of falsehoods. 

Everybody knows the story of Kerouac bashing it out in a single, unpunctuated paragraph over the course of three sleepless weeks, fuelled by nothing but his own youthful genius and regular doses of Benzedrine. Far fewer people know that he actually made significant edits before it was published, that his first draft, like the final book, follows pretty much all the conventional rules of punctuation, or that the strongest drug Kerouac took while writing was coffee. 

I found myself recalling this discrepancy recently, while doom-scrolling through Instagram, where I stumbled on the inevitable posts about #VanLife. Kerouac quotes – usually superimposed over generic-looking highway photos – are, of course, an essential part of any self-respecting #VanLifer’s presence on the grid. But it wasn’t just the hackneyed repetition of the author’s most Instagrammable lines that reminded me of his work. His influence loomed large in every single post I came across – whether the influencers realised it or not. 

I’m not suggesting for a moment that there’s an equivalence between 21st-century Instagrammers and Jack Kerouac. Posting a few, heavily filtered pictures of your VW Transporter conversion is hardly the same as writing the Great American Novel. But if he were still alive today, the Beat writer would surely recognise the combination of embellishment, exaggeration and outright invention employed by these latter-day imitators. He would also, no doubt, be amused by the continuing popularity of road trip content (17 million posts on Instagram and counting) almost 75 years after On the Road was published, at the height of the automobile age. 

For all the fakery involved in many accounts of life on the road, there’s still something undeniably romantic about road trips in general – and campervan trips in particular. I know this because when we got married two years ago, my wife and I decided to take two separate campervan trips for our honeymoon. For the first, we drove our own car, a Citroen Berlingo minivan, around the Balkans. With a paddle board strapped to the roof and our climbing gear stashed in the back, we island-hopped our way down the Croatian coast, sleeping in the shade of olive trees at night and swimming or deep-water soloing by day. When we reached Split, we turned east into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We jumped into the river under the Mostar bridge and went hiking in the hills around Mount Trebevic before losing ourselves in the bazaars, bars and clubs of Sarajevo – one of the buzziest nightlife spots in Europe. 

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Our second trip took us to Marrakesh. There, we rented a full-blown RV (for a fraction of the price it would have cost in Europe) and drove west towards the coast, spending a couple of days surfing the point break at Insoumane before heading south to Agadir and east into the Sahara. We’d pick each day’s destination by browsing Google Earth but often deviate at the last minute – spotting an 11th-century kasbah, an enticing-looking beach, or an ancient Berber cave dwelling from the highway, and bouncing off down a dirt track to explore. We occasionally slept in campsites, but more often parked up at random points by the roadside, where farmers would occasionally knock on our door in the morning, offering us tea and breakfast. 

At least, those are my stories of those trips. The reality, of course, involved lots of moments that were less romantic: our air mattress deflating completely during our second night in Croatia, for example, which left us flopping around in the back of the Berlingo like fish out of water, as we tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. Or the time I messed up emptying the RV’s chemical toilet in a campsite east of Agdz, and managed to cover the entire bathroom in a week’s worth of semi-dissolved sewage.

These experiences were, at least, instructive. I learned that the better prepared you are – and the better your equipment – the more enjoyable life on the road becomes. The Balkan road trip got a lot easier once we’d stopped at a Croatian camping-supplies shop and kitted ourselves out with a slightly more robust air mattress, as well as a few kitchen essentials. When we upgraded our wheels in Morocco, we discovered that spending ten days in a fully specced-out RV was infinitely easier than camping in the back of our own car – despite that unfortunate incident with the chemical toilet. Basically, if you get the right gear, your campervan experience is likely to be closer to the idealised #VanLife you see online. 

These two honeymoon campervan trips also taught me lessons that have nothing to do with romance versus reality. Waking up each morning without necessarily knowing where you’ll be sleeping that night is an incredibly liberating feeling, as is having the freedom to go wherever you choose, whenever you choose. Road trips, I learned, are fun even when they’re not viewed through the rose-tinted specs of selective memory, or the heavily filtered photos of other people’s Instagram feeds. You don’t need to post clichéd Kerouac quotes to make road trips feel epic. Nor do you have to be a writer of his quality to turn them into great stories. The warts-and-all reality of road-tripping, it turns out, is usually romantic enough, just as it is. 

Wishlist – Three items that will make campervan trips better

The Essential: Petzl Tikka Core headlamp – £58

A decent headlamp is essential for any kind of camping trip, and campervan trips are no exception. You can get all kinds of plug-in lights for your car battery, but if you’re going to be cooking, washing up in a nearby stream, or just wandering off into the woods for a wee, having your own independent light source is essential. The Tikka Core, which we’ve used for about six months now, casts 450 lumens of brightness. The battery charges on a USB, making it incredibly convenient, and it has a red light setting, so you won’t dazzle your vanlife partner when you wake up in the night. petzl.com

Click here to get yours via Amazon

The Surprisingly Useful: Arc’Teryx Kragg slip-on shoe – £140

No matter where you park your campervan, you’ll want some sort of easy-on, easy-off shoe. There’s nothing worse than sandy, muddy or wet footprints inside the van. Flip flops will often do the job, but there are times when you want something a little bit warmer and more supportive. Enter the Kragg from Arc’Teryx. Designed for climbers, who don’t want to choose between a flimsy sandal and a heavy approach shoe, these lightweight, Vibram-soled slippers are perfect for campsites of all kinds, and ideal for car camping in particular. Unlike flip flops, you can drive in them and hike rugged trails in them, but they’re still breathable enough for hot days, and light enough to squash into a backpack with ease. arcteryx.com

The Luxury: Uranus Wiper carbon neutral toilet paper – £38

Okay, so toilet paper is an essential, but this is no ordinary toilet paper. Made of sustainably grown bamboo, it’s produced using a process that’s entirely carbon neutral in a factory powered by biomass, with zero waste water run-off. For £38, you get a box of 48 rolls, meaning this doesn’t cost the Earth, either literally or figuratively. Lots of brands like to talk up their eco-credentials but Uranus Wiper have really done their homework. They’ve examined every step of the manufacturing and shipping process to minimise the impact of what is perhaps the ultimate single use product.  uranuswiper.co.uk

Related articles:

• Equipment matters: kit for multi-day hikes
• Glen Roy: the high road and the low road
• Equipment matters: what you should have on any long bike ride
• Walking makes the world a better place
• An introduction to bikepacking

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Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Journey — My First International Trip

My First International Trip

• Categories: Adventure Journey

About this sample

Words: 675 |

Published: Aug 24, 2023

Words: 675 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Cultural immersion and perspective shift, embracing the unfamiliar, global citizenship and empathy, conclusion: a journey of transformation.

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