This summer I went on a road trip with a Jennifer, who is a good friend of mine. We hadn’t planned the trip until about a month beforehand, and didn’t really start the details of the planning until the week before. We knew that our destination was Maine- it was a win-win; she had never been to the state and I would be able to visit my boyfriend Chris during his summer internship. We also planned that we would stop to see sights and take breaks along the way. However we did not make any arrangements beforehand of where we would sleep, stop, or eat. Our goal was to navigate most of the trip by road map (yikes!) but we brought a GPS with, and as one would expect we had our smartphones. So, it came to be that two eighteen-year-old girls in a Suburban with a road map, a mattress, a portion of graduation money, a tent, some pepper spray, and a lot of excitement started to head “down east.” We had quite a few misadventures, and I learned quite a few things on this trip. I discovered things about myself, how I interact with other people, and general life skills. Here are some of the things I learned on my road trip.

1. How to use a road map

This might sound really stupid, but with the age of smartphones and google maps I had never actually learned how to navigate using a road map before. My dad is a truck driver and has tried to teach me multiple times, but I just never felt I had a real reason to learn. On our roadtrip Jennifer wouldn’t let me use the GPS unless absolutely necessary; plus navigating gave me something to do while she drove. So I learned from experience, and didn’t ever get us legitimately lost. (She might tell you differently- don’t listen: I’m obviously right.)

2. I can handle socializing, but it's better in small doses

I have known for a few months now that I have an anxiety disorder, and that affects my socializing significantly. Even before this I knew that I was fairly introverted. But, this trip really taught me that I can only really handle certain amounts of socializing. I like Jennifer and we are good friends, but I think it took me less time to get noticeably irritated with being around her (or just people in general) than it did for her. This was a really helpful thing to know about myself: my limits socially.

3. Tide charts are very important, and you should know how to read them.

Yeah, this one wasn’t as funny at the time. When we got to Maine, we spent our weekend in Bar Harbor (a tourist site in Maine) with Chris. We decided we would visit an island that you had to walk on a sandbar to reach. The sandbar would disappear when the tide came in, and reappear when the tide went out again approximately six hours later. When we got on the island there was a tide chart posted on a sign, and we had looked it up as well. Chris knew that we didn’t have long to look around, but he was the only one who actually understood the tide chart apparently. So we started hiking around, all the while keeping our eyes on the bar. It was out of sight for about five minutes, and Chris said we needed to start heading back “soon.” I understood how urgent this was because I know him well- but apparently neither of us communicated that effectively to Jennifer.By the time we conveyed the urgency and sprinted over to the bar a very large part in the center was covered with water. We ended up deciding to stay on the island to wait for the tide to go back out. It was about eleven in the morning, and we had not eaten lunch. So, we proceeded to hike around the entire perimeter of the island. My depth perception was worsening as we were hiking somewhat treacherous rocks (or at least for me they were treacherous.) I kept grumbling to myself, and even cried a few times because I didn’t know how I could manage the next few hours without food. In the moment this was not a laughing matter, but now I think it is hilarious. Lesson learned- by the time we got back to the mainland, I could have eaten an entire bear and was pretty dehydrated feeling. Study up on your tide charts, and don’t put only one person in charge of keeping track of them. Also- bring food with you everywhere you go!

4. There are sketchy people out there, but not everyone is automatically sketchy

(See the photo? I wasn't afraid to approach the Hershey's bar, and it wasn't sketchy!) For the most part, Jennifer and I were very cautious on the trip, as we were two eighteen-year-old girls, alone on a road trip. We took proper precautions- locking doors, using the buddy system, bringing pepper spray, storing money in separate secure places- my parents had been especially careful to make sure I knew to be safe. Of course I am grateful that we took most of the precautions just in case anything bad would happen- but I was constantly convinced that something bad would happen to us. Once I even considered pepper spraying a completely harmless (albeit creepy looking) man at a campground in the woods. But, I learned that just because I was leaving the mid-west did not mean that the number of scary people would increase. This experience of interacting with all sorts of people when I knew no one in the area was an all new level of trusting my instincts and myself. This also sometimes had to involve trusting other people, no matter how minor. We did not have any situations where I actually feared the people I was around, which I will consider a win.

5. Family is more important than you think it is- never take them for granted.

At a certain point in my life, I went through a phase in which I believed there was no way I would ever miss my family, that I just wanted to move away. I got over it, but still thought I wouldn’t really get homesick. On this trip though, which was my first serious excursion without “real” adults, I began to actually miss them telling me that I needed to go to bed, or my mom calling the hotel ahead of time to make sure everything was planned. I realized that I had been taking them for granted all these years, and that my “annoying” siblings didn’t seem so bad after spending an entire two weeks in a car with the same person. We also got the great opportunity to spend a couple of nights and home-cooked meals at my cousin’s house in PA. It was wonderful, and I was so grateful to see at least three members of my family for a little while. I will never take my family for granted again!

6. A nice warm shower, a home-cooked meal, and a comfortable bed are all SO underrated.

We were able to take warm showers only every couple of days, as most of the places we stayed did not have showers. We didn’t really get comfortable beds; our nights were spent either driving a lot of the way through, staying at a campground, or sleeping in the back of our truck at a rest stop. Most of our meals were fast food, and I have eaten enough Wendy’s to last me about two years. When we were able to have comfy beds, warm showers, and actual not fried, home-cooked meals it was heavenly. (Also we got to cuddle with a cat at my cousin's house!)

7. It’s fun to have an adventure and be nomadic for a while, but when it comes down to it, there’s no place like home.

Don’t get me wrong- I had a fantastic trip, and it was a once in a lifetime experience. After a while though, I got tired of living out of a suitcase and having the lifestyle of a gypsy. I was ready to come home, get a hug from my mom, and sleep in my own bed.