In my opinion, there is nothing better in life than a good, old fashioned, road trip. I have many great stories to tell regarding road trips. The best one was my first cross-country journey from California to Connecticut. The plan was simple and fool proof, or so we thought.
After completing my first deployment overseas in with the U.S. Navy, I purchased a pick-up truck with my parent’s help. The truck was back in California, but I was stationed in Connecticut. The economics for getting the truck from on side of the country provided me and my friend Robert the chance to drive it from the west coast to the east coast.
We flew out to my home town and spend a few days with my family. My Dad was really smart about the trip planning and suggested that I become a member of AAA before taking off on our drive. Thankfully we only need the ‘Trip Tick’ for the journey and not the roadside assistance!
Robert and I took off down the road in the morning on a late spring day headed east with Las Vegas in our sights. We arrived at our destination in the late afternoon, early evening and headed straight for Caesar’s Palace. We took pictures, played some slot machines and grabbed some dinner before getting back on the highway.
We had agreed that we would take turns driving so that we could make good time and save some money on hotels. Evidently, that frugal thinking couldn’t stand up to food poisoning. Somewhere between Vegas and Denver, Robert ate something that turned his stomach.
I was able to get Robert to Fort Carson in Colorado for treatment. After a night in the emergency room for Robert and a cheap hotel for me, we stayed another day in Colorado. Robert recovered relatively quickly and we got back on the road after two days off.
The perfect planning and well orchestrated timeline for our drive was completely shot through by a simple bacterium. We made good time in spite of our set back. Robert and I enjoyed the time driving fast across the Great Plains, passing by Chicago and the Great Lakes.
We headed north into up state New York and down south into Massachusetts before returning to Groton, Connecticut in just under a week’s drive time. Robert didn’t eat very for the rest of the trip after Colorado. I drove most of the way back allowing Robert to rest and recover. We had the time of our lives along the way and I made some great memories.
Just remember the next time you plan a road trip, don’t forget the Clorox wipes and choose your restaurants carefully!