Let's Go, Jane!

This week’s adventure was a spontaneous road trip from New York to Florida. On Wednesday night, my boyfriend mentioned that the car he’s been using in Florida belongs to his sister and she wanted it back. We talked through the options, and he decided that rather than buying a used car, he would relocate his second car to Florida. Realizing that he needed to get it down there before his daughter’s visit at Thanksgiving, he decided to take a last minute road trip. He invited me along for the ride, and even offered to pick up a one-way return flight to sweeten the deal. Of course I said yes.

A mere 24 hours later, we hit the road. It was 8 pm on a Thursday night, and Waze was showing a total distance of 1,136 miles with an estimated drive time of 17 hours. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never driven through the night before. There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to doing it. Traffic was very light, but not all gas stations (and their stores) are open in the middle of the night. We made it work, stopping every 100-150 miles for a stretch break and a snack.

The longest I’ve ever driven in one stretch before was 13 hours, when I used to make the trip from Massachusetts to Ohio for college. Once, in my 20s, my sister and I drove her car from Massachusetts to California when she started a graduate program, but we took five days to make the journey. So this was a whole new experience.

Speaking of new experiences, I added “drive through the night” to my 52 New list, and with that, I’ve officially reached my goal!! I will continue to add new things until the end of the year, but I’m pretty happy to have reached what felt like an ambitious goal, with plenty of room to spare.

We set off toward the highway, taking 95 South for the majority of the trip. Our strategy for staying awake and passing the time was to start a Spotify jam session and take turns choosing songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, extra points for the ones you can sing along to at full volume. It was actually really fun – his song choices made me think of songs I hadn’t heard in forever, and my choices reminded him of songs he wanted to hear. We kept this going for many, many hours.

Carey drove most of the way, running out of steam around 8 am. I had slept for a bit, so I took over and got us to Savannah, GA, where we decided to stop. We checked into a motel, napped, and then went out for an early dinner at Collins Quarter, a place we’d discovered during our August trip to Savannah (there were no beetles in my salad this time!). On Saturday morning, we hopped back in the car to complete the last five hours of the trip. 

We made many stops along the route, including at the famous Buc-ees, but my favorite was a TA Travel Center in Brunswick, GA. This place had everything a road tripper could possibly want. When we first walked in, it looked like any other gas station market; aisles of chips, candy, and jerky, and large refrigerator cases stocked with beverage options. There was a family restroom with an adorable mini toilet and mini sink, but the main restrooms were out of order. A sign said there were more located on the “fuel side.” 

I wandered around the corner and found out why it’s called a travel center. This place had showers, laundry machines, a movie viewing room, a gym, and shop full of auto repair supplies and every appliance you can think of, but a mini version powered by a cigarette lighter. A trucker’s dream!

We got to Florida in the late afternoon and enjoyed a 24-hour visit before I had to head to the airport for my return flight. We spent a quiet night in, watching movies, and went for a 20-mile bike ride in the morning. It was a whirlwind trip, but a super fun adventure. And I’ve spent the days since our trip getting caught up on sleep. The experience got me excited for next year, when I want to explore this country by car, slomad style. What places are on your “don’t miss” list?