Car trips are a special kind of travel. I recently did quite a bit of riding/driving over a span of several days, and I was reminded of the joys associated with this particular form of transportation.
It's almost axiomatic in our family that car trips are a great time for conversation. You are sitting close together. There are few interruptions (although cell phones have changed this a bit). There is enough time -- usually several hours -- for leisurely storytelling, discussing, sharing. And there isn't much else to do, assuming that you don't retreat to headphones or sleeping (riders, hopefully not drivers!)
From my youngest years, I have loved to look out the windows while riding in a car. I like to see the countryside between towns and I love to imagine living in the houses we pass and small towns we pass through. It is a stimulating experience to leave your normal environs and see something new. I always feel free, unfettered.
Riding in the car is also a great time for introspection/reflection. We occasionally fall into a companionable silence, zipping down the road together but lost in our own thoughts. The crazier and more hectic our world becomes, the more I cherish these little islands of silence and peace and isolation from my normal duties.
Another great joy for me on car trips is listening. I love to hear audiobooks in the car as I travel. Maybe this is a holdover from childhood, but there is something really fun about having something new and interesting read to you. I am a voracious reader and go through a huge pile of books each year, but I get a deep down enjoyment from listening to someone else read once in a while.
Perhaps I'll plan another car trip soon.
As soon as I save up enough money for gas.
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