When I think of road trips, I get that cliché image in my head of driving in some shiny convertible with the top down, my hair blowing in the wind, going some place cool with my friends. However, I’ve come to realize that most road trips, even with my friends, aren’t exactly like this. This past summer I went to Ocean City, Maryland for a week with my best friends, and don’t get me wrong, it was a blast. However, between the hours of driving, getting stuck in traffic, and spending a good hour lost somewhere in Delaware, we were all pretty miserable by the time we got to the beach.

But I still want that cliché cross-country road trip – partly because I’ve never been anywhere in the United States outside of the east coast and partly because I’ve just decided that it would be cool. Plus my car’s technically a convertible (it’s really old and it’s seen its better days, so it doesn’t really fit the shiny convertible cliché I suppose, but I love it just the same).

I love to travel, and I’d love to see the Midwest, as well as the west coast. All the clichés aside, I think that travelling cross-country would give me the opportunity to see and truly experience more of my country. There are so many neat places to go, and so many amazing things that I have only heard about, I would love to be able to experience them all first-hand. And really, I can’t imagine anything being more fun than going with my friends.

It is more difficult now however – we’re growing up. We all have more responsibilities, between trying to pay for college, working, school, possible internships, etc., I feel like a cross- country road trip may have to wait a while until I have more time. But one of these days (hopefully while I still have my crappy little convertible), I’ll make it happen.