"Road trips sound great until you're actually on one," said Alissa.
Jason and I were sitting across from our friends Alissa and Jesse at a pub in Eugene. It was nearing 9:00 p.m., and we'd been driving since noon. Dinner was the result of a spur-of-the-moment phone call about a hundred miles earlier, and we were glad we'd made it. We still had another four or so hours of driving to go, but for now we could pretend like we didn't have to return to the car soon.
Even though my heart cried, "No, I love road trips!", the more practical, tired, and coughing side of me said, "Yeah, that's actually true. Road trips are awful."
Jason's grandma turned 90 on Monday. For her birthday, we decided we'd drive down to the Sacramento area and surprise her. The problem was, birthday dinner was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, and we were going to an event Saturday night. Besides, I hate going through the southern Oregon and northern California mountains in the dark. Faced with little choice and eager spirits, we decided to start driving around midnight after attempting a couple hours of sleep. We'd get to Grandma's house around 11:00 a.m. and rest before dinner.
Yeah, road trips never go exactly as planned.
We did start driving at 12:46 a.m. (I checked the clock before heading out). We took turns driving, and we both ended up getting some decent stretches of sleep. I don't think we were ever in danger (otherwise we would have pulled over and slept, don't worry). But, somewhere in the last couple hundred miles of flat California landscape, I wanted to just be done. Jason was sleeping in the passenger seat, it was getting warm, I was tired and probably a little cranky. Yet, despite all my wishing, I couldn't fast forward time and make the miles disappear. We had to just keep going until we safely arrived around 1:00 p.m.
Grandma was very surprised, and very happy. We had a nice nap before dinner (which had been pushed back to 5:00, thankfully), and we had Monday to mostly relax. Then, on Tuesday, we picked up our things strewn across the guest room, packed a few snacks, had a last lunch at Chick-fil-a, and headed back to Washington.
Right now I still look back on the trip with exhaustion. Still, it was worth it. We love Jason's grandma, and I'm so glad we had the chance to show her. I have a feeling I'll look back on this trip with a twinge of nostalgia one day, and I'll convince myself that we need to do something like that again.
Maybe we should. Because road trips are fun. It's just the last couple hundred miles that aren't.
1 comment:
So true! We do too much driving, living in Utah and having family in Oregon and California. The best things we can do are whilst spending time with those we love, which is the only reason (for me) that road trips are worth it. And next time you're in Eugene, eat at the Glenwood. It's amazing. You won't regret it.
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