Road Trip Tips – One for The Road

Deciding to go on a road trip can be a very exciting event, especially if you have never been on such an adventure before. Recently I went on a road trip with a friend of mine and the experience got me thinking about the characteristics that one should look for when choosing the ideal traveling partner.

So what makes or breaks a road trip? Are you the type that likes your trip-partner to talk and keep you entertained, or do you swing more towards the comfortable silence listening to ‘Angel’ by Sarah McLaughlin sounding softly in the background? Is the answer so black and white? What if the ‘entertainment’ was being told what the best lane to use to avoid heavy traffic delays? Or even worse, being told useless information like where the next traffic camera was? Doesn’t exactly sound like a good time to me.

As I lay back looking at the beautiful Canadian mountains, I realized that the last thing I needed was someone lowering Bone Thugs ‘Tha Crossroads’ so they can tell me why some trees are a lighter green than the others. Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the neck and knuckle cracking started.

The point is that just because you know someone doesn’t really mean you KNOW someone. A friend can be close to you, but are they really the ideal traveling partner? Maybe it is important to start thinking about which friends are ‘road trip friendly’ and which are not. I think it’s safe to say that the person you travel with is just as – if not more – important than the travel destination, because after all… when your car or bike breaks down in the middle of nowhere, you want someone you can rely on to not only help you make it through the experience safe, sound, and without having gone ballistic on the other person.

This prompted me to create a list of the top 10 things that are important in an ideal travel buddy.

• Must be a good conversationalist (not boring and bland)
• Understanding of Quiet Time (talking is good but silence is golden!)
• Must not be a whiner (this is possibly the worst!)
• Taste in music (having the same taste is great but just being open to the other persons needs is good )
• Must not be a tight ass
• Must be flexible (in case things do not go to plan or schedule wise)
• Must not be a fussy eater (there is nothing worse than driving around for ages looking for food while you’re starving)
• Agree on a budget
• Have things in common
• Good hygiene (BO? Hell NO!)

This list will vary from person to person of course. So, what does your list consist of?