“The remarkable moments one can make on vacation during road trips can open up the mind to create unforgettable memories.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — Road trips, seasoned travellers and road trip warriors say, can present opportunities for trippers to discover places perhaps read only in books.
Some of them argue that taking off on an adventurous road trip has bountiful benefits — given time for planning including checking the vehicle’s roadworthiness and embracing the unexpected across the length.
People who travel more can come up with diverse ideas, given the exposure to new cultures, making new friends, studying accents and intonations in different languages, and taking in different types of food and music, some of which are linked to better problem-solving skills.
Travel, some argue, is inspirational and experiential and can help the traveller see the world in a new way.
Some say the remarkable moments one can make on vacation during road trips can open up the mind to new possibilities, create unforgettable memories, immerse oneself in new experiences and change one’s outlook on the world.
We saw the validity of that argument yet once again last month when we travelled from Vallejo, California to Colorado Springs, a distance of 19 hours and nine minutes in one go for a total of 2,055 kilometers.
But we had to stop at the California capital of Sacramento, Reno in Nevada then had an overnight stay at a hotel in Salt Lake City for the much needed rest after travelling 1,103 kilometers.
Travel warriors say road trips support personal growth, build confidence, increase knowledge and improve mental and physical well-being, apart from opening our minds to new ideas and cultures, inspiring us to consider new ways of thinking.
Others say with road trips travellers can become more open and tolerant to differences and learn more about people and their persuasions.
But while road trips may excite some, they may not always be fun, particularly for those behind the steering wheels, or even some of the passengers who may not have the tolerant attitude for sitting long hours.
Reason there is a need for stops — in some cases overnight stay in some hotel or motel — along the way to improve alertness and stay fresh and combat fatigue, both for drivers and passengers.
Veteran road trippers say ideally the travel should be four to six hours maximum in between stopping points.
Along the road, with the scenic and panoramic view of mountains and plains on both sides, travellers say the present-moment awareness can help reduce anxiety, alleviate stress and promote a sense of calm.
Often such trips have the accompanying soothing beats of tunes from favorite singers or balladeers or even instrumentalists, the likes of, but not limited to, Perez Prado, Ray Conniff, Ray Anthony, Glenn Miller, Acker Bilk, Billy Vaughn, Benny Goodman or James Last.
The music bars can be enhanced by the soothing scent of air fresheners that can help intensify the sense of serenity.
There are those who submit that travelling can help to condition the quality of life positively — by coming into contact with new cultures, learning about new horizons, and different ways of thinking.
Others underline the importance of road trips in that they can help lower chances of heart disease to relieve stress and anxiety, apart from helping boost a traveller’s creativity, sense of happiness and satisfaction and broaden perspectives.
Road trips by families, which take them out of their comfort zones, allow them to decide which route to take — direct or scenic — and decisions taken along the way make the travels verily an adventure.
One traveller has been quoted as saying “life is like a road trip because you never know how soon you get to your destination, whether there is traffic along the way, whether there is a diversion or whether there is going to be a rough or smooth road.”
More than 70 years ago, in the 1950s, there was a rapid growth of ownership of cars by American families, according to official sources,
The car has since become a trusted mode of transport and widely used for commuting and leisure trips too.
With the new vacation-by-road style, many businesses began to cater to road-weary travellers, according to many observers of the road.
Some point to benefits of life on the road: adventure, flexibility and freedom.
We agree, following the nearly 20 hours on the road, with an overnight stop in Salt Lake City in Utah, which benefited our mental health and overall mood, helped calm us down, gave us a mental reset, improved mental power and increased creativity — with sonnets and villanelles along the seemingly never-ending road.
