Road Signs

Welcoming words feel more welcoming on the road than anyplace else. I have rules when I drive so far alone. I never plan for more than eight hours of driving a day, which often turns into ten due to traffic, weather, or curiosity. I stop every two hours for a walk, caffeine, and a snack. I book my hotels ahead in order to keep on that schedule.


I remember when it dawned on me that I didn't have to be up at 5am and focused for a road trip just because that's how my parents did it. That really, without kids to corral you can do it however you want. Often I think the way a thing is done is how it's done, then I realize that's just one way of doing it. 


When I first got my license I drove our long orange station wagon straight from school to home, because that's how it was done. One day it dawned on me that I could stop by Vergennes Variety on the way home and no one would ever know. I scanned the aisle in awe of the possibilities; Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, those fried and frosted square pies, things my mom would never buy. I ate vanilla Zingers while sitting in the driver's seat, and in its pale yellow cake and chemical cream I could taste freedom.


Though junk food represented freedom in my youth, I never stop for fast food on the road. I figure most exits have a town and most towns have a restaurant. Not good-for-you food exactly, just not corporate fast food. A long road trip is a mindset, an interplay between foresight and surrender.