If you are someone with a Fear of Long Road Trips you might want to avert your eyes for the next few paragraphs. Picture this: you have been in a car travelling for almost four hours. You are with two people you know and one of their friends you’ve just met earlier that morning. Outside, the weather started off cool so you wore a sweater but the sun is now shining directly onto half of your body. You’re in the backseat where there are three backpacks beside you and a cooler balancing on your legs which are being folded because the person in the front seat needed more leg room while they are napping. The AC cannot be turned on because your friend is always cold. The music is playing a song you’ve never heard before but it’s drowned out by the conversation taking place between your friend and the friend they’ve brought along as they reminisce about those times back in college together. Four hours down and only two more to go until you arrive at your destination: a rented cabin out west for the long weekend. Welcome to road trips. Welcome to Things I Fear.
Endless Pit Stops During a Fear of Long Road Trips
There can be a lot of nice things about road trips in general. You might be experiencing a new place while seeing new sights, being exposed to a new language, and taking pictures to create new memories with friends, family, or just by yourself. On the flip side, you are likely visiting a place you know nothing about, unable to speak to the locals when you get lost on unfamiliar public transportation, all the while documenting your journey on your phone which is possibly your only lifeline to finding your way back home. While your final destination (shout-out to that movie franchise) might be worth the travel, getting there might feel like hell on Earth. These are just some of the great reasons why someone may have a Fear of Long Road Trips. We could use taking a train, or a plane, or an automobile (shout-out to that movie too but no review exists as John Candy isn’t scary) as the method of travel and easily find one or a million reasons why it was the wrong choice to take. The fastest method is often the most dangerous. The most luxurious method will likely bankrupt you before arriving. The safest method is boring. Overall, you’re better off imagining a trip than taking one at all. Nothing bad has ever happened to anyone who locked their doors, boarded their windows, and shut themselves out from the world entirely. It’s called a “staycation” and anything with the word “cat” in it has to be good!
Taking the Short Cut Away From a Fear of Long Road Trips
In the last paragraph, you might recall mention of something called a “staycation”. That is absolutely not what that means and instead borders on Agoraphobia. Now, you might be thinking to yourself “this all just sounds like a convenient way to increase your word count and link to another great Things I Fear post to read rather than adding value to this post”. To that, I say: you’ve made it this far so why not read more and share with your friends on Social Media? We can talk about shameless self-plugging and unnecessary filler text another time (Editor’s note: oof). The nice thing about taking any vacation, but especially a long road trip is the additional time you get to spend with no fixed agenda. This can be a great way to impulsively stop at a pie stand on the side of the road, discover a picturesque landmark you didn’t even see on your map, or have meaningful conversations with a family member or friend while in a car together.
These moments may even end up being what makes the trip the most special or memorable for you. No one likes tourist traps full of overpriced food, standing in line, or taking the same corny pictures making it look like you’re holding up a leaning building that 500 strangers are also taking around you. Souvenir shops can be nice, but spending quality time with others or even just quiet time with yourself can be much more rewarding than a fridge magnet. Not always, but often enough. Some of those magnets are pretty sweet.
